Three years ago, I never would have messed around trying to make a dish with squash. But then, I tasted a butternut squash ravioli so delicious, it inspired me to tackle this laborious vegetable. Today, I have found a simple trick that makes preparing squash a piece of cake:
Cook the whole squash in the oven for at least an hour before even attempting to mutilate it!
Afterwards, the squash cuts like butter, and you can scoop out the insides and use them how you like. Today, I used it to make a delicious butternut squash soup. The apples, walnuts and coconut were added as an afterthought, but it gave the soup so much more flavor and depth. Here’s how I did it:
Ingredients:
- 1 butternut squash, cooked in a 375-degrees F oven for 1 hour
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1 apple, diced
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
Directions:
- Scoop cooked squash flesh into a pot. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 20 minutes or until squash is tender.
- Transfer soup to a blender and blend until smooth, 2 cups at a time.
- Enjoy!
November is here and winter celebrations are on their way. No matter what the holiday, the dining room table always seems to be the center of festivities. While everyone enjoys their traditional family recipes, it can be fun to incorporate new dishes to the meal and the options for delicious, healthy dishes are endless.
Eat Your Way to Happiness, by Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD, is a fun read that is packed with good nutrition advice. There is no doubt our lifestyle and food choices can affect our mood. However, with my newfound 
I recently finished reading Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon, PhD. Bacon agues that promoting weight loss is ineffective in improving health over the long-term. According to the book:
My mom is a unique chef, one that takes an “Everything But the Kitchen Sink” approach to cooking. Like after Thanksgiving, when all of the leftovers end up in a giant batch off soup. Somehow, she always seems to pull it off! I look forward to that soup more than Thanksgiving dinner itself. 
Autumn is officially here. School has started and our schedules are tight. Some evenings it’s difficult to gather the entire family for a meal, much less find the time to prepare one! How do you ensure that healthy eating stays on top of your priority list?
Write out a menu plan of what you want to eat and when. Then write down any ingredients for those dishes that you don’t already have at home and you’ve just filled out your shopping list! Choosing all the meals and snacks in advance will enable you to make sure that everything you need to fix these dishes is purchased, saving you time by avoiding extra trips later in the week.
There is even a special section of recipes that can be made in 30 minutes or less! Here are two great recipes calling for autumn produce to get your meal planning started, 
I recently discovered DIET-FREE, a healthy lifestyle program designed by Registered Dietitian Zonya Foco, and I am a fan. If you want to get healthy while learning to embrace life and listen to your body, then this program might be perfect for you.
Nicole Geurin, MPH, RD 