We all know we are supposed to eat our greens because they are so healthy for us. Greens are delicious but at this time of year, orange is the color popping up everywhere. We see orange in the changing leaves on the trees, in the decorations that let us know Halloween and Thanksgiving are approaching and in the beautiful bounty of produce that is in season.
Of course oranges are orange, as are pumpkins, but there are so many more! Orange fruits include tangerines, nectarines, apricots, cantaloupe, mangos, papayas, and peaches. Orange vegetables include butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes.
Besides being happy looking and delicious, orange foods have lots of antioxidants including beta-cryptoxanthin and beta-carotene that converts to vitamin A in our bodies. They benefit our eye and skin health, maintain respiratory health, help arthritis, and lower the risk of certain cancers. These antioxidants also boost our immune systems to prevent infections. To learn more about why colorful foods are important to our health, see Eat the Colors of the Rainbow With These Clean-Eating Recipes and Why Orange and Yellow Fruits and Vegetables Pack a Nutritional Punch!
So by all means, eat your greens but enjoy the beautiful and healthy cornucopia of orange foods with these healthy and delicious recipes.
1. Carrot Dogs
Get everyone to eat their veggies in a way that feels totally indulgent. These Carrot Dogs look just like hot dogs, and they taste just like hot dogs, especially when served on a bun with all the usual toppings. It’s a great idea to enjoy a hot dog without soy, gluten or any questionable ingredients. Just carrots.
2. Cream of Pumpkin and Apple Soup
There is nothing like a big bowl of warm soup when the weather gets colder, and a good one to start with is this Creamy of Pumpkin and Apple Soup! It’s slightly sweet from the squash and apple, a little spicy from the ginger, and creamy from the oat or coconut milk. It’s the fall soup of your dreams!
3. Cheesy Sweet Potato Tots
Super easy, kid friendly and delicious, these Cheesy Sweet Potato Tots are a great snack or side dish. They taste sweet, cheesy, and “unhealthy,” but are simply a combination of sweet potato, nutritional yeast, and spices, so everyone is happy. The kids get the yummy taste and you know you’re feeding them right.
4. Buckwheat Scones With Spiced Butternut Squash Butter
Butternut Squash Butter is like apple butter’s quirky cousin with a whole lot of personality and good looks. It pairs beautifully with these mini gluten-free buckwheat scones. Eat them while wearing your warmest, coziest sweater and sipping on a mug of your favorite tea. It’s like an autumn fantasy come true.
5. Curried Carrot and Parsnip Soup
This flavorful Curried Carrot and Parsnip Soup is a great way to give new life to any leftover roasted veggies you might have. It’s creamy with a little heat from the curry powder and makes a terrific meal alongside some crusty bread and a simply dressed green salad. Perfect for a chilly autumn day!
6. Double Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
There are four good reasons you should make this Double Chocolate Orange Cheesecake: raw brownie base, velvety chocolate cheesecake, perfectly sweet, and refreshingly creamy orange cheesecake, and a very generous helping of chocolate orange sauce. Oh, and it’s also easy to make so we guess that’s five good reasons!
7. Sweet Potato Cinnamon Muffins
You will be amazed that both these Sweet Potato Cinnamon Muffins and the caramel sauce, total, are just eight ingredients. These are pillowy soft and have a wonderful cinnamon flavor that is complimented by the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes and coconut sugar. They are then draped with an out-of-this-world sweet potato caramel glaze that makes them more unique and delicious than any muffin you have had before.
8. Roasted Butternut Squash, Millet, and Lentil Burritos
Eating one of these Roasted Butternut Squash, Millet and Lentil Burritos is like getting a big warm hug from the inside out. A filling of roasted butternut squash, lentils, and millet create the heartiest, yummiest, most autumn-y burrito you’ve ever tasted!
9. Pumpkin Pasta With Tomatoes and Basil
This colorful Pumpkin Pasta is ready in less than half an hour, so it’s great for quick weeknight dinners! Creamy pumpkin combines with tomato and basil to make a bridge between summer and fall flavors. To give the pasta an extra boost of iron and to stick with the pumpkin theme, it’s topped off with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds!
10. Seitan Tagine With Apricots and Dates
Tagine is a traditional Moroccan meat stew that’s cooked in a “tagine,” a type of cooking vessel from which the dish takes its name. This plant-based Seitan Tagine with Apricots and Dates has saffron for flavor and brightness and is a hearty and flavorful dish that’s perfect for entertaining!
11. Yam Enchiladas
These Yam Enchiladas are delicious, and if you like Latin American food, you’ll love these! These enchiladas are quite simple to make; you can even make the filling ahead of time, as well as the sauce. So when dinner comes around all you have to do is warm the tortillas, stuff and roll them and slather them in sauce. In the oven and voila! Dinner is served.
12. Coconut-Mango Stew With Homemade Naan Bread
What could be more comforting than dunking slices of homemade naan bread into a bowl of warm Coconut-Mango Stew? Not much, that’s for sure. Mango and coconut give this stew a tropical twist while quinoa and lentils add protein and heartiness. Oh and by the way, the naan bread is totally gluten-free!
13. Wild Rice Salad With Orange, Sweet Potato, Cherries and Pecans
If you’re getting tired of plain old greens, spice up your salad life with this Wild Rice Salad. It’s a tasty combination of wild rice, sweet potato, orange, cherries, and pecans. It’s the best of fall in a bowl with all the seasonal colors and flavors!
14. Spicy Papaya Salad With Smoky Roasted Peanuts
This Spicy Papaya Salad is spicy, fresh, and aromatic with a bit of crunch from a sprinkling of sweet and smoky roasted peanuts. When you are shopping for your papayas make sure you buy nice bright green ones – in this salad we want unripe green papaya. The spicy chile is balanced by sweet maple syrup and bright mint and cilantro.
15. Cantaloupe Rose Soup With Blueberry Cream
Enjoy this melon-based dessert soup that will impress everyone. This Cantaloupe Rose Soup with Blueberry Cream is not only beautiful but delicious. The amount of additional sweetener you add will depend upon the sweetness of the melon. If you want to impress your guests, serve with frozen melon balls immersed in the soup. Rose water adds a distinctive floral flavor to this soup.
Brighten up your dishes and your table with these delicious and healthy orange foods. Orange you glad we shared these recipes? (Sorry, it had to be said).
Lead image source: Pumpkin Pasta With Tomatoes and Basil
