Fall is my favorite season, and a time to eat warming dishes on cool evenings. But it's not an excuse to load up on fat-filled favorites. Experiment with herbs and spices and make good use of fall produce, then you can enjoy healthy but satisfying low fat meals.
1. Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
Fiona Haynes
This is a lovely sweet, yet not too sweet, soup with a hint of mild spice. Butternut squash and pears make a wonderful combination, and both flavors are evident in this warming fall soup.
2. Stuffed Acorn Squash
Fiona Haynes
Enjoy a hearty stuffed acorn squash for a great vegetarian fall dinner. It's not only low in fat, but also high in fiber and full of important vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A and C, and potassium.
3. Chicken With Apples
This low fat sautéed Chicken with Apples dish is a fall favorite. The sauce is made by simmering apple cider vinegar with apple cider, which lends a sweet yet tart flavor to the peppery chicken. Enjoy with skinny mashed potatoes or noodles.
4. Pumpkin Pancakes
Fiona Haynes
Getting out of bed on increasingly dark and dreary mornings is getting harder, but the prospect of eating some delicious pumpkin pancakes helps speed up the process. If you don't have time to make them in the week, there's always the weekend. Enjoy these low-fat pumpkin pancakes with some warm maple syrup and a sprinkling of confectioner's sugar.
5. Pork Chops with Cabbage and Apples
Fiona Haynes
Lean and succulent pork chops with cabbage and apples, simmered in apple cider and cider vinegar, making a flavorful fall supper.
6. Roasted Butternut Squash
Fiona Haynes
This is a naturally low fat fall side dish that would make a great accompaniment to a Thanksgiving dinner. Sometimes squash are hard to cut, but you can make this task easier by piercing it with a fork, then popping it in the microwave for 60 seconds before cutting into it.
7. Crockpot Chicken and Chickpea Stew
Fiona Haynes
Enjoy this mildly spiced, slightly sweet chicken and chickpea stew with some whole-wheat couscous for a Middle Eastern-inspired supper, or with some whole-grain rice or noodles.
8. Cream of Pumpkin Soup
Fiona Haynes
Fall is the perfect time to bring out the stockpot and make warming soups. This low fat cream of pumpkin soup is perfect on a cold fall day, or as an appetizer for a Thanksgiving dinner. A spoonful of plain low fat yogurt can be swirled in just before serving.
9. Poached Pears
Fiona Haynes
Whole poached pears are a simple yet elegant dessert to serve guests at a dinner party or for a special family occasion. After a filling main course, poached pears are light yet toothsome and satisfying. You can choose any number of poaching liquids from wine to juices infused with spices. Be sure to leave the stem attached for the full visual effect.
10. Baked Apples
A perfect low fat fall and winter dessert, using tart apples, dried cranberries or raisins and chopped heart-healthy walnuts.
