Sparkly snowflakes, cozy blankets, rich hot chocolate… Winter has a lot going for it, but fresh produce is usually not on that list. In colder climates, eating locally through the winter can be downright challenging. But we’re here with some good news: Every meal doesn’t have to revolve around potatoes and onions until April. With a bit of advanced planning and creativity, it’s possible to eat fresh fruits and vegetables with plenty of nutrients and flavor all winter long.
Read on to learn about some of the unexpected vitamin-rich cold-weather foods you should stock up on right now.
Peak Season: While some strains of cabbage are available starting in July, most varieties love cool weather and are ready for harvest through the fall and winter.
Storage Tips: Tightly wrap individual heads of cabbage in plastic and stash in the refrigerator to keep ‘em fresh for up to a week.
How to Eat It: Cabbage’s nutritional benefits are most pronounced when raw, so slice up a few leaves to add crunch to salads or stir fries.
Storage Tips: Brussels sprouts will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. The outer leaves will shrivel, so remove them just before cooking your sprouts.
How to Eat It: Toss halved sprouts with olive oil and roast until crispy and brown. Top with a light coating of brown butter and sage for a decadent (but still healthy) side dish.
Get ready to taste the gourdy goodness! Acorn, butternut, kabocha, and delicata squash are all at their prime during the fall and winter. Golden squash flesh is loaded with healthy goodness like carotenoids, Vitamin A, and potassiumCarotenoid composition and vitamin A value of an Argentinian squash (Cucurbita moschata). Gonzalez E, Montenegro MA, Nazareno MA, Lopez de Mishima BA. Instituto de Ciencias Quimicas, Faculdad de Agronomia y Agroindustrias, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, Santiago del Estero, Republica Argentina. Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutricion, 2001 December; 51(4):395-9..
Peak Season: Winter squash hit the markets around late September and stick around through early March.
Storage Tips: Even though they seem pretty solid, squash continue to ripen once they’re picked. Slow down the process by storing them in a cool, slightly humid environment (like, say, a basement or cellar). Under the right conditions, squash will keep for up to three months.
How to Eat It: Since squash is healthy, fairly inexpensive, filling, and darn tasty, it’s no wonder there are thousands of awesome recipes for them. Get started with these five delicious dishes.
Spuds get a bad rap, but they’re a staple food in many cuisines for good reason. Sure, potatoes are starchy and high on the glycemic index, but they’re also filling, inexpensive, and boast an impressive nutritional profile including potassium, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, and even proteinPotatoes and human health. Camire ME, Kubow S, Donnelly DJ. Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, University of Maine, ME, USA. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 2009 November;49(10):823-40.Gylcemic index of potatoes commonly consumed in North America. Fernandes G, Velangi A, Wolever TM. University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2005 April; 105(4):557-62.. Fancy purple taters may even help lower blood pressure and boost antioxidants. While sweet potatoes are considered a healthier choice (since they’re loaded with beta-carotene, vitamins A and C, and fiber), regular old white spuds are still nutritious as long as you don’t fry ‘em or mash them with tons of butter and cream.
Storage Tips: Store potatoes in a dark, cool, well-ventilated area for about one month. Keep spuds away from onions and apples. At room temperature, potatoes will keep for one to two weeks.
How to Eat It: Try a healthier take on the classic baked potato bar. Twice-baked spuds stuffed with kale, broccoli, and cheddar make for a tasty and comforting meal.
Celeriac is probably the ugly duckling of winter produce. It looks like a misshapen, greenish-white blob covered in little roots. Appetizing, right? But beyond the odd exterior, celeriac boasts a tasty, subtle flavor — somewhere between parsley and celery — and a hearty texture. It’s low in calories, high in fiber, and rich in vitamin C (a powerful antioxidant) and phosphorus (which contributes to strong bones and teeth).
Peak Season: September through March.
Storage Tips: Like other root veggies, celeriac will stay fresh in the fridge for up to a month.
How to Eat It: Sub in celeriac for almost any root vegetable. Cube and sautée it for a tasty, healthy substitute for hash browns.
Storage Tips: Keep turnips and rutabagas in the fridge for a few weeks or in a root cellar for several months.
How to Eat It: What’s cheesy, gooey, and surprisingly good for you? A lightened-up simple turnip gratin! Rutabagas can be subbed in for any dish that calls for turnips.
Sweet potatoes might win the award for “Most Versatile Tuber.” These orange-hued delights are loaded with fiber, beta-carotene, vitamins A and C, and antioxidantsAnticancer effects of sweet potato protein on human colorectal cancer cells. Li PG, Mu TH, Deng L. Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agro-products Processing Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China. World Journal of Gastroenterology. 2013 Jun 7; 19(21):3300-8.. Plus, since they’re fairly low on the glycemic index, they’re great for filling up without getting weighed downSweet potato: a review of its past, present, and future role in human nutrition. Bovell-Benjamin AC. Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Tuskegee/NASA Center for Food and Environmental Systems for Human Exploration of Space, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL, USA. Advances in Food Nutrition Research, 2007; 52:1-59.Effects of baking and boiling on the nutritional and antioxidant properties of sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] cultivars. Dincer, C., Karaoglan, M., Erden, F., et al. Faculty of Engineering, Department of Food Engineering, Akdeniz University, Turkey. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 2011 Nov;66(4):341-7.
Peak Season: Sweet potatoes are available year-round, but they’re best in the fall.
Storage Tips: Keep sweet potatoes in a cool, dry place outside the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
How to Eat It: It wouldn’t be fair to pick one of these 45 sweet potato recipes and not try the rest. Pro tip: Sweet potato brownies are a thing.
Besides being one of the most fun words in the English language, radicchio (pronounced ra-DIK-kio) is a member of the chicory family along with endive and escarole. Its red and white, slightly spicy and bitter leaves are loaded with vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin K. Plus, this leafy veg is extremely low in calories, so add it to any dish for a low-cal dose of crunch and flavor.
Peak Season: There are three main varieties of radicchio available in the U.S., Chiogga, Treviso, and Tardivo. Tardivo radicchio is available throughout the winter.
Storage Tips: Keep it in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic for up to three weeks.
How to Eat It: Sautéed radicchio adds a kick (and a nice serving of vitamins and minerals) to this easy pasta dish.
Pomegranates are one of the world’s oldest fruits (Greco-Roman mythology, anyone?) as well as one of the most nutritiousThe effects of pomegranate juice consumption on blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Stowe CB. Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Virginia Beach, VA, USA. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2011 May;15(2):113-5.. The ruby-colored seeds are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that can help treat heart conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attack, and congestive heart failure.Pomegranate juice: a heart-healthy fruit juice. Basu A., Penugonda K., Department of Nutritional Sciences, 301 Human Environmental Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Nutrition Reviews, 2009 Jan;67(1):49-56.Pomegranate juice consumption reduces oxidative stress, atherogenic modifications to LDL, and platelet aggregation: studies in humans and in atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. Aviram M., Dornfeld L., Rosenblat M., et. al., Lipid Research Laboratory and the Division of Morphological Sciences, Technion Faculty of Medicine, The Rappaport Family Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences and Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2000 May;71(5):1062-76.Anti-oxidative effects of pomegranate juice (PJ) consumption by diabetic patients on serum and on macrophages. Rosenblat M., Hayek T., et. al., The Lipid Research Laboratory, Technion Faculty of Medicine, The Rappaport Family Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences, Rambam Medical Center, 31096 Haifa, Israel. Atherosclerosis, 2006 Aug;187(2):363-71. Studies show that drinking pomegranate juice can reduce build-up of fatty deposits in arteries, which is a culprit behind many heart conditionsPomegranate Protection against Cardiovascular Diseases., Aviram M., Rosenblat, M., The Lipid Research Laboratory, Technion Faculty of Medicine, The Rappaport Family Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences and Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012 Nov. 18.. Extracting the seeds from a pomegranate can be tricky, but the heart-healthy, sweet-sour pods are well worth the effort. For a less laborious option, add a splash of no-sugar added pomegranate juice to a glass of seltzer.
Storage Tips: Wrap washed and dried greens in paper towels, then put the whole shebang in a plastic bag in the fridge. Greens will stay fresh for one or two weeks.
How to Eat It: Swap kale, chard, or collards for lettuce to make a nutrient-rich salad.
This uncommon green is a little bitter, but adds welcome freshness to late-winter cooking. It’s a bit crunchy, like lettuce, and wilts easily, like spinach. It’s a member of the chicory family, so it’s also related to endive, radicchio, kale, and chard. Like other greens, escarole is high in folic acid, fiber, and vitamins A and K.
Peak Season: Escarole grows through fall and early winter in warmer climates.
Storage Tips: This dainty green is a bit delicate, so eat it up quickly. Wrapped in paper towels and stored in an open plastic bag, escarole keeps in the refrigerator for up to four days.
How to Eat It: Escarole adds some bright-green freshness to a classic Italian soup.
With feathery leaves on top, a round, onion-shaped bulb on the bottom, and a licorice-like taste throughout, fennel is definitely one of the stranger vegetables out there. (And by “strange” we mean awesome and delicious, of course.) It’s a little bit sweet, kinda crunchy, and—above all—super healthy. The licorice flavor is due to a compound called anethole, which has been shown to reduce risk of certain cancers, aid digestion, suppress inflammation, and naturally thin blood to prevent clotsProtective effect of Foeniculum vulgare essential oil and anethole in an experimental model of thrombosis. Tognolini M, Ballabeni V, Bertoni S, Bruni R, Impicciatore M, Barocelli E. Dipartimento di Szienze Farmacologiche, Biologiche e Chimiche Applicate, Universita di Parma, Parma, Italy. Pharmacology Research, 2007 Sep;56(30:254-60.Chemical composition, antimicrobal and antioxidant activities of anethole-rich oil from leaves of selected varieties of fennel. Senatore F, Oliviero F, Scandolera E, Taglialatela-Scafati O, Roscigno G, Zaccardelli M, De Falco E. Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy. Fitoterapia. 2013 Oct;90:214-9.. Fennel also boasts a boatload of vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and copper.
Peak Season: Fennel is available at the market from late fall through early spring.
How to Eat It: Yes, it’s possible to make a crisp, totally fresh salad during the winter. Try this fennel and celery dish for a crunchy cold-weather lunch.
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