10 best fresh fruits and vegetables for fall

There should be a love song about fall foods. After all, sinking your teeth into the colourful, fresh fruits and vegetables of the season can be so satisfying. Plus, you indulge your taste buds and body because fall's fruits and vegetables are hearty and nutritious.

What's more, eating seasonal foods is affordable, flavourful and kind to the earth when you buy locally. Now, that's something to sing about!

Here are the best of the season's fresh fruits and vegetables to fall in love with this fall.

1. Apples
There's good reason to have an apple a day. They're full of fibre, which keeps your bowel working well and your cholesterol in check, and rich in vitamin C; an immune system-boosting antioxidant that helps heal wounds and repair tissue, and provides anti-cancer and anti-aging benefits.

2. Beets
With its bright colour, beets are root vegetables that perk up fall meals. The colour comes from a pigment called betacyanin and it may help fight cancer, as noted by author George Mateljan in his book, The World's Healthiest Foods (G M F Pub, 2007).

Beets are high in vitamin C, folate and natural sugar, hence their sweet taste. The dietitians at EatRight Ontario explain that folate helps lower the risk of birth defects in babies and may also help prevent heart disease. You can eat both the root and greens of beets.

3. Bok choy
Bok choy is one of many Asian vegetables that abound in the fall (others include napa cabbage and Chinese broccoli). According to the dietitians at EatRight Ontario, all Asian greens are terrific sources of vitamin C and potassium; a mineral that's essential for blood pressure control and proper functioning of your muscles and nerves.

Bok choy also supplies vitamin A, which is essential for healthy skin and eyes, protects your body from free radical damage (as an antioxidant) and supports your immune system.

Click to continue for 4 more super fall fruits and veggies...

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