Your fall food list

Here it comes: transition season. All I want to do this month is give you a simple list of all the delicious foods that you can eat this autumn, to help you gently let go of your love affair with summer. It is hard, but say goodbye to watermelon, cold beer and your flip-flops…and take a good look at what lies ahead of you. Be warned, this is pretty exciting stuff…

Welcome figs, pomegranates, grapes, apples, pears, dates, Belgium endives, cranberries, brussel sprouts, parsnips, turnips, mushrooms, cauliflower, squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, almonds, walnuts, tangerines and carrots.

Many of these foods are high in vitamin C (pomegranates, grapes, cranberries, brussel sprouts, apples, tangerines), and betacarotene (carrots, squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes), so nature is already offering you what you need to stay strong this time of the year.

This season it’s Sunday roasts with creamy mashed potatoes and all the veggies that are so good for you, pumpkin pie, crispy sweet potatoes with sour cream or goat’s cheese, apple crumble, dates coated in rich dark chocolate. After our break-up with summer we surely need some comfort food, and the good news is,  it doesn’t have to be unhealthy or too heavy on your waist.

During the week, I always make sure I am topped up with straight-forward soups I prepare the night before. You can best enjoy all the flavours of soup the day after, either for lunch (with big slices of bread, if you are a bread lover), or for dinner (when you can better skip the bread).

For snacks, I love fresh figs with hard cheeses, cooked apples (popped in the oven at 200 degrees celsius for 45-50 minutes) with sour cream, dates and walnuts or almonds. My absolute favourite combo is  dried cranberries with Comté cheese. They are just a perfect match! However  make sure the cranberries are sweetened only with apple juice, no nasties.

Let’s not forget that fall is also the season for baking–I told you this would get exciting. Whether you are crazy about baking or not, you will love the two recipes in Gwyneth Paltrow’s  cookbook “It’s all good”; the sweet potato muffins, pictured below, and the quinoa fruit crumble are beginner-friendly and always a success. Add your own custard or cream to them and you will most certainly be loved.

To finish the week on rainy Sundays with the family, take your time to prepare a classic roast lunch with Yorkshire puddings …alternatively if you are vegetarian, search for fresh inspiration on roasted veggies.

Whoever said fall is depressing? Look again.