These hearty fall recipes make for a delicious autumn snack or Thanksgiving dish. Each recipe is easy to prepare and packed with fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals—essential nutrients that boost the immune system, improve heart health, and reduce your risk for chronic disease. Enjoy!

These recipes are from Mount Sinai’s 2022 Calm & Fit Wellness Cookbook.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

2 medium butternut squash
Squash seeds
6 medium carrots
1 medium onion
4 cups water, divided
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon smoked or regular paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the butternut squash in half. Scoop out the seeds, but save them. Place the squash halves face-down on a baking sheet covered in foil and oiled. Sprinkle the squash seeds on the baking sheet to roast as a garnish for the soup. Set aside.

Peel and chop the carrots into thirds. Chop the onions into a few pieces. Place the carrot and onion pieces alongside the squash on the baking sheet. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove the squash seeds, carrots and onion after about 30 minutes. Set the seeds aside separately, and set aside the carrots and onions. Continue baking the squash for another 30 minutes until the squash is soft enough to scoop from the skin.

Place the squash into a bowl and mash. Discard the shell.

Add half the butternut mash and half of the carrots and onions into a blender and blend on high. Add two cups of water and the pepper, paprika, garlic powder and cumin. Blend until smooth. Pour into a soup pot. Repeat the blending process with the remaining squash, carrots, onion and 2 cups of water. Add to the soup pot, combine blended portions. Stir and heat up before serving. Top with roasted squash seeds for crunch and flavor.

Entire Recipe:

330 calories
Carbohydrates: 40 g
Fat: 8.6 g
Protein: 4.6 g

“Butternut squash to me just screams fall, so I am always trying to find the best version of this beloved soup so I can serve it during Thanksgiving. The flavors are a real crowd pleaser, and the roasted seeds make it a party.”
-Wendy, Mount Sinai Health System, Volunteer

High-Fiber Super Slaw

Ingredients

1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup craisins
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of celery seeds
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
3 cups Brussels sprouts, shredded”
1/2 cup red onion, shredded
1/2 cup carrot, shredded
1/2 cup pecans, roasted and chopped

Preparation
Place the raisins and craisins in a mixing bowl and cover with hot water. Soak for 10 minutes to soften. Drain the water and add the yogurt, parsley, cilantro, celery seeds, white vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until combined. Fold in the blue cheese, Brussels sprouts, onion and carrot. Cover and refrigerate for one hour to incorporate all the flavors. Stir, place in serving bowl, topped with the pecans.

Serves 10
Nutritional Information per Serving
Approximately 102 calories
Carbohydrates: 10 g
Fat: 5 g
Protein: 1 g
Fiber: 3 g

“Brussels sprouts are a quintessential fall vegetable enhanced by the other popular autumn flavors in this recipe. This super slaw evokes memories from my childhood when 50 or more members of my family gathered at Thanksgiving. My Uncle Frank would serve each and every family member one boiled Brussels sprout and told us we had to eat it to make Thanksgiving official. We did, and some of us enjoyed it more than others. As the years passed, updated recipes with these cruciferous vegetable made it more palatable, but even when Brussels sprouts are as delicious as they are in this dish, just eating them evokes the memories from my youth, and I’m happy to share this family tradition and hope you enjoy it.”
-David, Director Food and Nutrition, Mount Sinai Beth Israel

Low Calorie Sweet ’ n’ Tangy Apples

Ingredients

1 crisp red apple, such as Fiji
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 lemon, juice

Preparation

Wash and peel the apple. Cut into slices or cubes based on your preference. Squeeze lemon and sprinkle the cinnamon to flavor the apple. Mix and enjoy.

Serves 1
Nutritional Information per Serving
Approximately 113 calories
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Protein: .6 g
Fat: .4 g

“I’m always looking for creative healthy snacks. I like adding the lemon because it gives the apples a slight tang, and the cinnamon makes this healthy snack even more delicious. It’s my go-to snack on family movie nights with my partner and stepdaughter.”
-Carla, Mount Sinai Doctors-Astoria, Director of Practice Operations, Mount Sinai Queens

These recipes from faculty, staff, and students across the Mount Sinai Health System celebrate the value of healthy eating and how cooking offers an opportunity to create community by bringing people together.