What I Made on Thanksgiving (Kale and Butternut Squash)

I've never prepared a Thanksgiving meal, nor have I hosted one, but I always enjoy finding new side dish recipes to bring wherever I go to chow down. This year Diabetic Living magazine steered me in the right direction.  No, I'm not diabetic, but like I always tell people you don't need to be diabetic to follow a diabetic diet, or to enjoy "diabetic" foods and recipes.  These are just healthy recipes. Period.

Oops.  Wrong photo!  haha. This is the Martha Stewart pecan pie my aunt made.  It was amazing.

Butternut Squash Quinoa Pilaf

Servings: 8 (1/2 cup each)

Source: DiabeticLivingOnline.com
Gluten Free

Ingredients

4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper

5 tsp. olive oil

1/4 cup sliced almonds

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 Tbsp. snipped fresh sage

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl combine butternut squash, garlic, and crushed red pepper.  Drizzle with 2 tsp. oil.  Stir until squash is evenly coated.  Spoon into a 15x10x1-inch baking pan.  Roast 30 minutes, stirring once and adding the sliced almonds for the last 4 to 5 minutes of roasting.

2.  In a large bowl combine quinoa, the remaining 3 tsp oil, the snipped sage, and 1/2 tsp. salt.  Stir in roasted squash and almonds.  If desired, garnish with sage leaves.

NOTE: If you would like to make this a Low FODMAPs dish, omit the garlic and use a garlic-infused olive oil to replace the garlic taste (I actually used 2 cloves of garlic, and then made up for the garlic taste with garlic-infused olive oil. It was delicious).  Also, be aware that butternut squash contains a moderate amount of FODMAPs.

Estimated Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Highlights: Low saturated fat, cholesterol-free, low-sodium good source of fiber, excellent source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C

This squash pilaf was such a delicious side dish.  I would make it again, for any holiday gathering.

Kale with Oranges and Mustard Dressing

Servings: 8 

Source: MarthaStewart.com 
Gluten Free

Ingredients

2 large oranges

2 Tbsp. grainy mustard

1/4th cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

2 large bunches fresh kale (~ 8 cups blanched)

Using a sharp knife, remove peel and pith from 2 large oranges.  Working over a medium bowl, cut out orange segments and squeeze 3 Tbsp. juice from the membranes.  Whisk in 2 Tbsp. mustard and the olive oil until combined, then add 1 tsp. chopped  fresh thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper.  Toss with 8 cups blanched kale (blanch kale by putting it into boiling water until it starts to get somewhat soft, about 1-2 minutes, then run under cold water to stop the cooking process). Serve the dish warm or at room temperature.

This was such a hit, that I even saw some on Nick's plate!  I smiled :)

Nutrition Highlights:  Low-sodium, good source of Fiber and Calcium, excellent source of Vitamins A and C.

Why eat kale on Thanksgiving? Well, it's one of the healthiest foods in the world, that's why!  Check out the health benefits of kale (and fyi, it has less oxalates than spinach, so if you are prone to kidney stones, choose kale over spinach)

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

NOTE: I love comments!  But, be sure to come back to read any replies to questions or comments, as they do not go directly to your e-mail.

Butternut Squash Muffins (Whole Grain and Gluten Free)

Believe it or not, last year we grew close to 50 butternut squash in our garden (ok, Nick grew them, I just cheered him on and watered a few times).  We had so many squash that we were able to give some away to friends and family, it was great. I also got inspired to make just about everything you could imagine with the squash (check out my recipes on the side of my blog; pizza, cookies, sauce, lasagna, the list goes on.....).

This year, however, we grew one.

I felt a lot of pressure to do something really amazing with this squash, so I had to find one recipe and really make it special.  After last year's cookies, breads, sauces, smoothies, etc. I figured I was lacking one thing.... muffins!

Butternut Squash Muffins

Gluten Free

Whole Grain
Low FODMAPs

Serves 24

Ingredients

3.5 cups brown rice flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. nutmeg, ground

1.5 tsp. cinnamon

2.5 cups cooked, pureed butternut squash **

1.5 cups white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup vanilla yogurt

4 egg whites

1 egg

1 cup dried fruit (I used dried pears)

NOTE**:  If you are following a  low FODMAPS diet,  you will want to omit the dried fruit, and be aware that butternut squash has a moderate amount of FODMAPs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper muffin liners

2.  In a medium bowl mix the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  In a large bowl beat together the butternut squash, both sugars, yogurt, egg whites and egg.  Blend the flour mixture into the sugar/butternut squash mixture, slowly.  Fold in the dried fruit.  Transfer to the prepared muffin pan/liners.

3.  Bake 18-20 minutes in the oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/24th of recipe

Nutrition Highlights:  Excellent source of vitamin A, low fat, and compared to store-bought muffins these are definitely lower in calories.

We ate several of these muffins within a couple days, then we froze them to bring with us on our vacation to Bald Head Island (our wedding vacation!).  They were truly a lifesaver because traveling often means unhealthy eats are the only option.

Isn't it interesting how different types of light can make certain foods look completely different?!  The muffins below look somewhat anemic. No?

These muffins were so moist and delicious that they didn't even need butter (although Nick tended to eat his with peanut butter).  I was definitely happy with the one recipe I got from the one butternut squash we grew this year.  Try them today!

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving tomorrow, if you celebrate.  I'll be back on Friday with a post that answer the FAQ: What's Your Best Tip You Like To Give for Weight Loss?!  haha, right after "Turkey Day" :)

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

NOTE: I love comments!  But, be sure to come back to read any replies to questions or comments, as they do not go directly to your e-mail.

The Fruits of Our Labor; Day One of Butternut Squash Fest!

First let's take a look at some nutrition and health news from the week.

Questions About Soy
(This article talks about the myth that only fermented soy foods are good for us. It provides a very unbiased view of soy and its benefits).

Restaurants Will Have to Dish On Nutrition
(Starting next year you will see calories listed next to your favorite restaurant foods!)



The Healthy Skeptic: The ABCs of Restaurant Grades
(Read at your own risk. Seriously, sometimes I don't enjoy reading about pathogens and viruses being spread in restaurants, but it's a good reminder to be careful when you choose your restaurants. This was also a good review for me because I'm taking my ServeSafe exam soon!)



Is Everything In Moderation a Farce?!
(This was a blog post by Ashley at Good Taste, Healthy Me. I found it very interesting and I left my opinion in the comment section.)

Should All Obese People Lose Weight?
(When are we going to just get rid of BMIs, for good?!)



College Students Not Getting Enough Fruits and Vegetables
(Quote from article: Even after considering the meals the students skipped, researchers found they were not even getting one serving of fruits and vegetables per day on average.
Yikes.)

And the best news of the week.....

We picked out first tomatoes and butternut squash from our garden!


These were the first of about 35. No joke.



My goal for the rest of summer/fall/winter is to come up with a new way to use butternut squash, every week. So far, we've used it two ways;

After baking for an hour at 400 degrees...


I cut up some of the squash and threw it on top of my salad (with fresh tomatoes, avocado, spring mix, lean ground beef, and blueberry balsamic vinegar).

So delicious.

And Nick likes to be boring so his first butternut squash dish was simple; roasted and then cut into chunks and thrown in a bowl with butter and brown sugar. Equally as delicious, I'm sure.


QUESTION: Do you have any simple butternut squash recipes?? PLEASE send them my way! I will try to fit it into my squash schedule!