How to Eat More Veggies During Winter

Eating fruits and vegetables during summertime is easy, since so much produce is at it’s peak. You can grab fresh fruit for a snack, make a simple salad for lunch, and add corn on the cob to almost any dinner.

During winter, it’s a little trickier. But with some inspiration and experimenting, you can easily work more winter produce into your diet. And come next fall, you may actually look forward to all the winter veggies that are to come.

Below are some of my favorite ways to enjoy winter  produce.

Roasted squash or root veggies: Cube, slice, or halve squashes and roast them (at about 425 degrees) with a little olive oil and salt. These can accompany any main dish, serve as the base for a pureed soup, or be added to salads (like the kale salad with delicata squash pictured below).

 

 

Cook with unusual winter greens: Kale, Swiss chard, frisee (pictured below), cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, radicchio (the purple veggie below), etc. are all unique and delicious options. If you like strong-flavored greens, make salads out of all these guys (just let them “marinate” in the dressing a bit longer than you would lettuce). If you don’t, add them to soups, pasta, pizza, lasagna, stir-fry, or omelets.

At our house we love salads made of chopped greens, chopped apple and sunflower seeds or nuts with a lemon or orange vinaigrette. Even our smallest family member loves them.

Make Veggie Dips: You can also blend any strong-flavored green, or leafy fresh herb, with a little Greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, salt, and a green onion or clove of garlic to make a flavorful veggie dip or creamy salad dressing.

Carrots and celery make great dipping veggies year-round, so these are an easy vehicle for whatever dips you make.

What are your own favorite ways to incorporate winter produce into your diet? Please share!