Several years ago, I shared 7 Reasons to Eat with the Seasons, and I continue stand by that approach as a primary way to foster optimal nutrition and add variety to the diet. Seasonal eating is an easy way to cut grocery costs and boost nutrition.

The added benefit of seasonal produce in the diet could be weight loss. Several fall foods that pack a powerful nutrient punch can also help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Add these Best Fall Foods for Weight Loss to your next shopping list and incorporate them into your autumn meals.

Best Fall Foods for Weight Loss

Eat More Apples

Apples can help us get fit to the core! Get The Ultimate Guide to Autumn Apples for selection, storage, use and other useful tips. And don’t forget 8 Easy Ways to Add Autumn Apples to Your Meals for ideas on incorporating apples into your diet.

Apples are:

• High in the soluble fiber, pectin. Fiber helps keep our blood sugar levels stable by slowing the absorption of carbohydrates into the bloodstream. It also helps us feel full longer. Both of these are reasons having an apple as a snack may keep us from overeating at meals.

• Filled with special chemicals called enzymes that actually help us digest our food more efficiently. Efficient digestion means efficient metabolism, which means we’re burning calories as we should.

• Naturally low in calories, fat and sodium. One medium apple has approximately 95 calories and 4 grams of fiber.

• Full of natural sweetness to help satisfy cravings for less healthy sugary snacks.

Eat More Broccoli

A cousin to cabbage, this bright green cruciferous veggie is another in the lineup of high-fiber, low-calorie delights of autumn.

With only 31 calories per cup, this is a great veg to add to your plate by the handfuls either raw or steamed. (Just remember to leave off the gooey sauces.)

Try roasting broccoli for an exciting taste twist:

For each cup of broccoli, use 1 teaspoon olive oil and a pinch of sea salt; toss and place in a single layer on a foil-lined pan in a 400F oven for 10-15 minutes. This is an amazing revelation in flavor!!

Eat More Cabbage

Another cool weather cruciferous veggie, cabbage is more versatile that you might think. Even lower in calories than broccoli, a cup of cabbage has only 17 calories, so if you’re counting, don’t overlook the fiber-packed power of low-cal cabbage!

Try these ideas to incorporate green, purple or Savoy (my fave!) cabbage into your autumn meals:

• Liberally add shredded or chopped cabbage to soups, stews and chili for added flavor, texture and nutrition.

• Serve coleslaw as a side dish (Combine shredded cabbage and carrots with a drizzle of olive oil, mild vinegar, salt and pepper; toss and chill until ready to serve.)

• Use the same technique for roasting broccoli described above to create delicious roasted cabbage.

• Brush wedges of Savoy cabbage with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, then grill over medium coals on each side until the cabbage begins to char. Serve as-is, or shred for a tasty twist on traditional coleslaw.

Eat More Squash

The various members of the Cucurbitaceae family come in many colors and sizes. In fall and winter choose squash varieties like butternut, Delicata, and acorn.

Perhaps our favorite member of this delicious little family is pumpkin. Pumpkin has a naturally sweet flavor, can be used in sweet or savory dishes and packs a fabulous fiber punch! You can get all the info on our favorite fall fruit right here in Everything You Need to Know about Pumpkin Nutrition (plus ways to select, store, use in sweet and savory dishes and more!)

Click the image above for tips on prepping and roasting winter squash.

Here’s how these orange-fleshed fruits can help us squash unwanted weight gain this fall:

• Save big on calories: Trade 1 cup of cooked squash for an equal amount of cooked sweet potatoes to save about 100 calories!

• Fill up on fiber: slowing down the rate that your body absorbs sugar and glucose. This keeps your blood sugar levels stable and discourages your body from releasing unwanted insulin that will store fat.

There’s even a health bonus for eating winter squash varieties: They are more nutrient dense than squash grown in other seasons, so they pack a powerful punch when it comes to immunity-boosting vitamins like A and C. That’s great news going into cold and flu season!

Add these foods (and lots of other fresh fruit and veg) to your healthy gluten-free diet to keep fit as a fiddle this season.

What’s your favorite cool season veggie?

Also, be sure to check out the Expert Interview Series on Cilantro: The Cook’s Shop for more on my take on Holistic Health and living gluten-free!

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