Freezing butternut squash

Freezing butternut squash preserves them so you can enjoy the vegetable all year-round.

When you get a large crop of winter-squash, as they are called in America, you may be at loss what to do with them all. They will keep but not indefinitely and we always find the last few go bad; then not having lovely butternut soup for the rest of the year.

Enter freezing butternut squash so you can enjoy them all year round. They are a rich source of beta-carotenes and fibre; plain good food, especially for diabetics.

There are two-ways to do this; both have their merits.

Roast your butternut squash

1. Cut your butternut-squash lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a strong spoon.
2. Coat the flesh with olive-oil and in the bowl drop a large chunk of butter and some herbs like thyme and a clove of garlic.
   
3. Stack them in a large oven dish with a tight-fitting lid.
4. Place into a hot preheated oven for an hour, and then remove the lid so they can brown and cook right through. It will depend on the size of your squash. Test them with a sharp-knife.
5. Allow the squash to cook completely and then scoop the flesh out into a blender. Process it until smooth adding a little water if necessary.
   
6. We like to freeze the pulp in one litre yoghurt containers; pop it out after a day and keep in well-sealed translucent bags.
7. They will keep in the freezer until the new-season crop is ready.
   

I like to put some in smaller containers too. I love a butternut smoothie for breakfast now and then. Just add a quarter of a banana, some kefir and a squirt of fresh lime-juice; and a teaspoon of honey and you already have a meal. It's really quite filling.

It's all about getting those mandatory ten-colours a day into your food; for those who want to live long in the land.

That of course is a biblical phrase, associated with honouring your parents. You may enjoy this newsletter about why blue zone people go to bed slightly hungry. Old-age homes are an anathema to them.

Celery soup, in this case with a little stock from our eisbein-bones, a slice of artisan bread with perhaps avocado and a scoop of hummus is the perfect light supper that will leave you satisfied, yet very slightly hungry. Resist the temptation to finish with a sweet treat.

It's all about satiety; a little extra fat and plenty of fibre is the solution. Those enjoying foods like these need have no guilt about butter on their bread.

You could easily add a small cup of your frozen butternut instead of, or in addition to the carrots. Enjoy a wide variety of coloured-foods.

Perhaps take a tip from the blue-zone folk; don't put your parents in an old home. It is so rich living close by our grandchildren; only a door separates our homes. We help them with a 101 things and they stimulate us and give us a reason to live, right to the end.

Does Blue Zone longevity appeal to you? There is ten times the chance of living to vigorous old-age without losing your marbles?

Pressure-cook your butternut squash

The second way to preserve your butternut squash is to pressure-cook them. It is much quicker, no need to scoop the flesh and it is said that the glycemic index is lower than roasted vegetables.

In this photo they are with sweet potatoes on the way to make a beta-carotene miracle soup. As always let your food be your medicine; from supplements the phytonutrient raises the risk of malignant tumours especially in smokers^[1].

Freezing butternut squash

Freezing butternut squash is just about pressure-cooking or roasting them in the oven and then blending the pulp before you put the concentrate up; wonderful to have it readily available for your quick-meals all year round.

The perfect butternut smoothie with a few green kale or spinach-leaves, and I like to add kefir instead of yoghurt; it has over 30 different species of friendly bugs to keep the tum happy.

And this nutritous green smoothie is another regular favourite.

Did you know there are over two kilograms of bacteria, virus and other little creatures in the normal colon? But they are greatly diminished because of the chemicals added to our food, and regular exposure to antibiotics. Absolutely avoid artificial-sweeteners.  

How to make kefir is not rocket-science. It takes me five-minutes twice a week.

Be strong

I have thought often, not arrogantly I hope, why in our mid-seventies we are strong and take no medication whatsoever.

1. Many coloured-foods every day.
2. 100% wholemeal sourdough-bread that we bake.
3. Kefir as probiotic.

Of course there are many others too, but these three are at the top of the pile in my book.

1. Beta carotene supplements
2. Easy sourdough bread recipe
3. Kefir benefits
   

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