My approach to food is simple: “Eat a variety of foods, mostly plants.”
This approach, along with three additional frameworks (learn more here), serves as the foundation for all my food choices. Each week, my goal is to maximize plant diversity. The more colorful my plate, the better. Interested in adding more plants to your diet but unsure how to get started? Here’s a look at what’s on my menu this month.
OCTOBER
Fall is officially upon us, and as of October 1st, pumpkin season is in full swing. My craving for pumpkin hasn’t set in just yet, but with temperatures dropping, I’m definitely starting to crave warmer fare. Although I still love a crisp, green salad in the winter months, I tend to reach for cozy, comfort foods, such as hearty stews, creamy soups, rich pasta dishes, roasted vegetables, and all things spiced. Here are some of my favorite fall recipes, featuring seasonal ingredients (highlighted), fresh produce, and lots of spice!
Breakfast
Baked oatmeal is a great breakfast option. Make a batch at the beginning of the week and simply reheat with a splash of milk for a quick, nutritious breakfast throughout the week. This recipe calls for blueberries, but can be easily substituted with your favorite fruit. Swap for cranberries, and maybe a few apples, to make a delicious fall-inspired oatmeal.
Leftover baked oats are even more nutritious as they contain resistant starch, which acts as a prebiotic for beneficial gut bacteria. Resistant starch forms when cooked oats are cooled. The process occurs when the starch (carbohydrate) within the oats realigns into a less digestible form. When you eat leftover oats, the undigested resistant starch travels down to the gut bacteria, where it gets converted into short-chain fatty acids, which offer many health benefits. Resistant starches are not impacted by heating, so feel free to eat your leftover oatmeal hot or cold.
This delicious frittata uses silken tofu as the base instead of eggs. The result is a lusciously creamy, protein, and fiber-packed breakfast. This recipe calls for peppers, potatoes, onions, zucchini, and tomatoes. I love to add steamed broccoli, but feel free to add whatever vegetables you have on hand. Frittatas are also a wonderful home to leeks, which are another fall harvest vegetable. For more information on leeks and how to prepare them, check out this guide from Love and Lemons.
Roasted Grapes + Tofu Ricotta Toast
Fall is peak season for grapes. While deliciously juicy and sweet in their raw form, grapes become even juicier and sweeter when roasted. Serve on toasted sourdough or whole-grain bread with a spread of tofu ricotta for a simple yet elegant breakfast filled with fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Or, make it as an appetizer for your next gathering.
Lunch & Dinner
Butternut Squash Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad
Featuring brussels sprouts, apples, butternut squash, dates, pomegranates, and pecans, this salad is a beautiful blend of textures and flavors. The homemade tahini-based Caesar dressing takes the salad over the top!
This soup is packed with fresh seasonal vegetables. It’s hearty, creamy, and full of spice, making it the perfect fall recipe. This recipe features sweet potatoes, a root vegetable that’s at its peak in October. They add a touch of sweetness and contribute to the soup’s creaminess.
To make the soup even more nutritious, swap the can of regular (full-fat) coconut milk for light coconut milk. You’ll lose some of the creaminess, but it reduces the saturated fat content, which is good for your health. Limiting your saturated fat intake helps keep your cholesterol levels in check and reduces your risk of heart disease.
Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup with Citrus
This recipe is a great, family-friendly, weeknight meal. It’s loaded with sweet potatoes and black beans and has just the right amount of spice to appease everyone’s taste buds. Made in the slow cooker, this one-pot meal comes together quickly and requires little cleanup. It can be served chunky or smooth. The pureed version also works well as a dip. Serve with a dollop of guacamole, a squeeze of lime juice, a sprinkle of shredded cheese, and crushed chips.
This Moroccan-inspired stew features butternut squash, red peppers, and dates. Filled with spices — cinnamon, coriander, ginger, cumin, cayenne pepper, and Ras el hanout (a slightly sweet, floral spice blend) — it’s aromatic and deeply flavorful. This recipe requires a bit more time and attention, but the final product is well worth the effort!
Simple but Perfect Vegetable Soup
This soup is loaded with wholesome ingredients — leeks, carrots, celery, potatoes, diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, lentils, kale, herbs, and spices. Though delicious as is, the soup can easily be adapted to use up whatever ingredients you have on hand. Sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese and serve with a side of crusty bread. It’s the perfect meal for a crisp, fall day!
Instant Pot Pumpkin Lasagna Soup
Pumpkin lasagna in soup form — so good! Even better, it’s made in the Instant Pot. I added mushrooms for a bit more texture and umami flavor. I also added red lentils to up the protein, fiber, and heartiness of the soup. Don’t skip the tofu ricotta! It’s the perfect finishing touch that adds a beautiful dimension of creaminess and robust flavors.
Sides
Roasted parsnips are by far one of my favorite fall vegetables. They’re great on their own, or they can be roasted and served with other root vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets. This recipe is simple, yet incredibly delicious! Drizzle on a little honey for a touch of sweetness.
This recipe is probably the easiest way to cook beets. Simply rinse and scrub (no peeling required), wrap in foil, and slow-roast in the oven for about an hour. The skin of beets holds moisture in while cooking, leaving them juicy and tender. Peel the skin off after baking or leave it on for a little added texture — though you’ll hardly notice it as the skin softens during baking. The skin of fruits and veggies is a good source of fiber and nutrients, so if you want an extra boost of nutrients, eat the whole beet (skin and all).
Perfect Roasted Beets (sliced)
This no-foil recipe is also very simple. After a quick rinse and scrub, the beets are sliced, drizzled with oil, and sprinkled with salt. Then put them in the oven and roast for 35-40 minutes until fork-tender. Eat them straight off the pan, make a roasted beet salad, or serve as part of a grain bowl. The options are endless!
A turnip is somewhat of a cross between a potato and a radish. When eaten raw, it has a sweet, slightly peppery flavor. Like other root veggies, turnips shine when they’re roasted. They become sweeter, creamier, and nuttier. Using a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of herbs and spices, this recipe yields perfectly roasted turnips that can be served with any of your favorite comfort foods.
Another delicious way to enjoy cabbage. A quick sauté leaves the chopped cabbage leaves silky smooth and buttery sweet (though I skip the butter in this recipe and use a bit more olive oil — better for heart health). This recipe is very versatile! Serve it as a side dish, throw it in red pasta sauce, or add it to your favorite curry. Delish!
Roasted Chicory with Pistachios and Pomegranates
I can’t vouch for this recipe yet, but I plan to make it this month as October is peak season for chicory. This will be my first experience with chicory (I think). The flavor profile is described as earthy, nutty, with notes of coffee. Seeing that I love coffee, I’m sure I’ll love the taste of chicory. I picked this recipe because it’s simple and includes some of my favorites — pistachios, pomegranates, and balsamic vinegar.
