Winter might be cold and bleak, but what you cook doesn’t need to be. Plenty of vegetables thrive in the winter weather, making for a more robust plate of options to feed your family with. From soups to stews and everything in between, you don’t have to just serve potatoes and onions with every meal, though those are certainly in season and full of good healthful benefits.
Try these 7 winter vegetables out in your kitchen for more color and flavor in your meals.
- Cabbage
It’s budget-friendly and full of vitamins and minerals. Plus, it can handle the cold. Make a hearty cabbage soup or simply shave it up onto your salad raw to add more crunch.
- Brussels Sprouts
They look like tiny cabbages so it makes sense these babies are in season. Providing the benefits you get from other cruciferous vegetables, you’ll fight off free radicals for a healthier winter. Trim the ends off to get rid of the bitterness. With a little brown butter and sage, you can make this a simple and flavorful side for your holiday meals.
- Winter Squash
With a name like that, it’s no mystery that it’s in season. But what exactly is winter squash? For winter, you’ll find gourds like acorn and butternut squash are readily in season. You can also find delicata and kabocha squash. Whichever you choose, you can stuff them with fillings for a light yet filling meal, or even cut them up to add into your soups and stews for a healthy and robust meal to warm you inside out!
- Beets
Beets are incredibly earthy in flavor and while they’re a bit messy to prepare, they offer some amazing health benefits that can help fight off cancer. Get your vitamin dosage up to speed by slicing them onto salads or roasting them with carrots and mixing with lentils for a tasty meat-free main dish.
- Turnips and Rutabagas
Go ahead and admit it…you’ve walked by these guys a hundred times in your supermarket. Interestingly, while they look like potatoes, they’re considered cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. Make the most of their incredible health benefits by subbing them into an au gratin dish in lieu of potatoes. You may even prefer to make your au gratin dishes this way from now on!
- Parsnips
If you’d rather, just call these long, pale, and thin carrots. Say what you will, but they’re a fantastic source of vitamin C and low calorie too, making them a great and filling choice to help you keep from gaining excess weight in winter. Try them in soups and stews along with carrots for even more nutritious flavor.
- Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a win for delicious and nutritious veggies. Rich with beta-carotene and other vitamins and antioxidants, they’re the perfect filling winter veggie you need. Even simply baking them add sprinkling with cinnamon makes for a sweet yet healthy treat. There’s so much you can do with them too and they keep well, making them an ideal winter veggie.
Now that you know what veggies are fresh, what are you going to make with this winter harvest?