Eating seasonally, is as important as eating healthily. Eating foods grown in season, provides you with more nutrients that are beneficial to help you fight the beginning of the cold season.
These foods are in season in Autumn and are the perfect addition to your diet:
- Root vegetables: Carrots, any type of squash, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes
- Whole grains: Brown rice, wholewheat pasta, quinoa, and oats
- Legumes: Lentils, beans, chickpeas, soybeans.
- Green vegetables: Broccoli, spinach, kale, and artichokes
- Fruit: Apples, pomegranates, citrus fruits, and pears
We have selected our favourite comfort meals, full of seasonal veg. These are also gluten free, dairy free and vegan to cater for those dietary needs. The alternatives are not necessary if you don’t have any dietary requirements, non-dairy options can be substituted for dairy options and extras can be added.
Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
- 1 medium onion
- small butternut squash
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/4 cup cashews( soaked)
- 500g gluten free pasta (uncooked)
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cut the squash down the middle length ways and place flesh down in and oven dish filled 1/3 of the way with water.
- Cook the squash in the oven for 30 minutes
- Whilst the squash is cooking, soak the cashews
- When the squash is cooked, take out of the water bath and scoop out the flesh.
- Finely chop and fry the onion and boil the pasta
- Place all the ingredients except for the pasta in a blender or food processor and blend into a creamy sauce.
- Drain the pasta and add back to the pan with half the sauce and stir
- Season to taste.
- The remaining sauce can be stored in the fridge and can be used as a soup within the week.
Lentil Mushroom Stew
- 500g green lentils
- 1 tin chopped tomato
- 1 punnet of closed cup mushrooms
- 1 brown onion
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- smoky paprika, Worcestershire sauce and mustard
- Heat oil in an saucepan on a medium high heat.
- Finely chop the onion and quarter the mushrooms.
- Add the onions into the pan and fry till lightly golden brown.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2-3 mins.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and the smoky paprika and Worcestershire sauce and stir.
- Add the lentils to the pan and stir. Then add the stock to 750ml of water and add to the pan.
- Cover and cook on a low heat for 50-60 mins, checking every 20 mins.
- Serve with mash or a grain of your choosing.
Carrot and Ginger Soup
- 500g carrots
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 medium onion
- Roughly chop the onion and grate the ginger. Fry on a medium low heat for 5 mins.
- Chop the carrots and sweet potato and boil for 30 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk and onion ginger mixture to the boiled veg and blend.
- Season to taste and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Macaroni Cheese
- 675g gluten free pasta
- 525ml non- dairy milk
- 180g vegan cheese
- 6 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 tsp mustard, salt, pepper, garlic granules and onion powder
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
- In a large saucepan, add pasta to salted boiling water. Cook as per packet instructions.
- Drain the pasta and don’t rinse (the starch will thicken the sauce).
- Add the pasta back to the pan and reduce the heat to medium low
- Add the remaining ingredients( save a handful of cheese for the top) and stir until fully combined and sauce has thickened.
- Add the pasta to an oven dish, top with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs( optional).
- Bake for 10-15 minutes till the top is golden brown.
We hope you enjoy these recipes. If you do try any of them, we’d love to see your creations. Post them on social media and tag St. George’s Nursery Schools. We can’t wait to see them!
