Spring is almost here-time to use the winter squash cooling in the basement!  Bake the squash, puree in the food processor with cocoa and maple syrup  The result is a delicious nutrient dense treat with 5 grams of fiber. 

Butternut Squash Pudding

3 Servings (6 Tablespoon Each) 

Roast whole butternut squash for 1 hour at 425F. Cool slightly to handle. Peel and remove any seeds and strings.

 

Puree squash flesh with cocoa and sweetener. Add additional flavorings as desired. Mine has ground almonds.

 

1 cup squash

3 Tablespoon 100% Cacao powder

2 Tablespoon maple syrup

2 Tablespoon ground almonds

 

I serve mine with vanilla skyr (a cultured milk product similar to yogurt) to add protein. The parfait has 5 Tablespoon of skyr.

 

Nutrition Information of parfait per serving: 

Calories 118

5 grams fiber

7 grams protein

8 grams added sugar 

Eclectic Muesli and Yogurt to Power My Day

 

I call this roasted cereal Muesli 11 as it contains 11 prebiotic fibers:  4 nuts, 4 fruits, 2 seeds and 1 grain. Combining with yogurt or kefir (a fermented probiotic) can enhance immune and metabolic health.

Muesli 11

17 (1/3 cup) servings

Chop nuts to your desired consistency. Mix nuts and seeds. Toss on a wide rim baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Toast in a 350 F. oven for 7 minutes.  Reduce oven to 275F.
1/3 cup pistachios
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup pecans
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoon fennel seeds

Mix honey, peanut butter, oil, orange and vanilla until smooth.   
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla

Toss peanut butter sauce with nuts and seeds and oats.  Mix until completely covered. 
2 cups old fashioned oats
Spread onto parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Stir.  

Chop apricots and berries in a food processor.  Mix with partially roasted oats.  Bake in oven for another 30 minutes. 
1/2 cup dried apricots

2 cups fresh cranberries (I buy several bags of these in December and freeze, as they are not available after the holiday season)

Alternate the ingredients in this recipe for a variety of nutrients. We pick wild black raspberries in the summer, freeze and use those in place of the cranberries. The nuts can be any on hand, as could the dried fruit.

 

 

My advice after 50 years in the dietetic association

My first recollected food assignment as a young college student was to provide an afternoon snack for a nursery school class. I gave the preschoolers ready to eat crackers and cheese. That was more than 50 years ago. There was not as many ready to eat packaged foods.  The meats, vegetables and fruit were likely not processed. For the grain option, menu planners opted for a slice of bread, 4-6 crackers, 1/2 cup cooked rice, pasta or cooked cereal or 1 cup ready to eat cereal. 

Fast forward 55 years when the 2026 Dietary Guidelines to Eat Real Food seemed to invoke a reluctance among colleagues. My advice after 50 years in the dietetic association:

• Don't let highly processed foods be the default option. If you can't make it in your own kitchen it probably falls into that category.   Americans have to eat less of them, not eliminate. Give alternatives. 
• Diversify plant foods. Plant foods include grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. These add prebiotic fibers and polyphenol nutrients supporting a healthy gut. Diversifying these and trying different varieties is good for a healthy gut as well as the environment.
• Include sources of lean meat and dairy to meet the protein needs of older adults. 
• Emphasize fermented probiotic rich foods.
• Wash and cut vegetables and fruits yourself. Safety, nutrient density and taste is better.
• Make it harder for manufacturers to engineer a ready to eat food meeting nutrition standards. 

What snack would I give to the preschoolers today? Do made from scratch mini muffins (pumpkin sorghum) and a fresh banana sound good?

MAHA Breakfast Cereal

 

In the cafeteria I managed at the Health Sciences Center, customers loved oatmeal. Served from the soup station at the end of the fruit and salad bar, they filled their 10 ounce soup bowl with a hefty ladle of hot cereal. Few customers bought the single serve boxes of cold cereal.

Here’s my recipe for hot cereal made with hulled barley, dried and fresh fruit and milk. Served with chopped nuts.

MAHA Breakfast Cereal

(4-1 cup servings)

Cook barley in water.

1 cup hulled barley

Drain water and soak in milk. (It will absorb)

Stir in fruits.

3 ounce raisins

8 dried figs, sliced

3 ounce cranberries in orange juice

The cereal gets sweeter as it sits in the refrigerator.

This cereal has 9 grams of added sugar when white sugar is added to the fresh cranberries while cooking. It too gets sweeter as it sits in the refrigerator.

Dietary guidelines recommend limiting artificial preservatives and flavors, petroleum based dyes, and ready to eat packaged breakfast options. There is overwhelming evidence to support minimizing intake of ultra processed foods.

Eating Real Foods: MAHA Pizza

 

Whole foods, protein, dairy, vegetables and whole grains-they’re all here. The crust, made with whole grains and an egg flows over the whole pan. There are cut fresh vegetables, roasted meat and cheese. This is quick and easy and a great use of leftovers.

MAHA Pizza

(4 Servings)

1 1/2 tablespoon cornmeal 

Mix dry ingredients together.

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup spelt flour 

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon oregano

Beat egg into milk. Stir into dry ingredients.

1/2 cup 1 Tablespoon milk

1 egg

Pour into 10 inch oven safe pan. 

Sprinkle on top batter.

Peppers, minced, 1 mini sweet pepper

Sprinkle on:

Chicken, roasted, diced (stirred with barbecue sauce)

Vegetables, cut

Bake at 395 F for 12 minutes.

Top with cheese of choice and bake for 2-3 minutes more.

This follows highlights in What to Eat Now and 2026 Dietary Guidelines supporting overwhelming evidence to minimize ultra processed foods.

The crust recipe is adapted from the 2018 cookbook, The 30 Minute Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.

Another Turkey Dinner

These tasty turkey meatballs and creamy sauce are cooked on stovetop. Served with mashed Yukon gold potatoes and a shortcut cranberry sauce, this turkey dinner is good!

Turkey Meatballs

(4 Servings)

In mini food processor, grind crackers, then onion. Beat in egg, salt and pepper. Add turkey and mix. 

6 multigrain crackers 

1/4 cup small onion

1 small egg

6 ounce ground turkey

1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

1/16 teaspoon salt

Form into meatballs, 2 teaspoon each. 

 

On stove top, brown meatballs in olive oil for 3 minutes. (They will not be fully cooked). Remove from pan.

1 Tablespoon olive oil

 

To skillet, melt butter. Add flour and mix, browning for 3 minutes.  Add vinegar and Worcestershire. Mix in chicken broth, 1/2 cup at a time.  Add salt and pepper.

Drop meatballs into sauce.  Cook for 8 minutes.  

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon flour

2/3 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2/3 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 1/4 cup chicken broth (add 1/2 cup at a time)

1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper 

 

I-81 Traffic Jam

Cook on stove top for 10 minutes. 

 4 ounce fresh cranberries

1/4 cup jelly (Orr’s I-81 Traffic Jam)

2 teaspoon lemon juice

 

 

 

I love that I have time to make my own stock. Also, the mashed potatoes are always homemade.

Seafood Cioppino

I'm in the process of down sizing favorite recipes to match our needs.  This one is a favorite from Oldways. The homemade sauce is the highlight of this dish and it's a great way to use partial packs of seafood in the freezer.  Mine has flounder, scallops and shrimp, served over a whole grain spaghetti.

Seafood Cioppino

(Serves 4)

Saute vegetables in olive oil 8 minutes. 

1/4 cup onion, diced

2 Tablespoon bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoon olive oil 

 

Add to pot: 

1 cup diced tomatoes in juice

2 Tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup red wine

4 slices lemon

1/2 teaspoon each dried and chopped parsley, basil and oregano

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Bring to boil.  Lower heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

 

And fish and simmer covered for 20 minutes. 

1 4 ounce flounder fillet, cut in pieces

 

Add shrimp and scallops.

6 jumbo shrimp, shell removed 

4 ounce scallop pieces

Simmer 10 minutes.

 

Discard lemon slices. 

 

Serve over pasta.

 

Possibly, tasty additions to this recipe were my own freshly dried and ground herbs. Before the first frost, I take what's left in my front deck planters, dehydrate in the oven (mine has a 150F. dehydrating function) and grind.  They don't last long, but are noticeably tastier than the store bought.