Do you like mousse? I do. My favorite thing about mousse is the fluffy and airy texture. In fact, one of my favorite types of yogurt is the Yoplait Whips, because they have that airy fluffy texture that I’m talking about (although I eat those whips only rarely because they are actually a dessert, not a healthy snack like most yogurts). I digress. Today’s recipe is called mousse but to be honest, the texture is more like a pudding. I thought about calling it pudding, but I don’t like pudding, I like mousse. I liked this recipe, a lot, so I’m calling it mousse. What are you gonna do about it?!
Roasted Butternut Squash Mousse
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded **
- ½ T butter, melted
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1 8-ounce container light whipped cream, thawed
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup toasted chopped walnuts and/or almonds **
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F. Use a pastry brush to evenly brush the flesh side of the squash halves with melted butter and place flesh side down on a greased cookie sheet (alternatively you could put the squash in the microwave for 10-12 minutes). Bake at 400˚F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Let squash cool for 10 minutes. Remove flesh from the squash halves with a spoon and mash with a fork until smooth, and strain excess liquid (you should get a yield of roughly 2 cups squash).
- Place mashed butternut squash, powdered sugar, and orange juice in a pan over medium heat and heat for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool completely and puree in a blender until smooth.
- Mix squash puree, 2 cups of whipped topping, and vanilla extract until smooth. Place into serving bowls and sprinkle evenly with nuts and remaining whipped topping.
Notes
** If you are following a low FODMAPS diet be aware that the butternut squash might cause symptoms when consumed in amounts above ¼ cup. You will get more than this amount of squash in one serving of this recipe, so you may want to stick to a smaller portion. Also, almonds contain FODMAPs when consumed in excess of ~10. You may be better off garnishing with lots of walnuts!
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ⅙th of recipe Calories: 186 Carbohydrates: 18.1 Sugar: 12.7 g Sodium: 47 mg Fiber: 1.3 g Protein: 1.9 g Cholesterol: 25 mg
Nutrition Highlights: Under 200 calories (not bad for a decadent dessert!), excellent source of vitamin A (100% Daily Value) and vitamin C (34% Daily Value)
You can use orange juice, or you can use something like what I used; Orange Carrot juice. Yum (who knew carrots would taste good in a juice?? They do. Especially when combined with oranges).
I used this Orange and Carrot juice, which, as you can see, is a low FODMAPs choice (but with most juices I still recommend sticking to 1/2 cup or less per day, for low FODMAPs and for weight management purposes).
This was one of those desserts that I didn’t feel bad about eating…all….day….long. I mean with an excellent source of vitamins A and C, plus only 12 grams of sugar, I convinced myself that by eating this I was not only treating my taste buds, but getting at least half a serving of vegetable/fruit. What? It’s true. The extra whipped cream on top wasn’t even really necessary, to be honest. I ate this without the whipped cream as I finished the leftovers throughout the week. Even Nick enjoyed it (have you noticed that as the years have gone by Nick has actually enjoyed my healthier creations more and more? It’s wonderful).
This would be a great dessert to serve at a dinner party, or to throw into your child’s lunch box (why not?), or your own. I’m starting to realize that yes, we did make a great choice in growing butternut squash for the second year in a row. I still have not gotten sick of it! Have you? I hope not. I have a couple more butternut recipes coming up, then I believe I’ll be moving onto spaghetti squash. Mmmm, who doesn’t love a non-starchy squash that puts wheat-noodles to shame?!
Enjoy your day everyone. Thanks for reading! I’ll be back on Friday with the easiest slow-cooked shredded chicken recipe you will ever find. Easiest, and most delicious, I promise. Happy Hump Day.
