Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins, gluten free, SCD legal

ALMOND FLOUR BLUEBERRY MUFFINS     makes 6 muffins (I have another recipe for 12)

1 cup Almond Flour
1/2 TSP Baking Soda
1/4 TSP Sea Salt
1/2 TSP Organic Ground Cinnamon
1 TBSP Organic Coconut Oil, melted
2 Organic Eggs
1/2 TSP White Vinegar
1/2 TSP Vanilla Extract
1 ripe Organic Banana
1/4 to 1/3 cup Organic Blueberries, can use frozen

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

• Mix Almond Flour, Baking Soda, Salt and Cinnamon in a small bowl, set aside. 
• Crack eggs into another bowl.  Using either a mixer or by hand, whisk eggs.  Add banana and continue to mix well until banana is mashed.  Add Coconut Oil, Vanilla Extract and White Vinegar.
• Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir to mix well.
• Add Blueberries and gently stir in.
• Prepare muffin tins with brushed on coconut oil.  Divide mixture into 6 muffins.
• Bake 20-25 minutes.  Loosen edges and remove from pan while still hot.  Place on wire rack to cool.

What I Am Eating

I realized today that I haven't posted a "What I Am Eating" since starting the transition to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  Not much has changed, except I have added homemade yogurt, eggs and almond flour.  And I am starting to try tiny amounts of raw vegetables...not going to push that very much though.

BREAKFAST:
 1 cup warm water with Cinnamon and Lemon when I first wake up
 1 cup homemade chicken broth I drink this in the morning before eating

  3 slices bacon, Maverick uncured no sugar
  1 cup Organic Girl Baby Spinach chopped very tiny sautéed with
  1 Vidalia onion in 1 TSP olive oil

SNACK:
 Homemade Yogurt
 Almond Flour Muffin (recipe to come)
  
LUNCH:
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Dressing
Lemon Chicken Soup with Carrots and Spinach

DINNER:
Chicken Salad with a few tiny pieces of raw broccoli added
Baked Carrot Fries

SNACK:
  10 Gummy Gelatin Bites
  1 cup warm water with Cinnamon and Lemon
  Boiled Egg

Weekly Menu # 1 Using Frozen Meat Meal Starters

• Shredded Chicken Salad - seedless grapes, celery, Granny Smith Green Apple, dripped yogurt cream cheese, lettuce, spinach
• Browned Ground Beef - Baked zucchini stuffed with beef, sauteed onions and spinach, black olives and No Tomato Sauce over it
• Chicken Meatballs - Butternut Squash Medallions, Green Beans
• Hamburger Patties - Zucchini Fritters, leftover Butternut Squash Medallions 
• Browned Ground Chicken -  in salad of lettuce, spinach, black olives with dripped yogurt cream cheese and cucumber dressing and baked carrot fries, Green Beans
• Beef Meatballs - Roasted or stir fried yellow squash, carrots, onions, spinach and No Tomato Sauce for top of meatballs
• Chicken Soup - carrots, onions, spinach, celery

Shredded Chicken Salad Specific Carbohydrate Diet Clean Eating

Having chicken in the freezer that is already cooked and shredded is such a time and money saver.  I love freezer meat meal starters.  The hardest part is remembering to put them in the refrigerator the night before to thaw. Tonight's chicken salad dinner was done in 30 minutes. All I had to do was wash the apples, celery, grapes and lettuce, do a little chopping,  mix in some dripped yogurt cream cheese and it was ready to eat!

FREEZER MEAT MEAL STARTER CHICKEN SALAD SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE DIET
makes 2 servings

6-8 ounces cooked, shredded chicken, or use one container shredded chicken meat meal starter, thawed in refrigerator
1 organic Granny Smith Apple, washed, peeled and chopped
1 cup organic seedless grapes, washed, cut in half
1 large organic celery rib (piece), washed, chopped very tiny
4 ounces dripped yogurt cream cheese
4 organic Romaine leaves
sea salt to taste
(optional) 1 cup organic spinach, chop very fine like one would chop herbs for a recipe

Wash, peel and chop Apple.  Wash grapes, cut in half.  Wash celery, chop tiny. Wash lettuce. Add container of shredded chicken meat meal starter.  Mix in cream cheese.  Add salt to taste.  Chill for 30 minutes before serving. Serve on lettuce.

Recipe for Shredded Chicken Meat Starter Specific Carbohydrate Diet Clean Eating

Frozen meat starters...I like this idea and think it will work well for following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  Actually, this could work well for any diet where chicken is eaten!  This is a huge time saver and money saver! My version of non processed, clean eating freezer meals.

SHREDDED CHICKEN MEAT STARTER RECIPE FOR FREEZER MEAL COOKING

8 Chicken Breast, about 4-5 pounds, pastured antibiotic free
2 organic carrots cut into 2 inch long pieces
2 organic celery ribs (pieces) cut into 2 inch long pieces
1 large onion chopped into chunks
2 TSP Himalayan Pink Salt
enough water to cover all of the ingredients

I used a 6 quart crockpot.  Place ingredients in crockpot or slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH 4-6 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.  Let cool.

Remove chicken from crock pot and place in a large bowl to shred, or use KitchenAid mixer with the paddle blade to shred.  Place in labeled *freezer safe Mason jars in amounts that are suitable for your family and place in the freezer.

I weighed the cooked chicken and estimated 3 ounces per person. Since it is just me and the hubs we only need 6 ounces per meal.  That fit in the one cup freezer safe Mason jars by packing it really tight.  I cooked 4 pounds of chicken breasts (8 breasts). By dividing the cooked chicken into equal 6 ounce amounts, I was able to get 6 meal starters.  Generally, I cook 2 breasts per meal for me and the hubs.  This gave me 2 additional meals from 8 breasts and the hubs and I didn't overeat!!

Plus you have a bonus!!  The broth left in the crock pot can be frozen for use later on.  Remove the vegetables and strain the broth.  Place in *freezer safe Mason jars and label.  Use this broth for recipes that call for chicken or vegetable broth.  I don't know about you but I think boxed vegetable broth is very expensive and the ingredient list is a little bit scary.

*NOTE:  Use whatever freezing method you like. I prefer freezer safe Mason jars but I do use BPA free Ziploc freezer bags sometimes for items that won't fit in jars such as ground beef patties.

Freezer Meat Meal Starters Clean Eating Specific Carbohydrate Diet

I love the idea of freezer meals.  Do all the prep work one day and have delicious meals for a month that you pull out of the freezer and put in the crockpot.  Unfortunately, I haven't been very successful finding recipes that are Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) legal with food options we will/can eat.

Most freezer meal or batch cooking, contains canned tomatoes/vegetables, cream soup, soy and teriyaki sauce, pasta, potatoes or rice and lots of processed ingredients that I can't/won't eat.  There are foods that are SCD legal but I still can't eat them, such as tomatoes and all peppers and spices derived from peppers, also known as nightshades.  I think the best I can do right now, is make some meat entrees that can be thawed in the refrigerator the night before, then added to some simple dishes.  Our side dishes are frozen or fresh vegetables and salads - no pasta, rice or potatoes.  Just keep it simple and healthy and generally on the low carb side.

Specific Carbohydrate Diet Freezer Meat Meal Starters.  These are so easy it is probably silly for me to post but I hope to help others who were as overwhelmed as I was starting out eating clean and following the SCD.  From each of these basic meat/meal starters, I will add recipes for meals as I come up with them.  Click on the links below to be taken to the recipes. 

Freeze in portions that are the best size for you and your family.  I have a digital kitchen scale so I can weigh cooked portions before freezing.  It is really a big help with portion control for weight loss and in the long run save money by not overcooking or wasting leftovers.  When I was on a weight loss program years ago, I was told to eat 3 ounces of cooked meat so I generally freeze 6-8 ounce portions of cooked meat for the hubs and I. 

So far, I have decided on these 7 choices, one for each day of the week.  Make enough of each Freezer Meat Starter to feed your family once a week for a month or more, freezing in individual containers for one meal. 

1.  Shredded Chicken (cook chicken breasts in crockpot, shred, freeze)
2.  Beef Meatballs no eggs, no flour but full of vegetables
3.  Chicken Meatballs no eggs, no flour but full of vegetables
4.  Hamburger Patties  (press out a couple of pounds of ground beef, put parchment paper between the burgers so they come apart easily and freeze)
5.  Scrambled Ground Beef ( brown 4-? pounds of ground beef, divide into the amount you need for a meal according to your family size, freeze)
6.  Scrambled Ground Chicken Breasts ( brown 4-? pounds ground chicken breasts, divide into the amount you need for a meal according to your family size, freeze)

Homemade Dripped Yogurt Cream Cheese Specific Carbohydrate Diet

Specific Carbohydrate Diet dripped yogurt cream cheese is delicious!  I was really surprised how thick it is and how good it tastes without any additives or sugar!  It is so nice making a new recipe knowing it won't hurt my gut.  In fact, since I started eating homemade yogurt last week, my weight loss has increased so the yogurt must be doing something right in my gut.  Adding homemade, 24 hour fermented, Specific Carbohydrate Diet yogurt to my diet is the only thing I changed.   This recipe is adapted from the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle, by Elaine Gottschall.  I simplified it by using a coffee filter draped over a small mason jar.  I might get some cheese cloth to make a larger amount but I may as well use up all my coffee filters first, since I don't drink coffee any more.  I can't wait to start using dripped yogurt cream cheese in some of my old recipes.

DRIPPED YOGURT CREAM CHEESE

4-5 ounces 24 hour fermented yogurt per these instructions
coffee filter
mason jar

Place yogurt in coffee filter.  Drape filter over the edge of the mason jar and push the paper down around the outside edge of jar, hold while screwing the jar cap on over the coffee filter.  Let it drip for about 8-12 hours in the refrigerator.  The liquid will collect in the bottom of the jar and the coffee filter holds the cream cheese up and out of the liquid.

I am not sure how long this will last in the refrigerator.  I am guessing about 4-7 days storing it in the mason jar with the lid on it.

Herb Rub for Chicken SCD Legal

While my daughter was visiting, she made the best Herb Crusted Chicken that I had ever had!  She rubbed the herb mixture under the skin and on the outside of the whole chicken then roasted it at 325 degrees.  It was beyond delicious!  I enjoyed the flavor so much that I started thinking that the rub would also be good for boneless, skinless, baked chicken breasts or to saute chicken strips with.  So I adapted the recipe just a tad to be Specific Carbohydrate Diet legal.  The small packages of fresh herbs were just the right amount for this recipe.

Herb Rub  makes enough for 2 whole chickens or about 10 TBSP

Use fresh herbs:
1/4 cup packed each:  Thyme, Basil, Tarragon, Oregano
3-4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 shallots, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 TSP Kosher salt
(optional) black pepper to taste

Place fresh herbs, garlic and shallots in food process.  Grind into a rough paste, scrapping down frequently.  Slowly drizzle olive oil into food processor.  Continue to process until mixture is smooth.

I froze the mixture in one tablespoon blobs on parchment paper squares about 2 inch x 2 inch on a plate in the freezer.  Once frozen, I placed them in a freezer safe mason jar with the parchment paper between them.  I tried freezing them in ice cube trays but had no luck popping them out when it came time to use them.  Each tablespoon is just enough for one chicken breast.

NOTE:  if roasting a whole chicken, use one half of the recipe and freeze the remainder.  Rub mixture under the skin of the breast and on the outside of the chicken coating well.  Place the chicken on a wire rack in a roasting pan.  Roast in 325 degree preheated oven 20-30 minutes per pound. Roast chicken until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.  Remove from oven and allow to rest 15 minutes before carving.  The skin should be crispy and the meat tender and juicy.

Yogurt for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet Good Gut Bacteria

 

This was my first attempt at making homemade yogurt, more specifically yogurt that is allowed on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) yogurt. When I first decided to transition from the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) to the SCD, the biggest difference I saw was SCD uses yogurt for good bacteria and AIP doesn't.  My tummy has always been fine with plain, organic Greek Yogurt.  So I am hoping this homemade yogurt works for me.  I also hope my explanation of how to make it will help blog readers have the courage to make it also!  I am pretty convinced that this yogurt is healthier than store bought processed yogurt.  Although it is more tart than even Greek yogurt, it tastes good.  Add some fruit or honey, once it is cooked, and you have a delicious, healthy yogurt.  I can't wait to make cream cheese with it and start using yogurt in my recipes again.

In the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle, Elaine Gottschall suggests yogurt is a way to add good bacteria into the gut. I have tried several OTC pro-biotics over the last few years that didn't help me and they are pretty expensive.  And store bought yogurt has too many unknown additives, especially all the different kinds of sugar which I know from experience hurt my gut. 

I was terrified to make yogurt.  It was so confusing to me.  I have seen so many different ways to make yogurt but I wanted to try and stick with what was in the book.  I tried to find commercial yogurt for the starter that was described in the book but couldn't.  Then I read about Yogourmet freeze dried starter and decided to use it.  I didn't want to spend a fortune on a yogurt maker either so the one I purchased was only thirty dollars.  Only time will tell how much it is helping me.

I am using this yogurt maker, made by Euro-Cuisine.  This model yogurt maker doesn't have a timer on it so I can leave it on to ferment 24 hours per the instructions in the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle.  Most yogurt makers have timers that shut off at 4-15 hours, but then I would have to remember to turn it back on, so this one without a timer will be easier for me.  I also like the seven individual glass jars, not plastic jars.  And the yogurt maker was not very expensive, just in case I can't add dairy back and won't be making more yogurt.  The yogurt ends up being much less expensive than organic store bought.  Each 5gr yogurt starter is about $1 each and 32 ounces of organic milk was about $2.50, so roughly $3.50 for 32 ounces of yogurt, plus the cost of the yogurt maker.  That is about what I was paying for 16 ounces of organic plain Greek yogurt.

This is the yogurt starter I used, Yogourmet.  It is a freeze dried yogurt starter that doesn't contain Bifidus which Elaine Gottschall doesn't recommend eating and most commercial yogurt contains Bifidus. This starter contains Skim Milk Powder, Sucrose (Sugar), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Active Lactic Bacteria (L.bulgaricus, S.thermophilus, L.acidophi).   I ordered both the yogurt maker and a few packages of Yogourmet starter from Drugstore.com and got free shipping for ordering over $35.

This is how I made SCD 24 hour yogurt.  I used half of the half-gallon of milk so I can get two batches of yogurt out of it.  The jars are only about 2/3 full, about 4+ fluid ounces.

32 ounces organic milk
one package ( 5gr ) of Yogourmet freeze-dried yogurt starter

• Bring the milk to a boil, I used medium heat on my stove top setting.  The temperature will be over 180 degrees when it starts to boil, and it will quickly climb to 200 degrees so work fast to take it off the heat.
• Remove from stove to let cool to 108 to 112 degrees F, according to Yogourmet package directions.  I put the pan in the refrigerator and stirred a couple of times until it was 108 degrees.
• Remove about  2 TBSP of the 108 degree milk into measuring cup and stir yogurt starter mix into that, it makes sort of a paste, then add about 1/2 cup more of the warm milk, stir.  Then pour back that back into the pot of warm milk and stir gently to mix well.
• Pour into the 7 individual glass jars, without lids, place into the yogurt maker, turn on and leave for 24 hours.  A sticky note with the time to turn it off might be helpful.
• After 24 hours, gently remove the jars and place in the refrigerator for 8 hours before eating.  This stops the fermentation process. 
• I am not 100% sure how long this yogurt stays fresh.  I have read sources that say it stays fresh for 1 week, others say 3 weeks. 

Interesting research about yogurt and the gut!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2219330/

Eggs, Specific Carbohydrate Diet Allowed Food

Eggs are one of the foods that I was never too sure about.  If I ate eggs for breakfast, I generally got a tummy ache right after eating them.  I would be in the bathroom sometimes ten times in a 2 hour period making it very difficult to even leave the house before noon.  Eating them later in the day or for dinner could go either way. 

But, was it the eggs or the coffee full of high fructose corn syrup creamer that I used to drink while eating them.  Or was it the processed bread, full of gluten and lots of additives including high fructose corn syrup, that usually accompanied the eggs.  Or was it because they were not organic eggs...what had the chickens been eating and how much of that was in the eggs I ate!  Or was it just my very unhealthy gut!  So many variables.

I started eating pastured, organic eggs about a week ago.  I really don't like eggs very much but thought I should try them first before reintroducing any other foods.  That way I would know if I can use them in recipes. The recipes in the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle, use a lot of eggs.  I am not sure how much I will use eggs but it gives me options. 

I have eaten eggs for lunch and dinner boiled, scrambled and fried in olive oil with the yellow cooked well.  I still haven't eaten eggs for breakfast, only for lunch or dinner.  I am too afraid that first thing in the morning would be too much for my gut to handle just yet...don't push my luck. 

So far, my tummy is happy and I haven't noticed any increase in pain, brain fog or increased fatigue or insomnia after eating eggs.

I think the three months of following the anti inflammatory diet has had a very positive impact on my gut and my overall health. 

Chicken Vegetable Meatballs

I have enjoyed my beef meatballs so much that I decided to try making ground chicken breast meatballs.  You can use any kind of ground chicken that you like, but I am very picky and ground two boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about a pound, using a food grinder on my Kitchenaid mixer.  I also like sneaking vegetables into my meatballs.  These would be great for picky eaters who don't like greens, you can't taste the spinach if you mince it small enough.

CHICKEN VEGETABLE MEATBALLS                 makes about 14 small meatballs

2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 1 lb) ground
1 large Vidalia onion, finely chopped
1 large organic carrot , finely shredded
1 stalk organic celery, finely minced
1-2 TSP olive oil, or coconut oil for sautéing vegetables
1/2 TSP sea salt
1 TBSP olive oil (to add to mixture)
**(optional) 2 cloves garlic, minced (cook last 2 minutes with veges)
**(optional) 1 cup organic spinach, finely minced (don't add if you plan to freeze)
**(optional) 3 TBSP homemade basil and spinach pesto mixed into meatballs (don't add if you plan to freeze)
*(optional) 1/2 - 3/4 cup No Tomato Red Sauce for dipping or to serve over meatballs.  When I make the beef meatballs, I mix the sauce right into the meat mixture before baking.  So far I haven't tried that with the chicken but will let you know how that works out.

Preheat over to 375 degrees.
Saute onion, carrots and celery in olive oil about 7 minutes. Let cool.
Mix into the ground chicken along with olive oil and salt and **optional ingredients if using.
Roll into small meatballs, about 1 rounded TBSP.  Place them in a glass baking dish.  Cook for 20-30 minutes.  Mine didn't brown.

Transitioning to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet SCD

I have been following an anti inflammatory diet from my chiropractor for three months now.  The diet is very similar to the Autoimmune Protocol, AIP, which is based on Paleo foods. I have been reading about another diet called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, SCD, which is more gut specific in my opinion.  Many people think it is more restrictive than the Autoimmune Protocol.  But I feel the legal/allowed foods are more like what I already know doesn't cause gut distress for me. 

My diarrhea has subsided, with the exception of the coconut macaroon incident a few weeks ago. But, my energy level is still not good.  My pain has improved so much.  I can't really say I am totally pain free, there are days I feel horrible, but I am much improved from three months ago.  I know I can feel better if my gut gets healthier, my activity level increases and I continue to lose weight.

I have decided to transition to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, instead of the Autoimmune Protocol as initially planned.  Since my health issues started with my gut almost forty years ago with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis after having mononucleosis and six weeks of penicillin shots for it.... what was my sweet, elderly, country doctor thinking.  And more recently a diagnosis of diverticulosis and IBS after a colonoscopy.  I think the SCD is more gut healing specific and probably a better choice for me.  I am curious why no physician has ever mentioned this diet to me.  My last GI doctor told me to figure out what foods cause my diarrhea and stop eating them!

I have read the book, "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall, several times and it just makes sense to me.  SCD uses homemade yogurt that ferments 24 hours which gives the lactose in milk (a disaccharide) time to break down into galactose (a monosaccharide) which requires minimal digestion.  The gut benefits from the good bacteria in the homemade yogurt.  I know from past experiences, plain organic Greek yogurt agrees with my gut, but milk doesn't. 

Also in the book, it is suggests eating cooked vegetables and fruits until diarrhea subsides.  I figured this out the hard way.  I can eat raw spinach and romaine lettuce, but only 1/4 cup of each a day.  Any more than that and I bloat and cramp.  I eat at least 1-2 cups of cooked baby spinach every day that I cut very tiny, almost like you chop herbs for recipes because I really don't like the texture of big pieces of spinach.  There are also several allowed foods that I already know I can't eat without symptoms so I will leave those alone.

I talked to my medical doctor before making the decision.  He agreed that our health can be affected by what we eat and he didn't think it would hurt to try this diet.  I was hoping to get more input from him but he didn't have much to say.  He said we could re-evaluate in 4 months, after I have a colonoscopy in November.

Carrots, Organic Baked Carrot Fries

We eat a lot of organic carrots!!  The first time I saw a five pound bag of organic carrots, I wondered who eats that many carrots.  Well guess what, my husband and I eat five pounds a week! Once I realized that cooked carrots don't bother my tummy, they are on the menu every day.  I use carrots as the base for many recipes.  Carrots can be used for baked carrot fries, baked carrots and onions, stir fried carrots, carrots in soup and in No Tomato Sauce, similar to spaghetti sauce without the inflammatory nightshade vegetables, ie. tomatoes.  Plus, they are one of the less expensive organic vegetables usually priced about five dollars for five pounds.  So between my happy tummy, versatility and cheap price, we eat five pounds a week!

One of my favorite carrot recipes is baked carrot fries.  I have seen several varieties of this recipe but I like the recipe my daughter shared with me that a friend shared with her.  This is easy and not really much of a recipe but tastes soooo good.

BAKED CARROT FRIES 

I usually plan one to two carrots per person depending on how big they are.  Use carrots that are similar in size so they cook evenly.  Simply wash and clean up the outside of the carrots with a peeler to remove any outer dirt.  Slice the carrots in half to decrease the length and then cut each half into four long pieces (shaped like French fries).  Toss in about 1 TBSP olive oil or more depending on how many carrots you use.  Make sure to coat them well.  Place in a baking dish and put in a 400 degree oven.  Bake 20-30 minutes.  If your carrot pieces are big, you may need to add additional baking times.  Sprinkle with salt and enjoy!

Weekly Dinner Menu 4

WEEKLY MENU 4

• Chicken and vegetable patties, strawberry spinach salad with homemade strawberry dressing
• Lemon Chicken, carrot and spinach soup
• Meatballs, baked carrot fries, sautéed squash
• Chicken breast sliced and sautéed in olive oil, butternut squash medallions, salad
• Stir fry London Broil with broccoli, onions, spinach, carrots, zucchini, squash
• Herbed Chicken breast, baked carrot fries, sautéed squash, spinach salad
• Chicken meatballs, butternut squash hash browns, sautéed yellow squash and spinach

What I Am Eating

BREAKFAST:
 1 cup warm water with Cinnamon and Lemon when I first wake up
 1 cup homemade chicken broth I drink this before eating

  3 slices bacon, Maverick uncured no sugar
  1 cup Organic Girl Baby Spinach chopped very tiny sautéed with
  1 Vidalia onion ( about 1 cup sliced) in 1 TSP coconut oil
  2 Butternut Squash Baked Medallions

SNACK:
   5 Gummy Gelatin Bites
 
LUNCH:
  1 pouch of Wild Caught Alaskan Sockeye Salmon
  1 organic summer squash sautéed  in olive oil
  1 organic Banana

DINNER:
Lemon Chicken Spinach Carrot Soup  
Spinach, Romaine, cucumber salad with homemade olive oil lemon dressing

SNACK:
 5 Gummy Gelatin Bites
 2 Butternut Squash Baked Discs
1/2 cup blueberries
  1 cup warm water with Cinnamon, Lemon and honey an hour before bed

Butternut Squash Recipes

Who knew that butternut squash increases serotonin in the brain?  According to the Dr Oz show that I watched this afternoon, eat one 1/2 cup serving per day to boost serotonin to the brain.  Move over antidepressants, butternut squash is moving in!

I have been eating butternut squash more frequently now that I know how to cook it several ways.  I used to get the hubs to split it in half and bake it in the oven for an hour which is delicious. Then I saw on Facebook how to peel butternut squash, slice and bake it.  Butternut squash can also be peeled and boiled until tender then mash it, add some cinnamon and honey and it is delicious.  I also saw several recipe that used grated butternut squash for hash browns!

Since I am cooking for two, a butternut squash is definitely more than we can eat in a day.  Generally, I peel and slice the end that doesn't have the seeds in it and bake that part the first day.  The bulb end that has the seeds can either be grated to make hash browns or boiled to make mashed squash the second day.  And most of the time we have leftovers of both to eat for breakfast or lunch.

Baked Butternut Squash Medallions

Peel the squash using a potato peeler. Depending on your peeler, this might take a couple of swipes around to get all the peel off.  Cut off the bulbous end of the squash that has the seeds and use that for the next recipe, butternut hash browns. Slice the straight part into medallions about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.  Try to be consistent with the thickness so they cook evenly.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush olive oil or coconut oil on both sides of the discs. Prepare several baking sheets with parchment paper or use glass baking dishes.  Place the butternut squash discs on the prepared baking sheets/dishes.  Bake 20 minutes, then turn and bake additional 20-30 minutes depending on the thickness of your slices.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Butternut Squash Hash Browns

1-2 cups grated squash (I used the bulb end of squash)
1/4 cup grated onion
1-2 TBSP Olive Oil

Remove the seeds from the bulb end of the squash that has been peeled.  Grate the squash.  Press the moisture from the squash between layers of paper towels, so it doesn't end up soggy.  Heat a medium skillet over med-high heat with 1 TBSP of olive oil.  Place the grated squash and grated onions into the heated pan, cook about 3-4 minutes on one side, flip and continue to cook until squash is tender and starts to brown.  You may need to reduce the heat once you flip the squash.  Salt to taste.