Seasonal Eating: Fall Nourishment

Does anyone else get ridiculously excited about potatoes?

I didn’t, until I started eating seasonally. Once I began eating what was actually coming from the Earth I started getting super excited when a new season comes around. I’m about zucchini, tomato, and cucumber-ed out and just in time, the potato comes to save me!

Other foods that are coming into season now include:

• Butternut squash

• Pumpkin

• Carrots

• Beets

• Lettuce

• Kale

• Spinach

It is also a great time to harvest herbs to dry for winter that may be growing in your garden. You may have basil, rosemary, sage, parsley, oregano, thyme, and marjoram. Drying them is super simple – you take a bunch and hang it upside down in a spot out of the sun and away from heat (like, don’t hang over the stove). If you’ve got a bigger operation and you have a dehydrator you can also spread the leaves out in a single layer to dry.

Autumn is the time of year we start to swap in the warmer, cooked dishes. Where summer is about eating raw, the fall is about warm, nourishing bowls of soups, stews, and cooked dishes. Stuffed pumpkin is a favorite, as is butternut squash lasagna, baked potato wedges, and salads with warm roasted beets, carrots, and squash. At this time of year I love to add some wild rice or quinoa to my salads as well to help with feeling grounded and satisfied.

As you’ve noticed from the list above, the foods coming up now are either roots or more starchy than the spring and summer foods. Autumn is the time to get ready for winter, to be more grounded, to focus on home and having what you need to get you through the winter. In this human experience we have left behind any sense of following the rhythms of the Earth, and we have made autumn an incredibly busy time with all sorts of events and holidays. These heartier foods help support a feeling of being grounded (as they literally come from the ground!) and are also great starches for people who may be sensitive to carbohydrates.

This is your invitation to light a candle, cook some squash, and enjoy a quiet family dinner with your loved ones.

And if you'd like to join me for a workshop all about finding nourishment and grounding in autumn, join me on October 9!