This week we'll explore powerful spinach and a special vegan matcha "fudge" recipe. We'll also delve into the current Corn Moon (a.k.a. Harvest Moon) and why this is a great time of year to watch a sunrise.

Eat Colorfully

Seasonal Ingredient Spotlight: SPINACH

This week, I'm excited to celebrate an under-appreciated but powerful ingredient: spinach. It's a cooler-weather green, so early fall is peak spinach season. This time of year, keep an eye out for large spinach leaves, sometimes sold in a loose bunch; as the season comes to an end, some farms give great deals on it.

Why should you be eating this powerful green? Popeye definitely had it right: spinach is loaded with nutrients. Like many dark leafy greens, it has minerals (like iron and magnesium), vitamins (like A, B6, C, and K), fiber, and even a bit of protein. Plus, since it's very low in calories, you can eat a lot at once without feeling weighed down.

There are many ways to enjoy spinach. In addition to adding it to salads, try it in this Everyday Spinach Protein Smoothie, which I've made every morning for breakfast for about the past decade. You can even blend spinach into homemade hummus for extra nutrition and a fabulous green color, like in this eye-catching Green Goddess Hummus.

Special Recipe: MATCHA SWIRL FREEZER FUDGE

If you're looking for a special (but secretly healthy) treat for busy fall days, you have to try this adorable freezer fudge. It's easy to make, vegan, and naturally sweetened, plus it has some protein and healthy fats from cashew butter.

My biggest tip for making this pretty treat: make sure you have really good matcha. Not all matcha is created equal; in fact, there are several different grades. A high-quality matcha is delicate, bright green, subtly floral, and fresh, whereas lower-quality matcha can be bitter, assertively grassy, and off-putting. My go-to is Matcha Nude (use the code ROGUE to get 15% off).

Ingredients:

• 16-oz jar of smooth, natural, raw cashew butter
• ½ c melted coconut oil
• ¼ c maple syrup
• 2-3 tbsp pink berry/fruit powder of choice (e.g. pink pitaya powder, acai powder, pomegranate powder, powdered freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries, etc.)
• 1-2 tsp matcha powder

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the cashew butter, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup, then stir until creamy and homogeneous. Divide the mixture in half into two separate bowls.
2. To half of the freezer fudge mixture, add the pink berry/fruit powder and mix.
3. To the other half of the freezer fudge mixture, add the matcha powder and mix.
4. Pour most of the pink freezer fudge mixture into 16 small silicone molds, filling each about halfway. Set aside several spoonfuls for later use.
5. Gently pour the matcha freezer fudge mixture into the 16 small silicone molds, layering it on top of the pink mixture.
6. Use the remaining few spoonfuls of pink freezer fudge mixture to drizzle on top of the matcha mixture, being careful not to overfill the molds.
7. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the two colors together.
8. Transfer the silicone molds to the freezer, ideally in a large, sealed container. Freeze overnight.
9. Remove the fudge from the freezer and gently pop the freezer fudge out from the silicone molds.
10. Store the fudge in the freezer in an airtight container for up to several weeks. To serve, let the fudge warm up at room temperature for several minutes, until rich and creamy.

Bread Pan Variation:​
You can easily make this freezer fudge recipe in a bread pan instead of silicone molds. Start by lining the bread pan with several layers of plastic wrap. Follow the same sequence as above, adding all of the mixture to the bread pan instead of the silicone molds. Cover the bread pan and freeze overnight. Then, using the sides of the plastic wrap, pull the fudge out of the pan. Make two cuts length-wise and five cuts width-wise to create 18 portions.

Live Colorfully

In the Natural World: THE CORN MOON / HARVEST MOON

Keep your eye on the sky tonight, since the moon is putting on a show. September's full moon is traditionally called the "Corn Moon" because it's peak corn harvesting season in middle and northern parts of the US. Although the full moon actually peaked yesterday (September 26, around noon), tonight is also a great time to view it.

Interestingly, this full moon has two different names. In addition to being called the "Corn Moon", this is also the "Harvest Moon" since it's the closest full moon to the fall equinox (which occurred on Tuesday September 22; you can read about it in last weekend's newsletter issue if you're curious).

Cool, right? If you want to learn more and get info about viewing times, check out this article from Space.com.​

Self-Care Pick: FALL SUNRISES

Are darker days and cooler temperatures getting you down? Especially since we're just past the fall equinox, we're losing daylight fast. However, there are a few silver linings to the darker days. For example, last month we chatted about fall rainbows (easier to spot with the lower sun angle!). Then, a couple weeks ago, we explored why fall evenings are the perfect time for a bonfire. Finally, last week, we talked about how shorter days can make it easier to see the sunset.

This week's fall silver lining? You can see the sunrise later! At the height of summer, the sun rises so early (especially here in northern Vermont, around 5:00AM) that it can be hard to see. This time of year though, the sun rises much later. That means you can more easily catch the sunrise without getting up at 4:00AM.

Want to catch some sunrises this week? Try going on a walk in the early morning somewhere with an eastward view. You can look up local sunrise times online, and you'll see the sunrise time in your weather app if you have an iPhone.

Thanks for joining me for this issue of Eat Colorfully, Live Colorfully! I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to reply with questions, thoughts, or requests. If you missed a previous issue, you can view all my newsletters here. Have a great week!