5 New Varieties of Winter Squash -- How and Why to Eat Them

It’s that time of year again!  With fall comes endless squashes, pumpkins and seasonal garden treats.  And right now, the winter squashes are bountiful.  But there are so many varieties to choose from!

Have you seen a bunch of funky varieties of squash and aren’t quite sure what to do with them?  Well it’s time to deviate from your normal butternut squash and get to know these 5 new ones.  

This squash is my FAVORITE!  Buttercup -- it’s the richest, sweetest squash I’ve ever had and I’m excited to share it with you.

Not only are these squash delicious, but they are excellent for your health.  They are very filling, but naturally low in calories, low in fat, contain zero cholesterol and are abundant with disease fighting properties.  

Ways to eat them:

- Stuffed with different whole-grain mixes such as wild rice or farro.  Include dried fruits like cranberries (or fresh cranberries), currants or rasins.  Nuts would also compliment a whole-grain mix (yeah for using nuts and dried fruit as condiments!)

- Baked with diced apples, pear.

- Cinnamon, clove, coriander, all spice compliment them nicely 

- Just plain! As chunks.  Delicious side dish!  Or dip in mustard.

- As mashed potatoes.

- Boiled, baked or even microwaved.

Store: in a cool, dry, dark place for 2-3 months, but not in the fridge.

Differences in taste:

Sweet dumpling: mildly sweet, good for stuffing and baking and served individually.

Kabocha: is the Japanese word for squash. Rich and sweet. Dry and flaky when cooked. Cross between a sweet potato and a pumpkin. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 F.

Buttercup squash:  part of turban squash family (hard shell, turban shaped).  Sweet, rich and creamy—sweeter than most other squashes.  

Golden nugget: can be cooked whole if poked before baking.  Difficult to cut so bake before cutting.

Acorn:  mildly flavored, can stuff as a personal center piece or slice in rings and bake.

Recipes (Trisha approved ;)

Acorn Squash and Apple Soup from Lindsay Nixon and the Happy Herbivore

Sweet Dumpling Squash Stuffed with Lemon Herbed Rice from Fat Free Vegan

Kabocha Bean Dip from Cathy Fisher at Straight Up Food.com

Cost/pound:  $1.29/lb at my local grocery store.  Less expensive, more beautiful and much healthier than a steak or chicken for your main dish ;)

Take Control Now

What squash will you try?  Which have your tried in the past and LOVED?  Post your answers in the comments section below and start to take control of your diet, weight and your health!

How and Why to Make Banana Ice-Cream

Eating a healthy plant-based diet does not mean you have to be deprived of dessert.  Especially good dessert! 

I eat this dessert on a weekly basis and I LOVE IT!  It’s cheap, quick and kids can’t get enough!  They love eating and making it.

Which is great because it’s so much healthier than traditional ice-cream.  Let’s break down why.

Banana ice-cream is a completely guiltless dessert!  It’s abundant in disease fighting properties such as phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals.  It’s full of magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, folate and so many others! 

Banana ice-cream is naturally low-in-fat, contains zero cholesterol, zero saturated fat, but contains 6 g of fiber!  The fiber, along with the bulk of this food, is going to leave you feeling full and satisfied after you eat it.  This means you’ll eat less food later in the day—without forcing yourself too! 

It’s contender, ice-cream on the other hand, adds to the disease-promoting standard American diet (SAD) and health outcomes.

Ice-cream is high in saturated fat — 9 g in one C and in cholesterol – 58 mg in one C. Our bodies do not need to consume saturated fat and cholesterol.  They are non-essential nutrients.  We don’t need to eat them in order to survive.

More importantly, eating the saturated fat and cholesterol, increases blood levels of cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in your body.  The Institute of Medicine recommends you “consume as little as possible as increased risk exists at levels above zero” (IOM, 2002).

This means you should rarely eat animal products including ice-cream.  Cholesterol is only found in animal foods and saturated fat is more prevalent in animal products.  This is one reason why I recommend that if you eat animal products, eat no more than 3 ounces of organic animal foods a week.  They are a treat, not an everyday dish.

And I haven’t even mentioned all the sugar in traditional ice-cream!  It’s an addictive blob of fat, sugar and cholesterol.  So keep ice-cream out of your house and treat your body with something it appreciates… banana ice-cream. 

IOM. Report: Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Institute of Medicine. 2002. Accessed Oct. 2014 at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2002/Dietary-Reference-Intakes-for-Energy-Carbohydrate-Fiber-Fat-Fatty-Acids-Cholesterol-Protein-and-Amino-Acids.aspx

Trisha’s Banana Ice-Cream

All you need are two ingredients -- bananas and plant-milk, but it can easily be spruced up for more of a treat.

Ingredients:

• 3 frozen bananas (directions below)
• < one cup of plant milk

Makes 2-3 servings

How to freeze bananas:

Peel ripe or slightly overly ripe bananas (the 50% off bananas at the store) and break into small chunks.  Place in a ziplock bag and put in the freezer for a few hours.  Let freeze until hard.

Directions:

Add frozen bananas to a blender (see my favorite blender below).

Start by adding around ¼ C of plant milk (general rule: 1/8 C per banana) and begin to blend.  (The trick is to add the least amount of liquid possible needed to mix.  You want it thick, like the consistency of ice-cream).

Blend, stop and add more liquid as needed, pushing the mixture down with a spoon during each pause in blending. 

Once you have a thick consistency, you’re ready to serve.  Add toppings and enjoy!

Additional Optional Toppings

• Fresh fruit -- strawberries and blueberries are my favorite
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (add on top, not while blending--you’ll get more taste but less calories and fat from the PB)
• 1 tablespoon of walnuts or other nut
• 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut
• dash of cinnamon

Recipes Hints

• For chocolate ice-cream, add of raw cocoa powder 
• For strawberry ice-cream, add frozen strawberries to the blender
• Freeze left-overs in a thin plastic container for ready-to-eat banana ice-cream anytime!
• Water can be used instead of plant-milk
• For greater weight loss or those w/ heart disease or DM, eat the plain recipe (it’s delicious as is) or use fresh fruit as your topping vs. nuts and other high-fat plant food

On top of warm fruit compote

Other Ways to Enjoy Banana Ice-Cream

• On top of oatmeal in the morning
• On top of warm fruit compote
• As a snack or dessert

My favorite blender:

The Master Prep Ninja -- $39.99 at Bi-Mart stores

Act Now!

It’s time to put this knowledge into action! 

• When are you going to make banana ice-cream?  What topping will you put on it?

• How did you like it?  Report back and share with others what you thought!

Comment below with your answers.  And if you liked this information, please share it with a friend!

xo,