Fall is the season to restore and strengthen your head to toe beauty after a long, hot summer and before the arrival of a chilly winter that could put a serious burden on your immune system. But, are we really restoring and strengthening our beauty this season? Fall also happens to be the time of year when many of us tend to crave sweets (pumpkin lattes and Halloween candy, anyone?) and comfort foods (think mac & cheese and baked apple crisp), rather than good-for-you fresh veggies and fruits.
The first step to making fall food choices that will support your body and beauty is to recognize that a brand new season has begun, and changes are in store. You’re simply not going to eat the same foods and prepare them in the same way that you did in July and August. It’s time to embrace a new fall diet, using these beautifying guidelines for your breakfasts, dinners, snacks and sweets:
1. Take inspiration from the fall harvest. Build your meals around the freshest ingredients of the season, like sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squashes like butternut, acorn and delicata, and broccoli. You haven’t had access to some of these foods in months, so now that they’re abundant, take the time to savor them— and their major beauty nutrition. Fall foods are rich in skin healing vitamin A, and you don’t want to miss the radiant glow you get from eating them!
2. Get festive with flavor. Make meals that satisfy your cravings for fall flavors using real ingredients, not artificial flavorings that taste like pumpkin or apple. Open up your spice cabinet and experiment with all of the flavors packed inside jars of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cumin and cayenne. For a snack packed with real pumpkin spice flavor, and no sweeteners, try my Chia Spice Smoothie.
3. Warm up your body as the temps cool down. Cooked food is easy on your digestion and can be a welcome change after a summer of raw food. No need to ignore cravings for warm, comforting meals this season! If you’re not satisfied with a green smoothie on chilly mornings, switch to a cooked cereal like millet or gluten-free oats.
4. Follow ancient wisdom. According to Ayurvedic tradition, fall is the season to cool your body from the lingering heat of the summer. What’s one of the best foods to cool and detox your body from the inside out? Apples, which make an abundant appearance this season.
5. Treat yourself to high-quality Halloween treats. You’re not going to skip holiday candy completely, so resolve to make beautiful choices when you splurge. Buy raw, organic, dark chocolate for example, and eat small servings— not an entire bar. Make your own pumpkin treats, using better-for-you sweeteners like maple syrup and stevia, and swap them for the typical processed sweets of the season.
Jolene Hart, CHC, AADP is a Philadelphia-based writer and founder of Beauty Is Wellness, a natural beauty and health coaching practice. She teaches women to use nutrition and lifestyle choices to look and feel their best from the inside out.
