Here are some health and nutrition highlights from this week;
Really? The Claim: Drinking Green Tea Can Help Lower Your Cholesterol
(Like most green tea claims, this one is slightly off.)
Saturated Fat Reductions Not As Effective For Cholesterol Reduction, Study Says
(The title makes it sound like eating a low saturated fat diet isn’t effective for reducing cholesterol, but in reality this study showed that a diet high in fiber, soy, plant sterols, and nuts, all of which are known to help reduce cholesterol, work better at reducing LDL cholesterol than a low saturated fat diet alone. You can read more information about this study here.)
Ban on Using Food Stamps to Buy Soda Rejected by U.S.D.A.
(What’s your opinion on this issue? Personally, I think it’s ridiculous that people can use food stamps to buy soda, but at the same time, is soda any worse than half of the other food/drinks that food stamps can be used to buy, such as Gatorade and Twinkies?? Not so much.)
Maggie Goes on a Diet the Sensible Way in Children’s Book
(There is a new children’s book out, which tells the tale of a young and overweight girl who goes on a diet. The premise sounds harmless and even helpful for some children, but the title has got to go. The word “diet” just makes me cringe, especially when used in this context.)
Antibiotic Use Has Grown Along With Obesity; Coincidence?
(Antibiotics are prescribed often, and they are killing beneficial bacteria in our gut. While this has been known for a while, new research suggests that by killing certain bacteria we may be promoting other problems such as heartburn and even obesity!)
And now for some butternut squash news! As I said last weekend, my plan is to try to come up with a different way to use butternut squash each week from now until the winter. Some of you gave me some great ideas and recipes and I’ve saved them all and am looking forward to doing some work in the kitchen. This week I found two new ways to use the butternut squash….
Smoothies!
(cooked butternut squash, banana, mixed greens, and frozen blueberries mixed with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a bit of juice)
Ice Cream!
In a blender mix 2 cups half and half (chilled), 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 1.5 cups cooked/cooled butternut squash, 1 tsp nutmeg and 1 tsp pumpkin spice. Put into an ice cream maker and churn for ~20 minutes.
Oh
My
CREAMINESS!
Thanks for the idea, Meghan!!!
And, butternut squash wedding cake!!! haha, jk. This is random, but I had to share it with you. Nick and I went to a wedding last weekend and this was the cake.
I’ve been taking note of great cakes lately, and this one was right up my alley. The design was simple, yet elegant. Nick and I both took one look at this cake and said, “oh man, that’s fondant, what a bummer”, because it looked too perfect to be butter cream (and we both hate the taste of fondant). But no, it was butter cream, my friends, and it was amazing.
