With the weather turning, stay on top of your nutrition game with fruits and vegetables that are in season this fall and winter. The top fruits and veggies for November are a nutrition powerhouse—providing the vitamins and minerals you need to fuel your workouts and aid in recovery, and the hearty, filling goodness to keep your appetite in check so your winter coat doesn’t get too thick.
Pair an apple with some peanut butter, and you have the ultimate pre-workout snack for cardio days. Apples contain quercetin, which is a flavonoid that’s responsible for increasing oxygen to the lungs.
2 of 7
Claudia Totir / Getty
Endives
This green, leafy vegetable packs a punch of nutrition—vitamin A, folate, thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and manganese. For fitness-promoting purposes, manganese helps control blood sugar levels and helps break down carbohydrates. Endives are loaded with flavor, adding more zest to a basic salad.
3 of 7
Westend61 / Getty
Jerusalem Artichokes
Artichokes can be boiled, mashed, roasted, or sautéed and make a great addition to salads, slaws, stews or soup. Made up of soluble and insoluble fiber, artichokes can help reduce stomach distress and can prevent muscle cramps (one artichoke has 429 milligrams of potassium).
4 of 7
Westend61 / Getty
Mushrooms
They’re a nutrition powerhouse, giving a basic meal an added boost. Mushrooms are low in calories and are a great source of fiber and protein—feeding the body with an array of B vitamins that boost energy levels and help breakdown macros. The bonus: mushrooms, specifically white button mushrooms, contain anti-inflammatory properties, which can aid the muscle-recovery process. Add mushrooms to pasta, casseroles, salads, pizza, soup…really any dish.
5 of 7
Esra Karakose / EyeEm / Getty
Pears
Sweet and full of fiber, pears have been associated with decreasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Fueling up on pears may aid in the recovery process due to their abundance in antioxidants, which prevent free radical damage that can occur during a workout. Add pear to a morning smoothie or some oatmeal.
6 of 7
John Greim / Getty
Cranberries
Cranberries are a Thanksgiving staple and are full of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer properties. Pour some cranberry juice into your next post-workout shake to help stimulate the recovery process.
7 of 7
Anna_Pustynnikova / Shutterstock
Beets
Beets contain nitrates that function as vasodilators, pumping more blood and oxygen throughout the body. This will help increase blood flow to working muscles, which allows them to work more efficiently. To reap this benefit: look for a beetroot powder or juice a beet into your pre-workout shake.
