The King of Squashes

• I eat butternut squash all through fall and winter. It is packed with vitamins A and C, several B vitamins, and minerals such as potassium, manganese and tryptophan, an amino acid that helps you make seratonin and helps your body fight stress, relax and sleep. 
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• Nothing beats the easy preparation and incredible versatility of this vegetable. I mash it for a side dish, turn it into pancakes, or add it to pasta along with leeks and hazelnuts. But my all-time favorite is my Gingered Butternut Squash soup.
  
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• Gingered Butternut Squash Soup
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• 1 butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded 

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced onion
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 cups (or more) vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Place squash, cut side down, on baking sheet. Bake until squash is very soft, about 50 minutes. Using paring knife, remove peel from squash; discard peel.

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Saute onion until lightly brown. Add maple syrup, ginger, garlic, nutmeg and cinnamon. Cover pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add squash, apple, pecans and chicken broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick.

Puree using a submersible blender. Season soup with salt and pepper. Bring to simmer, thinning soup with more broth if necessary. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with chopped apple, toasted pumpkin seeds and a sprinkle of olive oil.

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Chocolate-chocolate chip granola bars, as promised! Also try the cinnamon-raisin granola bars. Again, these are designed to keep you going. Good fats, good protein and healthy carbs.

They are gluten, dairy, egg and soy free.

GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE CHIP GRANOLA BARS

This is a two-day project, but the actual time invested is minimal.

INGREDIENTS

List 1

3 cups rolled oats (I like Bob's Red Mill Organic Extra Thick)
1 1/2 cups blanched almonds or walnuts
1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds

List 2

3/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons of cacao powder (I like TerrAmazon Organic Cacao Powder)
1/2 tsp vanilla

List 3

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1/2 cup dried blueberries or cherries (optional)

Evening of day one - 

Take the ingredients on List 1, place in a large bowl and cover with water. Let sit on the counter overnight.

Day two -

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Drain and rinse the pre-soaked ingredients. Squeeze out the excess water. Place in a food processor. Add the ingredients from List 2 and give it a good whirl. If you like your granola bars more like cake, let the blender go longer. If you want some texture and crunch, leave the batter lumpy.
3. Add List 3 and mix by hand.
4. Spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 1 hour.
5. Remove from oven and cut into bars. Place back into oven and bake for another 30 minutes.
6. Cool on a wire rack.

The Perfect Quick Snack

Homemade granola bars... my new favorite take-along food. These are easy, even if you don't cook (yes, you need to do a bit of cooking here). These are great as a pre/post-workout, grab-on-the-go or "Help, I'm about to eat chocolate cake" snack. If you have kids, they'll be a hit with them, too.

These granola bars are gluten, dairy, egg and soy free. In other words, nothing in them will slow you down.

This is a two-day project, but the actual time invested is minimal.

GLUTEN-FREE CINNAMON-RAISIN GRANOLA BARS

INGREDIENTS

List 1

3 cups rolled oats (I like Bob's Red Mill Organic Extra Thick)
1/2 cup quinoa (steamed)
1 1/2 cups blanched almonds
1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds or sprouts
1 cup sesame seeds

List 2

3/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

List 3

1/2 cup rasins
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Evening of day one - 

Take the ingredients on List 1, place in a large bowl and cover with water. Let sit on the counter overnight.

Day two -

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Drain and rinse the pre-soaked ingredients. Squeeze out the excess water.
3. Place the ingredients from List 2 into a food processor and give it a good whirl. Add the ingredients from List 1 to the mixture. If you like your granola bars more like cake, let the blender go longer. If you want some texture and crunch, leave the batter lumpy.
3. Add List 3 and mix by hand.
4. Spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 1 hour.
5. Remove from oven and cut into bars. Place back into oven and bake for another 30 minutes.
6. Cool on a wire rack.

Don't eat all at once!

Tomorrow: Chocolate-chocolate chip granola bars!