5 Healthy Winter Foods and How to Cook With Them
These tasty and nutritious picks can help your body and mind thrive this season and all year-round
For peak flavor and nutrition, it’s best to buy in-season fresh fruits and vegetables. That’s easy in the summer when farmers markets and grocery stores are overflowing with a variety of colorful options.
As the weather cools and the bounty dwindles, the produce aisle might look a little less inviting, but take a closer look. Fall and winter fruits and vegetables can be just as delicious and nutritious, packed with vitamins and minerals that have been linked to disease prevention and healthier aging. Plus, eating seasonally can save you money at the supermarket.
- Healthy Winter Foods: Pears Cauliflower Butternut Squash Beets Walnuts
These five foods are particularly good for you, and we have suggestions for easily incorporating them into your meals.
Pears
Why they’re so good for you: Snacking on a large pear provides you with 7 grams of fiber. “Getting adequate fiber not only helps with bowel regulation and keeping your GI tract healthy but also helps regulate blood sugar and lower cholesterol,” says Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic.
Research has also linked high-fiber diets to a lower risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline.
How to cook with pears: They’re delicious raw (add slices to a salad) or baked with a bit of cinnamon for a sweet dessert—no added sugar necessary. Leave the skin on to maximize the fiber.
Cauliflower
Why it’s so good for you: Cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cabbage) contain fiber, antioxidants, and unique chemicals called glucosinolates that may have some anti-cancer power.
Butternut Squash
Why it’s so good for you: The orange flesh that’s revealed when you crack open butternut squash “means that it contains lots of beta carotene, an antioxidant that the body converts to vitamin A,” says Lauri Wright, PhD, RDN, director of nutrition programs at the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida. “Beta carotene is essential for maintaining vision, especially night vision, and it’s also important for keeping your immune system strong.”
How to cook with butternut squash: It can be tricky to cut. If you’re having trouble, score its skin, microwave the squash for a few minutes, and let it cool. Then you can cut it into halves and bake it cut side down in a pan with a little water or oil. Afterward, just peel and chop it into cubes, mash it, or purée it to add to soups and sauces.
Beets
Why they’re so good for you: Antioxidants, including betalain, give red beets their distinctive deep color as well as their anti-inflammatory powers. Beets are also rich in nitrates, which research has shown may help widen blood vessels and improve blood flow.
How to cook with beets: Roasting brings out their natural sweetness. Wright also suggests puréeing cooked beets and mixing them into hummus. “You get the protein of the hummus, the nutrients of the beets, and a dip that’s a beautiful pink color,” she says.
Walnuts
Why they’re so good for you: Eating less than an ounce of walnuts provides you with an adequate daily intake of ALA fatty acids, a type of heart-healthy omega-3 fat. And replacing some animal protein with plant protein—which walnuts provide—reduces your intake of saturated fats.
How to cook with walnuts: Chop them up and add them to oatmeal, salads, or smoothies. You can also toast them, then purée them with a little salt to make walnut butter, or use them in place of pine nuts in pesto recipes.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2019 issue of Consumer Reports On Health.
