Foods to Prioritize in September: What’s in Season + How to Eat More of It
September might be one of my favourite months when it comes to food.
There is something about this time of year that feels like the best of both worlds.
We're not quite finished with summer. There are still beautiful tomatoes, peppers, peaches, berries and corn available. But at the same time, we're starting to see apples, pears, squash, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts and all of those cozy foods that make you want to turn the oven back on.
And from a nutrition perspective?
There is so much goodness available right now.
As a Nutritionist, I'm a huge believer that healthy eating doesn't need to mean searching for obscure superfoods or spending a fortune at the grocery store.
Sometimes some of the most nutritious foods we can eat are sitting at a local farm stand, growing in our backyard, or piled high at the grocery store because they're currently in season.
So as we head into a brand-new month, I thought it would be fun to share some of the foods I'm personally prioritizing this September, why they're so nutritious, and most importantly, how you can actually use them.
Because knowing that broccoli is healthy is one thing.
Knowing what to do with the broccoli when you're standing in your kitchen at 5:30 p.m. with hungry kids is much more useful.
Why Eat Seasonally?
Before we get into the foods, I want to clarify something.
You absolutely do not need to eat exclusively seasonal foods to be healthy.
Frozen berries in January are still nutritious.
Frozen broccoli is fantastic.
Canned tomatoes are something I use regularly.
This isn't another food rule.
Think of seasonal eating as an opportunity rather than a restriction.
When foods are abundant locally, they're often easier to find, incredibly flavourful and can be more affordable. It also gives us a natural way to introduce variety into our diets throughout the year.
And variety matters.
Different plant foods provide different combinations of vitamins, minerals, fibre and beneficial plant compounds.
Instead of eating the same five fruits and vegetables 365 days a year, changing things up with the seasons naturally encourages more diversity.
September makes that incredibly easy.
1. Apples
September and apples just belong together.
Apples provide fibre, vitamin C and a variety of plant compounds, and they're one of the easiest foods to keep around when life gets busy.
One thing I love about apples is their versatility.
They can be sweet.
They can be savoury.
They can be breakfast.
They can be a snack.
They can even go into dinner.
Try apples:
Sliced with natural peanut or almond butter
Chopped into Greek yogurt with cinnamon, walnuts and chia seeds
Added to overnight oats
Baked with cinnamon for a simple dessert
Chopped into a fall salad with greens, goat cheese, pumpkin seeds and chicken
Added to oatmeal with hemp hearts and cinnamon
Paired with cheese for an easy afternoon snack
Nutritionist tip:
Instead of eating an apple by itself when you need something to hold you over for several hours, pair it with protein or healthy fat.
Think:
Apple + peanut butter
Apple + Greek yogurt
Apple + cheese + a few nuts
You're turning a piece of fruit into a much more satisfying snack.
2. Pears
Pears don't get nearly enough attention.
They're naturally sweet, juicy and a great source of fibre.
And if you're trying to support healthy digestion, adding a wider variety of fibre-rich plant foods is one of the simplest places to start.
Try pears:
Slice them into oatmeal.
Add them to Greek yogurt.
Pair them with walnuts and cheese.
Add thinly sliced pear to a spinach salad with chicken, goat cheese and pumpkin seeds.
Or cut one in half, sprinkle it with cinnamon and bake it until soft.
So simple.
So good.
3. Tomatoes
If you have a garden, you might currently be wondering what on earth you're going to do with all your tomatoes.
This is the time to use them.
Tomatoes provide vitamin C, potassium and lycopene, a carotenoid antioxidant that has been studied extensively for its potential role in cardiovascular health and protection against oxidative stress.
And here's an interesting nutrition tip:
Cooking tomatoes actually increases the bioavailability of lycopene.
So fresh tomatoes are fantastic, but tomato sauce, roasted tomatoes and cooked tomatoes absolutely count too.
My favourite September tomato ideas:
Homemade roasted tomato sauce
Tomato bruschetta
Tomato + cucumber + feta salad
Caprese salad
Tomatoes scrambled into eggs
Sheet-pan roasted tomatoes
Fresh salsa
Tomato soup
Pasta sauce
Tomatoes added to wraps and sandwiches
Easy meal:
Roast tomatoes, garlic and onion with olive oil.
Blend.
Add herbs.
You've got an incredibly simple homemade tomato sauce that you can use for pasta, meatballs, chicken, pizza or freeze for later.
And suddenly that overflowing basket of garden tomatoes isn't a problem anymore.
It's dinner for October.
4. Bell Peppers
Red, yellow, orange and green peppers are another September favourite.
They're particularly rich in vitamin C, with red peppers providing an impressive amount.
Vitamin C plays roles in immune function, collagen production and iron absorption, among many other processes.
And peppers are one of those vegetables that are incredibly easy to sneak into meals without dramatically changing what you're already cooking.
Chop peppers into:
Eggs
Stir-fries
Pasta sauce
Chili
Fajitas
Sheet-pan dinners
Salads
Wraps
Grain bowls
Or simply slice them and serve with hummus.
Meal prep trick:
As soon as you get home from the grocery store, wash and slice two or three peppers.
Put them into a clear container at eye level in your fridge.
You're much more likely to eat vegetables that are ready to eat.
5. Broccoli
Broccoli is one of those foods I would happily encourage most people to eat more often.
It provides fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate and a variety of beneficial plant compounds.
It's also part of the cruciferous vegetable family, along with foods like cauliflower, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts.
These vegetables contain compounds called glucosinolates, which are broken down into biologically active compounds that continue to be studied for their potential health-protective properties.
But you don't need to know the biochemistry to benefit from them.
You just need to eat them.
Make broccoli easier:
Roast it.
Seriously.
If your experience with broccoli is boiled broccoli that tastes like sadness, please give roasting a chance.
Toss broccoli florets with:
Olive oil + garlic + pepper.
Roast until the edges get crispy.
Finish with lemon.
Completely different experience.
Add broccoli to:
Stir-fries
Pasta
Egg bakes
Soups
Sheet-pan dinners
Grain bowls
Chicken casseroles
6. Cauliflower
Cauliflower is another cruciferous vegetable worth putting into your September rotation.
It provides fibre, vitamin C, folate and several beneficial plant compounds.
And no, you don't need to turn cauliflower into pizza crust.
You can just eat cauliflower.
Try it:
Roasted with olive oil and spices.
Mashed with potatoes.
Added to curry.
Blended into soup.
Added to a sheet-pan meal.
Served raw with hummus.
One of my favourite approaches is roasting cauliflower alongside chickpeas and adding everything to a grain bowl with greens, quinoa, tahini and chicken.
That's the kind of meal that feels nourishing without being complicated.
7. Brussels Sprouts
September marks the beginning of Brussels sprout season, and if you haven't tried them since childhood, I'm asking you to give them another chance.
Preparation matters tremendously.
Boiled Brussels sprouts?
Not exactly exciting.
Crispy roasted Brussels sprouts? Completely different food.
They're another member of the cruciferous family and provide fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K and beneficial plant compounds.
Try this:
Cut Brussels sprouts in half.
Toss with olive oil, garlic and pepper.
Roast until crispy.
Then add a little balsamic vinegar.
So good.
They pair beautifully with:
Chicken
Salmon
Pork
Quinoa
Roasted potatoes
Squash
Apples
Walnuts
8. Winter Squash
This is when I start getting excited about fall cooking.
Butternut.
Acorn.
Spaghetti squash.
Delicata.
There are so many options.
Orange-fleshed squash provides carotenoids, including beta-carotene, which our bodies can convert into vitamin A.
Vitamin A is important for things like immune function, vision and skin health.
Squash also provides fibre and carbohydrates, making it a wonderful addition to balanced meals.
And this is important:
Carbohydrates aren't something we need to fear.
Especially when we're talking about whole-food carbohydrate sources that also provide fibre, vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds.
Try squash:
Roasted as a side dish
Added to salads
Blended into soup
Added to chili
Mixed into pasta
Stuffed with ground turkey and vegetables
Added to grain bowls
Served alongside chicken or salmon
Easy fall bowl:
Start with greens.
Add quinoa.
Add roasted butternut squash.
Add chicken.
Add pumpkin seeds.
Add goat cheese.
Finish with a simple balsamic vinaigrette.
That's a beautiful balanced meal.
9. Pumpkin
Pumpkin isn't just for pumpkin spice lattes.
Actual pumpkin is incredibly nutritious.
Like other orange vegetables, it's rich in carotenoids and provides fibre, potassium and other micronutrients.
And canned pumpkin is one of my favourite kitchen shortcuts.
Just make sure you're buying pure pumpkin, rather than pumpkin pie filling with added sugar and spices.
Add pumpkin to:
Oatmeal
Overnight oats
Smoothies
Pancakes
Muffins
Chili
Soup
Pasta sauce
Greek yogurt
Easy September breakfast:
Oats + pumpkin + cinnamon + chia + Greek yogurt + walnuts.
You get protein, fibre, healthy fats and carbohydrates in one simple breakfast.
10. Beets
Beets are another vegetable that deserves more attention.
They're rich in folate, fibre and naturally occurring nitrates.
Dietary nitrates can be converted by the body into nitric oxide, which plays a role in blood vessel function and circulation.
If you've never cooked beets because they seem intimidating, buy them already cooked.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with convenience.
Add beets to:
Salads
Grain bowls
Smoothies
Roasted vegetable dishes
One of my favourite combinations:
Beets + arugula + goat cheese + walnuts + chicken + balsamic.
Simple and delicious.
11. Carrots
Carrots are inexpensive, easy to find and incredibly versatile.
They're particularly well known for beta-carotene, which gives orange carrots their colour.
They're also a great example of why healthy eating doesn't need to involve expensive "superfoods."
Sometimes the humble bag of carrots sitting in your fridge is exactly what you need.
Try carrots:
Raw with hummus
Roasted with herbs
Added to soup
Added to chili
Shredded into salads
Added to muffins or oatmeal
Roasted alongside chicken and potatoes
Meal prep tip:
Wash and chop a container of carrots at the beginning of the week.
Convenience matters.
If the healthy option takes 30 seconds and the less nourishing option takes 5 seconds, guess which one you're going to choose when you're starving?
Make nutritious foods easier to grab.
12. Peaches, Plums and Raspberries
Don't say goodbye to summer quite yet.
September can still give us beautiful late-season peaches, plums and raspberries.
These fruits provide vitamin C, fibre and a variety of colourful plant compounds.
This is also a great reminder that fruit is not something we need to be afraid of because it contains sugar.
Whole fruit comes packaged with water, fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.
Use late-summer fruit in:
Greek yogurt bowls
Oatmeal
Smoothies
Salads
Chia pudding
Cottage cheese bowls
Or simply eat it.
Fruit doesn't always need to become a recipe.
13. Grapes
September is also a wonderful month for Ontario grapes.
Grapes provide vitamin K, copper and numerous polyphenols, including compounds that have been studied for their antioxidant and cardiovascular effects.
They're also one of the easiest grab-and-go foods.
My tip:
Wash your grapes as soon as you bring them home.
Again, remove the friction.
Keep them somewhere visible in the fridge.
Pair a handful with Greek yogurt, cheese or nuts for a more substantial snack.
You can also freeze grapes.
If you've never eaten frozen grapes, try it before summer disappears.
They are such a simple treat.
14. Corn
Fresh Ontario corn is still around in September, so enjoy it while you can.
Corn sometimes gets unfairly labelled as a food we "shouldn't" eat because it's a starchy vegetable.
I don't subscribe to that thinking.
Corn provides carbohydrates, fibre, B vitamins and carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin.
Try corn:
Straight off the cob
Added to salads
Mixed into salsa
Added to chili
Added to taco bowls
Tossed into soups
Added to quinoa bowls
A taco bowl with:
Ground turkey or beef + black beans + corn + tomatoes + peppers + avocado + greens + salsa
is a fantastic family dinner.
A Simple September Grocery Cart:
If you feel overwhelmed reading a long list like this, please don't leave the grocery store with 14 different fruits and vegetables.
That's not the point.
Try choosing:
2 fruits
Apples + pears.
3 vegetables
Broccoli + peppers + tomatoes.
1 leafy green
Spinach or kale.
1 fall vegetable
Butternut squash.
That's seven different plant foods without making your grocery shop complicated.
Next week?
Switch a few.
Maybe grapes, raspberries, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and beets.
Over the course of the month, you've suddenly created a tremendous amount of variety.
My September Meal Formula:
If you want to make all of this really practical, here's one of the easiest ways to build your meals.
Think:
PROTEIN + PRODUCE + FIBRE-RICH CARBOHYDRATE + HEALTHY FAT
For example:
Breakfast
Greek yogurt + apples + oats + chia + walnuts
Lunch
Chicken + spinach + pear + quinoa + pumpkin seeds + goat cheese
Dinner
Salmon + roasted Brussels sprouts + squash + potatoes + olive oil
Snack
Apple + natural peanut butter
It doesn't have to be complicated.
Try a "September Power Hour"…
If Sundays are your prep day, spend just 45–60 minutes preparing some of your September produce.
You could:
Wash apples and grapes.
Slice peppers.
Chop carrots.
Roast broccoli.
Roast a tray of butternut squash.
Cook quinoa.
Prepare overnight oats with pumpkin.
Make a simple vinaigrette.
Now imagine opening your fridge Monday afternoon.
Instead of seeing a pile of ingredients that still require work, you see food that's ready to become meals.
That is one of the biggest secrets to eating well consistently.
Don't rely on motivation when you're hungry.
Prepare for hunger before it happens.
Don't Forget the Freezer!!!
September is also a fantastic month to preserve some of the abundance we're seeing right now.
You don't need to become someone who spends an entire weekend canning 47 jars of tomatoes.
Keep it simple.
Freeze homemade tomato sauce.
Freeze chopped peppers for chili and soups.
Freeze berries.
Freeze peaches for smoothies.
Make butternut squash soup and freeze individual portions.
Freeze pumpkin muffins.
Future-you in November will be very happy.
My September Challenge for You:
Instead of starting September with another restrictive diet or a long list of foods you're going to eliminate, I'd love you to try something completely different.
Focus on what you can ADD.
Can you eat one additional vegetable today?
Can you try a vegetable you've never cooked before?
Can you visit a local farm stand?
Can you make homemade tomato sauce?
Can you put apples into your morning oats?
Can you roast squash for dinner?
Can you add berries to your yogurt?
Health doesn't always need to begin with restriction.
Sometimes it begins with abundance.
More colour.
More fibre.
More plants.
More nutrients.
More variety.
More home-cooked meals.
And September gives us an incredible opportunity to do exactly that.
There is something really grounding about allowing our food to change with the seasons.
Summer isn't quite gone.
Fall isn't quite here.
And for a few weeks, we get the best of both.
So take advantage of it.
Fill your grocery cart with colour.
Try something new.
Cook something cozy.
Freeze some of summer for later.
And allow September to be less about "getting back on track" and more about simply getting back to nourishing yourself well.
That's a September reset I can get behind.
Looking for More Simple, Realistic Nutrition Support?
If you're reading this thinking, "I know I should be eating better, but I don't know what that actually looks like for me," that's exactly where personalized nutrition can help.
Inside Elevate Your Health, I work one-on-one with women to look at the whole picture: what you're eating, your symptoms, energy, sleep, stress, digestion, movement, routines and the realities of your actual life.
From there, we build a personalized nutrition and lifestyle plan that feels practical enough to follow when September gets busy.
Because eating well shouldn't require you to put your entire life on hold.
It should help you have the energy and health to enjoy it.