As cool weather sets in, you naturally start to crave high-energy “comfort foods” which are often loaded with sugar, processed carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats. Here are 10 healthy fall comfort foods & recipes that you can enjoy guilt-free!
Ever wonder why you start craving fattening foods as soon as the thermostat starts to dip lower in the fall?
Nope, you’re not alone and you’re not imagining things…
Cravings for calorie-dense foods driving you crazy? Welcome to fall!
Throughout most of human history, fall and winter meant less food. It also meant having a few extra pounds of fat on you would give you a backup energy reserve to help get you through the months when food wasn’t as plentiful.
Ogg the caveman didn’t have the luxury of taking an Uber to Whole Foods when hunger pangs struck. And while he would have certainly enjoyed the 380 calories, 50 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of saturated fat in a Pumpkin Spice Latte, that wasn’t an option either.
“Ogg, can you please pass the double chocolate cake and Cool Whip?”
Even though most people living in stable western democracies are at greater risk of eating themselves to death rather than starving to death, studies have shown that people today still have the same seasonal physiological cravings for high calorie foods as our ancestors did.
Interestingly, the changing seasons also impact levels of specific types of hormones responsible for our food cravings.
In short: as fall sets in, your body’s natural response is to eat anything it can to pack on the pounds so you can survive the winter.
The problem? You probably don’t want or need to put on that extra weight.
That means you’ve got to come up with a way to hack your unhealthy cravings to prevent unnecessary and unhealthy weight gain as cool weather sets in.
Here’s what we recommend:
- First, understand and recognize why you’re having these sudden high calorie fall food cravings. (If you read the info above, you can now check this item off the list.)
- Learn how to make and eat highly pleasurable but healthy fall comfort foods that don’t pack on the pounds.
Craving sweets? One good hack is to eat a piece of fruit (like our Asian persimmons) instead of reaching for the cookies. The fiber and nutrition in the fruit will help you feel full whereas the refined carbohydrates and refined sugar in the cookie will make you crave more. That’s why you can easily eat 5 cookies at once, but you probably can’t eat 5 apples at once even though they’re calorically equivalent.
Healthy Fall Comfort Foods With Local, Seasonal Ingredients
To be included in our Healthy Fall Comfort Foods list below, a recipe’s primary ingredients have to be truly seasonal.
That means you could find them right here in a San Diego farmers market or in your Daily Harvest Express FarmBox during the fall.
Gorgeous varieties of fall kale and chard arriving at Daily Harvest Express from our network of local, organic farmers. Whole, fiber-rich and nutrient-dense foods like these greens will help you feel full and nourished.
Are these recipes the only healthy fall comfort foods you can eat? Of course not!
There are thousands of different foods and recipes that you can eat throughout fall and winter that will scratch your comfort food itch without making you pack on the pounds.
These recipes are simply a few of our favorites — or recipes we’re dying to try. Consider them a starting point: inspiration to set you on a journey to seek out your own healthy fall comfort foods using primarily locally-sourced, organic ingredients.
Ten Healthy Fall Comfort Food Recipes
1. Butternut squash, chickpea, lentil Moroccan stew | recipe link
2. Oven-roasted root veggies | recipe link
3. Whole wheat pumpkin pancakes | recipe link
4. Mashed parsnips and carrots (move over mashed potatoes) | recipe link *One note on this recipe: we think it’s a sacrilege to boil a veggie. Much of the nutrition leaches into the water and gets thrown out. When making this recipe, start by steaming or roasting the carrots and parsnips instead!
5. Turkey mushroom soup | recipe link (if you can get your hands on a humanely raised heritage breed turkey, all the better!)
6. Apple kale salad | recipe link
7. Chunky vegetarian chili | recipe link
8. Pan-roasted chicken with apples, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts | recipe link
9. Butternut squash farro salad | recipe link
10. Sweet potato pumpkin gnocchi | recipe link
We hope you enjoy these delicious, healthy fall comfort foods and recipes! When making your healthy comfort foods this fall and winter, please try to source as many of the ingredients as you can from local, organic farmers.
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