It's a wonderful time of year: Fall fruits and vegetables are available in abundance. With fall, we often think of pumpkins, apples and squash, but here are a few other choices that are also part of the fall harvest.

CRANBERRIES

Cranberries are quite tangy and tart, and so need to be cooked or combined with something sweet. But they're packed with nutrients.

Health perks: Fresh cranberries are loaded with antioxidants — in fact, scientists at Cornell University found that they have more than almost any other fruit, they reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The researchers also found that cranberries have a high inhibitory effect on certain cancers.

Cranberries are a rich source of phenolic phytochemicals, antioxidants that are said to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by inhibiting plaque-forming cholesterol, stopping platelets from aggregating and helping reduce blood pressure.

Researchers reporting in the Journal of Medicinal Food have also concluded that chemicals in cranberries called proanthocyanidins prevent E. coli bacteria from attaching to cells that line the urinary tract. That helps prevent infection. And they may also have "an anti-adhesion effect on certain harmful bacteria" in the mouth and stomach that are the basis for gum disease and stomach ulcers.

Nutrition (1 cup): 46 calories, 12 g carbs, 4.5 g fiber, 0.1 g fat, 0.4 g protein.

CHESTNUTS

The intoxicating smell of roasting chestnuts is symbolic of fall. Chestnuts are sweet and have a texture similar to that of potatoes. They're one of the few nuts that are low in fat and, compared with other nuts, they're also very low in calories. They're great in soups, stuffings or simply roasted. They're a bit difficult to prep, however, because you have to remove both the skin and the shell — and that's best done when they're hot — but it's worth it.

Health perks: According to the British Journal of Nutrition, walnuts, pecans and chestnuts have the highest antioxidant content of all tree nuts. Chestnuts are a good source of B vitamins, folate, copper, magnesium and manganese. They're also a good source of vitamin C; in fact they're among the few nuts that have any vitamin C at all.

Keep in mind that chestnuts have a high water content — more than 50 percent — and need to be refrigerated.

Nutrition (1 ounce, 3 chestnuts): 60 calories, 12.9 g carbs, 2.3 g fiber, 0.65 g fat, 0.7 g protein.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Brussels sprouts are health powerhouses. Eat them by themselves, add them to soups and stir-fries, or grate them into salads.

To enhance cooked brussels sprouts, splash on some lemon juice, sprinkle with nuts, bread crumbs or grated parmesan cheese.

Health perks: Brussels sprouts are loaded with vitamin C (healthy for the skin and the immune system) — just 1/2 cup has 80 percent of the recommended daily value.

They're also rich in vitamin K (which aids in blood clotting), potassium (which lowers blood pressure), fiber (which reduces cholesterol), vitamin B6 (which reduces homocysteine levels — high levels are linked to heart disease) and even omega-3 fatty acids (good for heart health).

Brussels sprouts, like their cruciferous cousins (broccoli, cauliflower), contain glucosinolates, which are said to prevent cancer by helping to get rid of cancer-causing agents before they can damage the cells and also by preventing healthy cells from being altered into unhealthy, cancerous cells.

Nutrition (1/2 cup, cooked): 30 calories, 0 fat, 6 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 2 g protein.