Yet another reason to love autumn - sweet vegetables! Now (October to November in New England) is the time to enjoy them in full force at your local farmer's market.
Sweet vegetables are sweet, as their moniker suggests, and including them in your diet can help fend off cravings for unhealthier refined sweets and sugar.
They are soothing to the body, while energizing to the mind. Root vegetables, a category of sweet vegetables like beets and parsnips, are grounding and help connect you to the energy from the Earth.
Experiment by adding one, two, or more of these sweet vegetables to your diet in the coming weeks!
Beets
One of the sweetest sweet root vegetables, beets come in all sorts of colors and sizes and are loaded with antioxidants that boost immunity.
Carrots
Not particularly a fall vegetable (carrots are considered seasonal here in New England in the spring), but carrots are often still a staple year round. Purple carrots roasted whole in the oven add a fun twist to "eating your vegetables" with a healthy dose of vitamin A and beta-carotene.
Corn
A more starchy vegetable, but when eaten in moderation (and in a minimally-processed form), corn is soothing to the solar plexus chakra. If you can't find good quality fresh organic corn, frozen organic is a great and easy way to avoid GMO corn.
Yams
Replace super starchy white potatoes with yams and sweet potatoes. They come in several varieties and can be prepared many different ways: in soups, roasted, mashed, in salads.
Winter Squash
A large category that includes acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and pumpkin, squashes and gourds even make for nice autumnal decoration for your countertop before cooking!
Turnips, Parsnips, and Rutabagas
Grounding root vegetables that add flavor to stews when cooked for longer periods of time.
Red Radish
Yes, I know radishes don't taste so sweet - but here's the trick: they have the same effect on the body as sweet vegetables to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, reduce sweet cravings, and help break down animal fats for digestion.