The feeling of fall is most certainly in the air. Suddenly, all we can think about is apple picking, Halloween, and all things pumpkin-flavored. It seems as though as soon as the temperature dips below 70, we’re hard-wired to want the comfort foods of fall. As far as healthy eating is concerned, you’re in luck this season! With only a little bit of planning, you can enjoy all the fall foods you’re craving while sticking to a healthy eating plan.
There’s nothing quite like the smell of bread baking in the oven. Now that most of us have returned to our carb-senses, bread is no longer the enemy. Our all-time favorite bread recipe is pumpkin bread. We make tend to make our breads in muffin form to keep us honest 
about portion sizes. We also just tried Cooking Light’s Pumpkin Walnut Focaccia and absolutely loved it. If you haven’t subscribed to Cooking Light yet, we definitely recommend that you should! It is a great resource for healthy, yet delicious cooking ideas. They also have seasonal issues that feature new recipes for each season. This month, Cooking Light featured fall recipes such as Creamy Tomato Balsamic Soup, Apple Crumb Croustades, Honey Roasted Root Vegetables, Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns, Potato Leek Soup, and many more tasty, yet low fat dishes. Don’t miss these great issues! Subscribe here.
But what is a delicious bread without some warm soup or chili on the side? If you’re craving a hot, healthy lunch, try our Low Fat Chili recipe. We make a big batch of it on the weekend and bring it to work all week. If you’d like a lighter soup, try the tomato basil or the homestyle turkey.
Another fall favorite of ours is the return of the crockpot. For some reason, our crockpot seems to gather dust during the summer months. Now that the weather is cooling off, however, there’s nothing we like more than to come home to the smell of food that’s spent the whole day cooking while we’ve been at work. Crockpot Beef Stew is our favorite for the fall. CD Kitchen’s Crockpot recipe website and Cooking Cache’s crockpot archive are great crockpot resources as well.
Now that you’ve eaten all the fall foods you can stand, remember that fall is the perfect season for walking. It’s no longer so hot that you’re sweaty within minutes of putting on your sneakers, but you’re not shivering either. It’s a great time to walk around your neighborhood and enjoy the changing colors and crunching leaves. And remember to enjoy this season while it lasts, because it won’t be long before you’re bundled up in your winter parka!