Let's Squash our fears about Squash!

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First let me start off with my gym count-down....When I visited the gym on Wednesday it had been 114 days between my visits. This time it had been a day. That's right my hubby and I squeezed in a work-out for our Friday night date. To switch things up I didn't head directly over to my friendly Elliptical. I headed to the Ladies Only section and worked the circuit weights. It is set up very much like the Women Friendly gym, with a name that emphasized the womanly shape :) Where you hit a cardio rate because you quickly move from weight machine to the next. When I started I was thinking no way does this count as a real work-out. By my third machine I was pouring sweat and a little wobbly on the legs. So I take back my thinking. It was a work-out and I was ready to be done after only five minutes. But I went through a set. I shouldn't be shocked but did discover that I do not have strong abdominal muscles, if any. There is this crunch contraption where you reach your hands over your head and wrap your legs around a footrest and TOGETHER pull closer, hands down and legs up. When I first made an attempt I thought the machine was broken because nothing happened. I moved the weight to a lower number and this attempt the machine budged. I went to the lowest setting and "crunched". So yeah, anyway I will be working on that muscle and conquering that machine in the not so near future. So let's now move on to the new veggie of the week. At the beginning of the week we enjoyed roasted butternut squash and tonight our entree was spaghetti squash. If you have boiled water, turned on an oven, or used your microwave and combine it with your childhood carving pumpkin skills. You too can enjoy squash. There are tons of options with this amazing vegetable. They tend to keep quite awhile in your kitchen without refrigeration. That is a huge plus for me. They also are quite pretty and add great color to any meal. And do you know what color means in food, (natural color that is, I am not referring to the wonders of food coloring) Color means nutrients, different colors equal different nutrients. To start most squashes the best preparation is to split the squash down the middle and scoop out the seeds. This is when your carving pumpkin skills come in handy. Then for the butternut squash I prepared you take off the peel by cutting away the outside (think cantaloupe) and cutting into cubes. Don't go too small because as the squash heats up it will shrink. Also try to keep the cubes even for an even roast. Then for a quick glaze to add to its natural sweetness (very close to a sweet potato flavor) you melt some butter and either you could add a cinnamon spiced sugar or we used brown sugar mixed with the butter and a pinch of salt and pepper and scattered over the cubed squash. We roasted it for about forty five minutes to let it get tender. Flipping the cubes every ten minutes to make sure the whole bite cooked. This glaze also works great on roasted baby carrots. Voila! Now the spaghetti squash is kind of out there, but super fun. Do the basic cut in half and remove seeds. Then you have two options to prepare it either by throwing it in boiling water for 15 - 18 minutes or placing a little water in a microwaveable bowl and cooking it in the microwave for about 13 minutes. We did the boiling approach. You know your squash is tender when you can prick the peel easily with a fork. Drain the water ( save a little to dampen the squash if needed). Then the fun begins you just use a fork to pull out the squash that breaks up like pasta strips. Then the options are endless. If you like marinara sauce on pasta, go for it on the spaghetti squash. Or keep it simple with either a butter or olive oil, cheese, and pepper and salt. We used a drizzle of olive oil and then used grated Asiago and Parmesan cheese. Mmmmm! See how easy squash is to prepare for a tasty feast. Split in half and remove seeds (with a spoon and both squashes took less then two minutes for this full step). Then pick an easy cook method, boil, roast, or yes even microwave. No shame in any approach. Next you pick out your spices - and decide if you want to go sweet or savoury. Put 'em together and Bon Appetit! Thank you for your encouragement and support. Together we are squashing out fears and fully embracing the HealthFULL Journey! Happy Travels!