Before we get into this week’s butternut squash recipe, check out this week’s health and nutrition news highlights.
Pro/Con Does Obesity Qualify As Child Abuse?
(I think my opinion on this is based completely on the individual situation. There are plenty of parents out there who need more resources, such as money and expert advice/guidance, in order to create a healthy food environment for themselves and their children. There are some parents who live in areas that are lacking healthy choices and are surrounded by violence that deters them from even sending their kids out to play. Is this abuse? No. But then there are others who just don’t care. That’s abuse.)
Penalty For Unhealthy Teachers
(Do you think it’s fare to penalize employees for not taking part in a wellness program? I do!)
Ingredients of Shady Origins, Posing as Supplements
(This is a must read. Bottom line: don’t be a full when it comes to buying supplements. Stick to well-known and trusted products that don’t make outlandish promises.)
Coffee Break? Walk In the Park? Why Unwinding is Hard
(You know that time in the middle of your day when you just feel like oyu want to crash? Well, first, try some protein, then take about 1-5 minutes and go outside to get some fresh air. It may really help!)
Sugary Drinks Add 300 Calories a Day to Youth’s Diets
(And we wonder why there is an obesity epidemic??)
Breast Cancer Risk Drops When Diet Includes Walnuts
(Yeah for walnuts! This study was pretty impressive. More reasons to make the cookies I posted below ).
And now it’s time for this week’s butternut squash recipe. A while back I asked for some butternut squash recipe recommendations. I received some great ones, including this Butternut Squash Muffin With Graham recipe from Chava of Food For Laughter. I was going to make these, but at the last minute I opted for a cookie recipe that someone gave me a couple years ago. I’ll have to try the muffins another time, thanks Chava!
Butternut Squash Cookies
Here is the original recipe from Allrecipes.com. My modifications are in red
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened (1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup almond butter)
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar(1/4 cup + 2 T Splenda brown sugar)
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups mashed, cooked butternut squash
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cup brown rice flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup raisins(omitted)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (2 cups chopped walnuts)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (omitted)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and squash. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices; add to mixture, stirring until well blended. Stir in walnuts. Spoon onto cookie sheets spacing cookies 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges are golden.
Nick can’t get enough of these cookies. I’m actually really surprised by this because they aren’t very sweet. I contemplated adding chocolate chips in hopes of Nick actually enjoying these, but I’m glad I didn’t because they clearly were not necessary!
