The fall season is ripe with fresh produce. Some are associated with desserts like pumpkins while others get a bad reputation for being too healthy or bitter tasting. So which ones taste delicious, but are at the same time, very nutritious? Tati Amare spoke to fitness and nutrition expert Jody Trierweiler to find out.
A great option to start with is eggplant. This fall plant is very nutritious because its purple skin contains antioxidants. Some people may be turned off by eggplant because it can have a bitter taste, but Jody has a trick. She recommends slicing the vegetable and sprinkling it with salt for one hour before cooking to pull out the bitterness.. Eggplants can be used in a variety of dishes. Jody likes to sauté hers and eat them like chips. This can be done both on the stove and in an air fryer.
The produce that is most plentiful this time of year is squash like pumpkins, and spaghetti squash. Brussels sprouts are also in season and pack a healthy punch because of their cancer fighting properties. The key to eating brussels sprouts is cooking them fresh and fast. The longer they cook, the more bitter they end up tasting.
Spaghetti squash also packs plenty of health benefits. It contains nutrients and fiber. It also makes for a great substitute for pasta. To cook it, all you have to do is toss the whole squash in the oven for thirty minutes. After that, the squash can be easily sliced and the insides forked out, for a healthy pasta-like dish.
Although its associated with sweets like pie, cheesecake and coffee, pumpkin also provides vitamins and minerals and is considered a superfood for its Vitamin A and beta carotene content. To get the most nutrition out of a pumpkin, Jody recommends adding a different sweetener like stevia instead of sugar.
Check out her pumpkin tiramisu in the video above.