It’s October … Celebrate Your Fall Favorites!

Insiders Viewpoint: Expert Supermarket Advice: It’s October … Celebrate Your Fall Favorites! Jennifer Egeland, Hen House Markets. Fruits And Veggies More Matters.org

October is the beginning of fall favorites – cool days, chilly nights, hot apple cider and your favorite sweater. October is also National Apple Month, Eat Better, Eat Together Month and Spinach Lovers Month. October is a great time to celebrate your favorite fruits and vegetables because … More Matters!

Eat Better, Eat Together Month
Now is the perfect time for adults to eat meals with their children and celebrate family meals. Children and teenagers enjoy having time to share, find out what others have been doing, and to laugh with their family. Why not use this time to teach your kids to eat healthy? Include lots of fruits and vegetables. Let your kids pick out a new fruit or vegetable to try at dinner, you may be surprised by what they pick! Try new recipes from other cultures or countries and see what produce items they use in their dishes. Share your favorite family recipes or traditions with your kids and invent new ones to pass along!

National Spinach Month
Spinach is a leafy vegetable with broad deep green leaves, full of nutrition. This vegetable is a cool season annual crop. Spinach is rich in vitamins and minerals, particularly folate (folic acid), vitamin K, magnesium, and manganese. It also contains more protein than most vegetables. Spinach can be consumed raw or cooked. Baby spinach leaves are especially good in salads. Spinach cooks very quickly and doesn’t need added water. Just place it in a pan, cover, and simmer for two to four minutes until it wilts; spinach is also excellent when steamed or sautéed in olive oil with garlic for three or four minutes. Spinach is a good addition to soups and stews that contain beans, pasta, or potatoes or to any kind of curry dish.

National Apple Month
See how many ways can you use an apple. Try a fresh apple crisp, homemade apple cider, apples with caramel or fruit dip, apple turnovers, apple salad (little fat free mayo, raisins and shredded carrots), homemade applesauce, dried apple slices or baked apples. Try a fall family outing and visit a local apple orchard and pick your own apples. A healthy after school snack can be apples and peanut butter, or apple smiles – just add a few marshmallows and enjoy!

Jennifer Egeland, RD LD
Registered Dietitian
Hen House Markets

Fruit & Vegetable Recipes
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