Butternut Squash for a SNACK?

Yes, you read that right! If you've been reading my blog for a while or if you've been a client of mine, you know a lot about the convenience trap that forces us to make unhealthy food choices...and we sabotage our good intentions!

Butternut squash is a satisfying snack that can attack the allure of convenience foods. Some of you may be thinking you do not have time to peel, de-seed, and chop a butternut squash. Hey, I don't have time either. Do what I do: pay a little bit more and get pre-peeled and chopped butternut squash that is available in the produce section of most grocery stores! Here's a delicious recipe that takes only 10 minutes of your time (the oven does most of the work) and voila, you have a healthy snack available for the week.

Shannon's Cherry-licious Baked Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
- 1 pack of Wegmans family-sized butternut squash
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup organic dried cherries
- 1 cup organic raw pecans
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- Sea salt to taste

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450.
- If the squash pieces are larger than one inch, take a bit of time to chop them into one-inch pieces.
- Drizzle olive oil over the squash in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Arrange the squash in a casserole dish and sprinkle the cherries and pecans throughout.
- Add a tiny bit of sea salt.
- Drizzle maple syrup over the squash.
- Bake covered for 50 minutes.

Recipe for Happiness: Millet Sweet Potato Breakfast Cakes

It’s no wonder that depression is such an epidemic in our country—look at the food we eat. Because of our obsession and need for convenience, we consume refined flour and sugar far more than the nourishing grains and vegetables that our ancestors ate. These refined products create harmful blood-sugar fluctuations, which no doubt affect our moods. Further, these foods lack nutritional value and it is scientifically proven that our cells will not thrive without nutrients, leading us to feel icky. Put simply, junk foods make us feel junky.

So, how do we rid our junk food addictions? Breakfast is the place to start! Eating a nourishing breakfast sets the stage for the rest of the day. Millet is one of my favorite comfort foods; it’s a complex carbohydrate with dozens of nutrients. I’ve recommended it for clients diagnosed with mild depression and it has worked wonders. Potato-family foods have been shown to have a positive effect on serotonin and dopamine, our feel-good neurotransmitters (read Potatoes Not Prozac to learn more about this).

Make a big batch of these cakes on a Sunday and have a couple each morning for breakfast. You’ll notice a positive effect right away. Serve them with a tablespoon or two of REAL maple syrup; the darker grade the better.

Millet Sweet Potato Cakes:

Ingredients

2 cups leftover millet* (millet can be found in the bulk section of health food stores)

1 large sweet potato mashed

¼ cup gluten free flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)

A couple tablespoons of rice milk

Sea salt to taste

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Mix the millet, sweet potato, and rice milk. Add a bit of sea salt. Form cakes and douse them in the gluten-free-flour. Place oil on a medium-heated iron skillet. Pan-fry the cakes, about 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are golden.

*Learn more about amazing millet!

Healthy Hot Cocoa Fix?

Yes, you read that right! I have discovered a healthy alternative to hot cocoa. Would you believe me if I told you that it is even has fiber? If you are like me, hot cocoa is a must in order to survive winters, especially Syracuse winters. There's nothing quite like curling up on the couch with a steamy mug of hot chocolate and a good book. It makes the winter almost worth it.

I am not the biggest fan of dairy (or rather it's not so fond of me), so I try to limit my dairy consumption. This hot cocoa alternative is vegan! Silk's Pure Almond Dark Chocolate Milk hit the market this winter. Brent and I picked it up to try in our post workout smoothies. One evening I was fiending for hot cocoa. We didn't have any milk or cocoa. I heated up a couple cups of the almond milk. I was amazed at the result--a super-tasty hot cocoa alternative!

I have to say Silk's tag line for this almond milk is quite accurate: Choose Wisely. Drink Happily.

In a 12-ounce serving of this hot cocoa, you get 1.5 grams of fiber, 1.5 grams of protein, over 50% of your RDA for vitamin C, almost 70% of your RDA for calcium, 75% of your RDA for vitamin B12, and a good amount of zinc, riboflavin, magnesium, manganese, vitamin D, vitamin A, and iron. Yum!