Slimming Foods for Fall

Fall can be time for festivals, pumpkin patches, get togethers, football games and many more events where food plays a huge role in the activities of the day.  If you are like most people you want to watch what you eat during the fall season, as you know that the holidays are just around the corner : which means more overeating!

But, even though fall is synonymous with fattening foods there are some fall food items that can actually help you to slim down.

One of these foods is the apple.  Apples are low in calories and high in fiber (95 calories and 4 grams of fiber per medium fruit) and are great tasting!  In a recent study, dried apples have been found to help people lose weight and lower their cholesterol.

Another great fall slimming food is the squash (and who doesn't love squash from butternut to acorn?)  Just one cup of cooked squash packs 214 percent of the recommended daily value for vitamin A and a third of your recommended daily dose of vitamin C.  Squash are also only 80 calories per cup :compared to its more fattening fall friend the sweet potato at 180 calories per cup.

A good way to add squash to your existing soups and stews is to puree the squash, so you are adding texture and creaminess to your food, without adding all of the extra calories.

Broccoli is another great fall slimming food : a cup of broccoli is just 31 calories and 2.4 grams of fiber.  Plus experts say that when you add fresh vegetables to any food you tend to eat fewer calories so you can add broccoli to virtually any meal to decrease your caloric intake.

Lastly, there is kale.  These days dark, leafy vegetables like kale are the go-to when you are talking about healthy foods.  Kale is packed with vitamin A, loads of fiber and isothiocyanates that help your body to detoxify.