Eating Seasonally: Autumn Edition

I’m from New England which means we get all the seasons (and I love it so much.) With the change of seasons always comes a change in menu. Cooking produce and foods that are in season does not only keep things interesting but is cost effective and a much more sustainable way of life. I shared our winter essentials and meal ideas in the past so I wanted to tackle fall – my very favorite time of year to cook (!!!)

You can take a look at a full list of what’s in season throughout the year, but I am going to share our personal favorites below. These are the things that we keep on hand nearly every week. We’ll start with produce and move onto pantry… and then the best part: meal ideas!

My Autumn Fridge & Pantry Essentials (+ Meal Ideas)

Produce:

Acorn squash
Apples
Bananas
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Broccoli rabe
Brussels Sprouts
Butternut squash
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Collard Greens
Cranberries
Figs
Garlic
Ginger
Grapes
Green Beans
Kale
Lemons
Mushrooms
Onions
Pears
Peas
Persimmons
Pomegranate
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Spaghetti squash
Spinach
Sweet Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Yams

A note on fruit: we love berries in this house and since they are antioxidant power-houses, we don’t want to go without them for months on end. Frozen strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are AWESOME. Because fun fact: these berries are harvested when ripe so you are still getting the best of the best and can easily thaw for use. We love using berries on our oatmeal, toast, in smoothies, over pancakes/waffles… so many ways to enjoy them. Especially stewed! I’ll include that recipe below.

Pantry

The below items are not necessarily “in season” but the ingredients that complement the above and are used constantly in our home for our favorite fall recipes.