It all starts in autumn

It is Fall, my friends! We are finally in the fall season! Are you excited about it? So, what’s so exciting about fall? In fall, weather is starting to get cooler, leaves are changing in color, and we will be celebrating a bunch of holidays with friends and family! Ohhh~ most importantly, fall is the season for pumpkin spices (I know some of you may roll your eyes on this, but… I am still going to be excited about this)!!! My friends, everything is gradually changing, how about making a little bit of modifications on our daily menu to go with this season?   I am all about the idea of eating with the seasons, when produce are at their greater nutritional value and offer a better taste while being environmentally friendly. What is available in fall? Winter squashes (butternut, acorn, and spaghetti), parsnips, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, pears, apples, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, broccoli, and etc.

For this month, I chose several of the fall produce recipes (butternut squash, parsnip, broccoli, and mushroom) to share with you! These recipes work very well for people like you and me who have busy schedules, but still crave for some quality meals from home without blowing our grocery budget! When picking and choosing the recipes, I always make sure the recipes require minimum culinary skills to ensure all of you get to try out these awesome recipes at home by yourself! OK, let’s get busy in the kitchen making some delectable meals!!!

Vegetable Frittata: Why frittata? Frittata recipes are highly adaptable, and are packed with nutrients and flavors (depending on what you added to it). We can use whatever surplus (ingredients) from preparing previous meals, by doing this; we can (maybe) reduce the cost of food waste. Frittata is highly adaptable, and it is also great for leftovers! I really love the vegetable frittata offered by Feasting at home, it is sooo delicious! The fall produce I chose for this recipe are broccoli and mushroom. If you are interested in trying out this recipe, feel free to refer to Feasting at home for the recipe.

Roasted Butternut Tikka Masala (vegetarian and vegan friendly): One of the most curried dishes offered at the Indian restaurant. Tikka Masala is made with creamy tomato sauce that is infused with Indian spices. This recipe, in particular, incorporates roasted butternut squash and chickpeas as the main ingredients! While making this dish, I have some unused Paneer sitting quietly in the corner in the fridge, so I added some of the paneer to my tikka masala! Nom nom~  I am currently having my roasted butternut tikka masala with some warm basmati rice and homemade raita! My soul and stomach are satisfied with this! I highly recommend this recipe! NOTE: it might take you a little bit to work on this recipe, but I promise, they are very simple steps to get to the end product! The recipe is adapted from Feasting at home.

Lentil Pot Pie (vegetarian and vegan friendly): Soon, before you know it, you will be hunting for some warm, quick and easy dinner recipes that work for busy weekday schedules.  For this pot pie recipe, we incorporate butternut squash, parsnip, carrot, kale, and lentils as primary ingredients. We complete this recipe by topping this pot pie with a golden puff pastry crust. YUM!! If you are interested in trying this recipe, do check out Feasting at home!

Some of you may ask, why all the vegetarian and vegan recipes? Why not share more regular recipes that contain animal protein? If you follow this VegUP blog long enough, you have probably heard me saying to alternate your protein sources repeatedly over the past 7-8 years. As a dietitian, I listen to my patients closely and I have learned most Americans do not have issues with consuming animal protein. I am here to help you learn to incorporate some plant-based protein to your daily eating. Plant-based proteins contain a decent amount of protein but lower in calories; they have a good quality of fiber as well as nutrients. PLUS, the cost of plant-based protein is relatively low. My goal here is to share some new food ideas with you, in hope you may try them some time in the near future!

“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” — Thomas Jefferson.