October 22, 2017
...SQUASH that is!
Here's a great recipe originally inspired by Steph Gaudreau, author of The Paleo Athlete: A Beginner's Guide to Real Food for Performance, a great book for anyone who's interested in learning more about how to fuel even high level endurance sports with Paleo (in other words, whole food) nutrition (and you can click here to read my entire list of Things I Like or for more info on Steph visit www.stupideasypaleo.com)
What originally caught my eye about this recipe is that acorn squash has never been one of my faves...I VASTLY prefer butternut, spaghetti, kabocha, or even delicata squash.
But regardless of how you feel about various squashes, I bet you'll not only love the way this recipe tastes you also love how easy it is.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut an acorn squash in half then scoop out the seeds. Place both halves "cup" side up on a baking sheet. If the 2 halves simply won't stay put you can place them in a smaller Pyrex dish (or any type of baking dish with sides that will hold the squash in place) or just slice off a little bit of their bottoms till they stop rocking around. Sprinkle both halves liberally with pumpkin pie spice (or at least a ton of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, and a dash of cloves.)
Next pour a couple tablespoons of coconut milk into the two squash cups (I prefer Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk Simple because although it's not marked on the can, it's the only coconut milk on the market that's both additive and BPA free...again you can read more about this and all the other Things I Like here.)
Then here's where Steph's recipe and my tastes diverge: instead of adding a drizzle of maple syrup, I drop about a teaspoon of organic raisins into each squash cup. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 45-60 mins until the squash flesh pierces easily with a fork. And here's the really yummy part: as the squash bakes, the raisins plump and the coconut milk thickens till you've got almost a coconut-raisin-pudding-thing going on inside the squash...WOW!!!
Wait...are you somehow still thinking you're not gonna completely dig this recipe???
Then here's a quick trick: EAT MORE VEGGIES!!! Because one of the easiest ways to really enjoy your veggies (and the taste of all kinds of whole food wrapped up in not much more than their "original packaging") is to eat the 9-13 servings of fresh whole produce every day. And I know that sounds like a lot of veggies but remember that's what every major world health organization (including THE World Health Organization) agrees is what it takes for us to just maintain our health.
And if you simply can't figure out how to fit that many veggies into your life on a daily basis then attend my next Smoothie 101... smoothies certainly aren't the only way to eat your RDA of veggies but knowing how to make a great-tasting smoothie is definitely a great tool to have in your toolbox!
But don't delay... my last class till '18 is only a few days away! Click here to learn more and to sign up (you can even sign up and pay for classes on my Facebook page too!)
