Acorn squash autumn welcome

I've been craving squash lately and staying true to form, have been eating LOTS of it. MOH's lucky though, because my craving right now only costs 88 cents a pound since squashes are in season during autumn/fall (my last craving was roasted okra which was at a slightly steeper cost of 3 dollars a pound!).

Since transitioning towards a more gluten-free diet, I've found solace on many great food blogs spotlighting gluten-free recipes. Recently, MOH surprised me with some gluten-free brownies featured in Gluten-free goddess that were both delicious and healthy! These brownies are jam packed with flavor and feature shredded zucchini, a member of the squash family, as a secret ingredient.

Squash is so versatile and can be done savory, sweet, salty and, as I recently found out, sour. There are some recipes out there on my bucket-list such as pickled squash!

For me, I really like to have my squash two ways: savory and sweet.

A great savory dish I like to do is a simple squash soup garnished with green onions. Simply use chicken stock and cut up squash of your choice (kabocha is my favorite for this) into cubes and boil until squash is tender. Then, garnish on top with green onions. Super simple, goes great with rice or even alone. If you use kabocha squash to make the soup, the soup is very sweet and savory. It tastes great on a cold chilly day.

This week, I was more in the mood for something sweet. One of my favorite things to eat on Thanksgiving is sweet candied yams. Lots of recipes call for yams traditionally topped with a generous helping of marshmallows on top of the yams. Personally, yams and squash are so good by themselves, that minimal toppings really let the squash shine! Don't get me wrong - candied marshmallow yams/squash tastes amazing, but I decided to try a more guilt-free squash option just to give my baby tummy a break.

What I tried this time was a variation of candied yams, using acorn squash, coconut oil, almonds, and coconut flakes. The result turned out better than planned, and offers a good source of protein post-workout!  And did I mention, for how filling it can be, it's gluten free?!?! This dish is jam packed with nutrition and is good for your brain, too.

While we're familiar with the jam-packed nutrition inside squash (high in vitamins and dietary fiber, low in fat), and how rich in protein almonds are,  the coconut oil here is the true star. The oil looks harmless at first glance, but studies have pointed to this oil as being part of the "good fats, oils." Coconut oil, as well as its sibling olive oil,  are part of a family called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs, basically fancy name for a fatty molecule) that can improve cognition AND help aid in weight loss (see references below). It's awesome though because I always thought of olive oil as being the main posterchild for yummy, healthy fat - now, I've discovered coconut oil, which is fragrant and slightly sweet in taste, provides similar nutritional benefit as olive oil, AND can be used in desserts! Imagine a liquified coconut... yeah, it smells and tastes just that good. (Coconut oil was also recently featured in an article in Shape magazine)

The preparation itself is pretty simple. All in all, the prep is less than 15 minutes.

Protocol:

Coconut candied acorn squash:
- 1 acorn squash
- 1/3 cup of almonds, chopped
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes
- 3 tbsp brown sugar (add more sugar if you want it more sweet, but coconut flakes and oil should suffice your sweet tooth!)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil

1.Preheat oven to 400 degree F
2. Boil squash in a pot until tender (10 minutes, but you can check the tenderness with a fork)
3. Chop almonds
4. Drain squash and cut up into slices or chopped into cubes - place in a plastic mixing bowl
5. Add coconut flakes, brown sugar, and coconut oil and coat evenly - don't worry about the overpowering smell of coconut oil - it will taste great after you've finished baking
6. Place in glass baking pan (the type you roast potatoes with) and bake for 20-25 minutes, basically until you notice the coconut slightly browning
7. Let cool, and serve!


References:

Page KA et al., 2009. Medium-chain fatty acids improve cognitive function in intensively treated type 1 diabetic patients and support in vitro synaptic transmission during acute hypoglycemia. Diabetes. 58(5): 1237-44.

Pan et al., 2010. Dietary supplementation with medium-chain TAG has long-lasting cognition-enhancing effects in aged dogs. British Journal of Nutrition. 103(12): 1746-54.

St-Onge MP et al., 2003. Medium-chain triglycerides increase energy expenditure and decrease adiposity in overweight men. Obesity Research. 11(3):395-402.