WHEEL OF FORTUNE

We struck the jackpot this year!  Our little backyard garden produced enough tomatoes and cucumbers to share with the neighborhood.  Now we’re harvesting an overabundance of butternut squash and we didn’t even plant it! Those hearty seedlings that kept cropping up like weeds all summer were squash plants from last winter’s composted kitchen scraps which included lots of squash seeds.  So I call this our BONUS CROP.

And what a bonus!  Butternut squash is loaded with vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin A in the form of beta carotene.  It’s nutrient dense, fiber rich, high in carbohydrates and low in calories.  It can be stored whole in a cool, dry place until ready to use in soups, salads, main dishes, even snacks and desserts.

My husband David’s favorite way to eat butternut squash is steamed and mashed plain--quick and easy to prepare and so good for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  While I was participating in Dr. John McDougall’s 10-Day Program at his Health and Medical Center in Santa Rosa, California in September (drmcdougall.com), David stayed at home on his own.  He enjoyed what both of us have learned from McDougall’s excellent book THE STARCH SOLUTION—a plant-based diet rich in starches (high carbohydrates) is best for optimum health and weight.  So our meals are always starch-centered (potatoes, winter squash, whole grains) with a serving of beans and plenty greens and colorful vegetables and fruits.   (See the photo below of one of David’s starch-centered meals.)

While contrary to the current low carb-high animal protein diet craze resulting in an increase in chronic diseases across the globe, Dr. McDougall’s emphasis on high carbohydrate, high starch plant-based eating meets the health and longevity tests of time and culture. He and his colleagues in Life-Style Medicine have helped thousands of people restore their health by eliminating animal protein from their diets and filling their plates with delicious, satisfying high carbohydrate, starch-based plant-based foods.