Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Healthy Obsessions: Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Happy new year! 20 something days in....anyhow...I won't torture you with a knock-knock joke. The punchline title is cutesy enough.

I've had a major renaissance with orange veggies. They're loaded with beta-carotene & vitamin A. They're also mildly sweet and in season (or was in season when I was really obssessed). And cheap. A small acorn squash will run you 79-99 cents a pound, and can yield 2-4 single cup servings.

Case 1: I had a large sweet potato left from thanksgiving, I forked that bad boy, microwaved it on the baked potato setting and had about 4 1/2 c serving from that tuber. Cheap, easy and nutritious.

That's right; most of the orange veggies are microwave friendly. (At least the squash varieties; I wouldn't microwave a carrot -- they tend to spark.) The high starch and water content allow them to blend effortlessly into soups, smoothies, puddings, pastas and other things that can be blended without he addition of energy dense ingredients.

Case 2: fat free Greek yogurt with canned pumpkin and a tablespoon of honey. Great for breakfast, or a snack, or an orange pick me up.

Case: Acorn squash. Split it in half, microwave until tender and hit it with some spicy spices. Or slice it up and put it into sandwiches. Or soups. Or your mouth. It's tasty!