by Liz Sinclair

Created on: September 11, 2009

Autumn is almost here, and with the leaves turning color, the crisp days and colder nights, comes the harvest of fall foods in grocery stores and farmers markets. Nature celebrates the end of summer with a bounty of fruits and vegetables that seem designed to be prepared as hot, hearty soups, stews and desserts to welcome the change in seasons.

Here are some healthy, favorite fall foods, and some ideas for preparing them in the kitchen:

Pumpkins

Pumpkin is one of the most popular American fall crops, with over one and a half billion pounds grown every year. This vegetable has carotenoids (which help fight heart disease and cancer), and is loaded with vitamins C and E, as well as being a good source of riboflavin, iron, fiber and potassium.

Pumpkins make wonderful pies. Try cutting uncooked pumpkin into large pieces, and roasting in a pan in the oven with some olive oil to release the natural sweetness. Or bake a whole pumpkin, scoop out the meat, make soup and serve in the shell. Try making the soup with ginger and coconut cream for an exotic flavor. Mix chopped, steamed pumpkin, raisins and pine nuts into rice to make pilaf. Alternatively, bake pumpkin and zucchini bread.

Apples:

Apples ripen as the days get shorter, are best in early fall and come in many shades of red, yellow and green. Apples are low in calories, high in fiber and contain vital nutrients like potassium, vitamin C, calcium and folic acid.

Heat up apple cider with cinnamon and allspice for a spicy, hot treat on cold autumn nights. Bake an apple crumble with spices, butter, flour and brown sugar. Grate raw apples with oatmeal that has been soaked overnight and mix with chopped nuts for a healthy start to the day.

Root vegetables: carrots, parsnips, beets, rutabagas, and turnips.

Root vegetables are generally fat-free and low in calories. They are a good source of protein, complex carbohydrates and loaded with nutrients, anti-oxidants and vitamins. Once the autumn and winter fare of peasants and poor farmers, because they stored well, root vegetables have come into their own as a healthy, inexpensive food for everyone.

Root vegetables make an excellent ragout, first sauted, and then baked with a generous amount of stock and thyme or oregano, together with potatoes, peeled chestnuts or Brussels sprouts. Steam carrots and parsnips, mash them together, season with nutmeg, and serve in place of mashed potatoes. Make carrot soup with coriander. Any of the root vegetables can be oven roasted with

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