Winter squash --a nutrition bonanza

Fall is officially here!

If you haven’t noticed yet, the grocery stores are stocked with those oddly shaped squash, which happen to be members of the winter squash family.

Just like summer squash, there are many varieties of winter squash. The most popular winter squash are butternut squash, acorn squash, and spaghetti squash. Winter squash is eaten cooked (steamed, baked, or roasted), not raw, and can be prepared as either a sweet or savory dish. Include these super nutritious vegetables in your meals over the fall and winter months to not only warm your belly, but decrease inflammation as well. Brimming with a nice amount of B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin A, and dietary fiber, this is one food that deserves a place on your fall/winter plate.

Recipe: Baked Acorn Squash Broccoli Quiche

Acorn squash creates the perfect size bowl for a cup of soup, chili, oatmeal, and quiche! 

INGREDIENTS:

Yield:  2

 ·         1 acorn squash

 ·         Broccoli Quiche:

o   1 cup of broccoli, chopped

o   1/3 yellow onion, chopped

o   4 egg whites

o   1/2 cup of skim milk

o   2 cloves of garlic, minced

o   1/4 tsp of black pepper

o   1/4 tsp of oregano

o   1 Tablespoon of asiago/parmesan cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS:

Bake Acorn Squash:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds, but save the seeds to make toasted seeds. In a baking pan, place the acorn squash halves with the flesh facing down and add 1/4 inch of water the pan. Bake for 40 minutes.

Prep the Broccoli Quiche:

While the acorn squash is baking, mix all the broccoli quiche ingredients in a medium bowl. After the acorn squash is done baking, keep the oven on 350 degrees, but remove the pan from the oven, drain the pan’s excess water, and flip over the acorn squash halves. Scoop out just enough flesh to fit half of the quiche mixture prepared  (about 1 cup) in both of the acorn squash bowls.

Bake Broccoli Quiche in Acorn Squash:

Place the quiches in the oven and bake for 40 minutes until there is no more liquid in the quiches. During the last 15 minutes of baking, rinse the seeds, dry in a kitchen towel or paper towel, mix the seeds with ½ tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of a salt free seasonings (herbs/spices), spread the seeds out onto a baking sheet or sheet of aluminum foil, and toast the seeds until the acorn squash quiches are done.

Take out the quiches from the oven and sprinkle them with few toasted seeds! Serve immediately. Grab a spoon and scoop into your acorn squash broccoli quiche!

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Food weight: 2.0, Calories: 180 kcal, Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 3 mg, Carbohydrates: 33g, Dietary Fiber: 5g, Protein: 14g, Sodium: 196 mg

Recipe: Crabmeat Salad Stuffed Cucumber Cups

Change the appearance of your crabmeat salad appetizer or lunch by filling cucumber cups, small sweet peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms with crabmeat salad instead of typically on a sandwich or a bed of lettuce.

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients:

Yield: 6 servings (¼ cup of crab salad per serving)

·         Crabmeat Salad

o   1 cup of lump crabmeat  (can substitute canned tuna or chicken)

o   1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

o   ¼ cup of fresh chives, chopped

o   1/8 cup of red onion, minced

o   ½ cup of 0% plain greek yogurt

o   ½ Tablespoon of old bay seasoning

o   1 large cucumber, cut into 4-6 thick slices

DIRECTIONS:

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix all crab salad ingredients together. Scoop out the inside of each large cucumber slice, leaving a thin layer at the bottom. Fill the cucumber cups with the crabmeat salad.

Nutrition Per Serving: Food weight: 0.5, Calories: 46 kcal, Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 33 mg, Carbohydrates: 2g, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Protein: 8 g, Sodium: 255 mg

Eat Summer Squash before it’s too late!

September 21^st is the last day of Summer, which means the Summer season is not over yet!

Summer squash is planted 2-4 weeks before the last spring frost and harvested in the Summer when they are immature unlike winter squash. There are many types of summer squash, but the most popular and familiar of the summer squash family are zucchini and yellow squash. The flesh, skin, and seeds are all soft and edible providing an abundance of beneficial nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin A, manganese, folate, B vitamins, and dietary fiber.

Recipe: Zucchini Corn Fritters

Add oats (instant or rolled oats) to your fritter mixture to absorb excess water from the vegetables so they don’t fall apart during the cooking process!

Food weight: 0.5!!!

INGREDIENTS:

Yield: 12 fritters (1 serving = 1 fritter = 2 oz, 1/4 cup per fritter)

·         2 medium zucchini

·         ½ medium white onion

·         2 cloves of garlic

·         3 corn on the cob (or 2- 15 oz cans of corn)

·         3 chives, minced

·         1 Tablespoon of garlic powder

·         1 tsp of black pepper

·         4 egg whites

·         1 cup of instant oats

·         Optional: 1-2 tsp of Tabasco sauce, 1-2 tsp of crushed dried red pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a food processor, mince the zucchini, onion, and garlic cloves. Wrap the minced mixture in a triple layer of paper towels and squeeze to release the excess water. In a large bowl, add the corn and ¼ inch of water. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and cook the corn for 10 minutes in the microwave (or you can cook the corn on the stove for 30 minutes). Cut the corn off the cob. In a large bowl, mix the minced mixture, corn, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add the egg whites and *instant oats to the corn zucchini mixture.

Place ¼ cup servings of the zucchini corn mixture onto a large pan greased with olive oil spray. On medium heat, cook the fritters for 10 minutes on both sides or until the fritters are slightly brown.

Serve the zucchini corn fritters with a dollop 0% Greek yogurt, guacamole, and/or salsa!

*In a blender or food processor, turn the instant oats into a flour consistency.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: Food weight: 0.5, Calories: 54 kcal, Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrates: 10g, Dietary fiber: 2g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 60 mg.

- See more at: http://corp.fitnesstogether.com/nutrition-together/cookbook/recipe-of-the-week/#sthash.maypmLKN.dpuf

Beans, beans, good for the heart!!

Did you know good ol’ beans are a superfood just like the trendy quinoa and chia seeds? 

Beans are considered a carbohydrate and a protein source with very little fat and cholesterol. 1 cup of black beans contains 15 gram of dietary fiber and 15 grams of protein. Due to their high dietary fiber content, beans lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, reduce the spike in blood sugars after eating a meal, and prevent constipation by normalizing the digestive system.

In addition to beans favored macronutrient content, they also contain micronutrients such as antioxidants, B vitamins, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper, and zinc.

You can purchase black beans dried or canned in the grocery store. · If you buy dried beans, soak the beans in water for 6-8 hours in a pot (water 1 inch above the beans). Discard the soaking water, rinse the beans, and cook the beans in fresh water on the stove for about 1 hour on low heat until the beans are soft.
· If you buy canned beans, the beans are already cooked, but you need to drain and rinse the canned beans to decrease the sodium content by removing the salt. Salt is added to canned foods for processing to maintain their shelf life.

Beans are often an ingredient in savory and spicy foods or a protein source ingredient in salads, but they also can replace flour in baked goods. This week’s recipe features a popular chocolate treat, Black Bean Brownies!

Recipe: Black Bean Brownies

Gluten-free moist brownies made with black beans instead of flour. 

INGREDIENTS:

Yield: 12 servings (1 serving = 2 oz or 3 in by 3 in brownie made in a 9 in x 12 in pan)   

·       1-15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed 

·       3 egg whites 

·       ½ cup of honey (or agave nectar) 

·       ½ tsp of vanilla extract 

·       ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder 

·       ½ tsp of baking soda 

·       Optional: ½ cup of dark chocolate chips (and/or walnuts, pecans, etc.)  

DIRECTIONS: Pre-heat oven to 350 º F and grease a 9- inch x12-inch pan (glass or tin). In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a large spoon/fork or with an emulsion blender. Add the wet ingredients (egg whites, honey, and vanilla) to the black beans and mix well. Add the dry ingredients (unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) to the wet mixture and mix well. Lastly, mix in the optional chocolate chips. Pour the brownie batter into the greased pan and bake brownies for 30 minutes.    

Nutrition Information Per Serving (with chocolate chips):  

Food weight: 1.5, Calories: 121 kcal, Fat: 4 g, Cholesterol: 1 mg, Carbohydrates: 24 g, Dietary Fiber:  3g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 173 mg