Roast some butternut squash and then add to fresh spinach. Cut the bulb in half. Research shows that children eat more vegetables if they have a role in their preparation. Cut squash between the neck and bulbous bottom. Get creative here! Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast in a 375°F oven until tender and lightly browned, 30 to 45 minutes. Cut squash between neck and bulbous bottom. Incorporate butternut squash into your next family pasta night by blending some steamed butternut squash into your cheese sauce. When buying at your market, make sure the pieces are dry, firm and vivid in color. Welcome to my world! Place the halves on a baking sheet, cut-side down. Pictured Recipe: Steamed Butternut Squash, Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Toss everything with a fresh and healthy dressing. It is also considerably high in magnesium and potassium. Choose squash with a remnant of the dried-out stem still attached, like a small knob at one end. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Make it a main course entree with a grilled chicken breast sliced on top. Additional great ingredients include roasted pecans, pomegranate seeds, and goat cheese crumbles. All the recipes sound fantastic. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, 4 Mistakes That Ruin Stuffing (and How to Fix Them), Chicken, Arugula & Butternut Squash Salad with Brussels Sprouts. Flavor, fresh ingredients, spices, nutrients, plant-based, this recipe checks off all of the boxes. Our 5 Favorite Ways to Eat Butternut Squash 1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Store cut squash in the fridge and use within a week. Red Lentil Butternut Squash Curry from Vegan Richa. It's sweet and light when cooked, but also substantial enough to stand up to both long cook times and quick sautés. Drain. Winter squash can be peeled with a vegetable peeler or paring knife, but there's no need to remove the skin if you're planning to bake it and scoop out the flesh when it's done. Top squash … this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. This particular friend thought that the concept was almost prophetic. It should feel heavy for its size. Smaller squash can be jabbed with a large, sturdy knife and then carefully sliced open. Add a 20-ounce package of cubed, peeled butternut squash. Bake at 350°F until tender when pierced with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour. ❤️. Kids love these tater tots served with a side of ketchup or ranch dressing. Cube the squash flesh. Choose squash that are very hard: press firmly all over to make sure the rind isn't soft (a sign of immaturity or improper storage). Then, at dinner time, get them involved in the process by giving them small, manageable tasks such as washing the produce or pouring the produce into bowls or cooking pans, stirring, or serving it. If you only find the larger cubes but need the smaller pieces, cut them into 1/2-inch dice before cooking. Preparing a hard … Related: Healthy Butternut Squash Recipes. ), Pictured Recipe: Butternut Squash Carbonara with Broccoli. Roast some butternut squash and then add to fresh spinach. They are sure to tell the rest of the family about their role in dinner preparation, and therefore very likely to try it out themselves! For harder or larger varieties, you may need to tap the knife through the skin with a rubber mallet or meat mallet. Need a healthy and vegan recipe that is easy to make for both lunch or dinner or saves well for the leftover lunch at your desk? Simply mash while the squash is still hot. Dinners were a daily struggle to get him to eat, let alone eat healthily. If you cannot find the pre-chopped zig zag shapes, I recommend buying the pre-chopped cubes of butternut squash and using a small cookie cutter to create other unique shapes. Allow to heat through, then blend with an immersion blender or pour into a stand blender. It's also a super-nutritious food. Of course, you can also sauté cubed squash to eat as a simple side dish, add to pasta or a salad, or use in some other way. Because of its nutrition and flavor, it’s one of my favorite fall vegetables to incorporate into meals. Her son was a very particular eater and never ventured far from chicken nuggets and pizza. While you could use prepared green curry paste to make this dish extra easy… Try this recipe! Everything you need for a delicious feast. Like other varieties of winter squash, butternut squash is packed with antioxidants and fiber. A grapefruit spoon is our favorite tool for the job. Regardless of where you are on the vegetable eating spectrum, I think these are all recipes that you can enjoy together as a family. ** Helpful Hint: I recommend utilizing the resources available to you and purchase pre-chopped butternut squash. “Give this a try – Butternut squash helps you run fast!” or “Eat your butternut squash- It helps you grow tall and strong!” Research shows that these sorts of phrases encourage kids to eat more veggies, which makes sense because every kid wants to be fast, strong, and tall – like a superhero! Ready to live life explored? I think it’s important that parents and teachers get together to do one or two things that they can accomplish well—a teaching garden, connecting with farms nearby, weave food into the curriculum. If you want to follow a formal recipe, try this one! And in a lot of stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, you can even find butternut squash “zoodles,” which will make the kids cooking more fun. Subscribe and receive updated blog posts to help inspire you to eat, drink, work, and play. Use a spoon to remove seeds and membranes. This lovely vegetable is best ripe in September and October, and depending upon your region and store availability, you can find it throughout the year. Use a sharp knife to cut the butternut squash in half horizontally. © 2020 EatingWell.com is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. Pictured Recipe: Spicy Butternut Squash Soup. Trader Joe’s and some other grocery stores sell butternut squash pre-chopped in fun zig zag French fry shapes. Store whole butternut squash in a cool spot with good air circulation (not the refrigerator, but a cool pantry or cellar) for up to a month. Butternut squash is a nutritional gold mine-a single cup of cubes boasts more than four times your daily value of vitamin A, which promotes healthy eyes. Use a sharp knife or peeler to remove the skin from the bulb halves and the neck. Look for butternut squash with a solid beige color devoid of any cuts or bruises. It’s funny how much more tantalizing an idea is when it comes from someone other than mom or dad. Cut bulb in half. The heat will loosen the skin enough to let a knife inside; just be careful of escaping steam from the inner core. Toss 2 to 3 pounds peeled and cubed butternut squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. The school had started a vegetable garden to teach the kids more about gardening and eating fresh foods at home. While nothing is risk free, some activities are safer than others when it comes to COVID-19. Additionally, the squash should feel heavy for their size, with no soft spots, bruises or nicks. Last year, a friend of mine was relating to me about her volunteer day at her son’s school each week. Maybe you’ll come over for a bit sometime soon. Butternut Squash in Fresh Green Curry. Carefully remove the skin with a fork; it should be very easy to remove. Growing up, food was more basic than it is now. The spinach salad and soup sound amazing!!! Pictured Recipe: Chicken, Arugula & Butternut Squash Salad with Brussels Sprouts. Because of the matching color, kids will not even be able to detect that the squash has been added to the sauce! Butternut Squash Fettuccine Alfredo. The flesh of this squash has a gorgeous golden hue and a firm, smooth texture that holds up well when cut into chunks and stirred into risotto. Once combined, form into tater tot shapes. And adding as little as a teaspoon of oil or butter increases your body's absorption of vitamin A by up to 650 percent. Use a sharp knife or peeler to remove the skin from the bulb halves and neck. Homemade stuffing is ridiculously easy to make, but there are a few things you can do that would ruin a perfectly good stuffing. 4. Try making hearts, stars, or even your favorite animated character using cookie cutters small enough to use on large cubes of butternut squash. During harvest season, look for vivid colors-the skin color should not look washed out. To prepare, first, steam cubed butternut squash. Toss everything with a fresh and healthy dressing. However, when the garden started at school, and he and his fellow students got involved in the planting, watering, and picking of various new vegetables, he wanted to try them at home. If you give butternut squash a try, you’ll find that it’s not only tasty, it packs a nutritious punch. Trust me, you will thank me later! It can take about 15 minutes to peel, seed and cut up a whole butternut squash, so buying it precut is a great option for weeknights when you have less time. Add vegetable stock, rosemary, steamed squash and a touch of cream to a large stock pot. Regardless of the season, the skin should not look shiny-a sign either that it's underripe or that it's waxed, possibly masking bad quality. Then scoop out the seeds and dice or slice as you may need for your recipe.