Seasonal fruits and vegetables are a great option to make your food ration brighter and healthier. Autumn gives us so many new ingredients to cook with. Choose among colorful veggies (pumpkin, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potato, cauliflower and turnips), super-healthy berries (blueberries, blackberries, etc.) and juicy fruits. They are perfect for soups, salads, side dishes, pies and many more dishes.

Many meal plans suggest consuming at least three fruits and five veggies per day. It may sound like a lot, but you can easily achieve this by combining them. If you were to name one veggie symbolizing the whole fall season, wouldn’t it be pumpkin?

Pumpkin is an amazing ingredient. You can oven-roast it to make salad with greens, roasted chicken and rice on the side. You can make a pie and serve it with a scoop of reduced-fat yogurt. Or you can make delicious pumpkin pancakes with blueberries for breakfast!

Pumpkin helps prevent a lot of diseases, as it is one of the best-known sources of betacarotene.

Pumpkin is rich in vitamins and minerals but low in calories. And it gives that vibrant orange color that everyone loves! Blueberries are not too far behind when it comes to antioxidants, helping to prevent cancer, boost brain health and support digestion. You can make a fresh and easy smoothie bowl in a minute and get super energized for the rest of the day.

Try these two recipes this autumn and enjoy cooking with seasonal veggies and fruits throughout the year.

Find more easy and healthy recipes on HelenaRecipes.com.

Bon appétit!

By Helena, Conributing Writer

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • unsweetened/refrigerated
  • 2 cups milk
  • 4 oz. butter
  • 3 tbs. honey
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 cups gluten-free flour blend
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. vanilla sugar
  • 1/3 tsp. nutmeg
  • 3 tbs. oil
  • A little salt
  • 3 tbs. brown sugar
  • ½ cup honey or maple syrup
  • 1 cup reduced-fat vanilla yogurt
  • 1 cup blueberries

Steps

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, vanilla sugar and nutmeg.
  2. Melt butter. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, butter and pumpkin. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until the batter comes together. Let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour the batter by 1/4 cup scoops into the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until large bubbles appear. Flip and cook for 2 minutes on the other side.
  4. When the pancakes are ready to serve, top with vanilla yogurt, blueberries and honey (or maple syrup).

Blueberry Banana Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients

  • 3 bananas
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • Berries to decorate
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbs. honey or maple syrup

Steps

  1. Pour water into a blender; add blueberries, bananas and honey (or maple syrup).
  2. Blend all ingredients, until you see thick and beautiful texture.
  3. Pour the smoothie into a bowl and decorate with berries and fruit (blueberries, red currants, raspberries and banana slices).

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