GreenLiteBites

Nothing says “fall is coming” more to me than winter squash. I love seeing the bins at the grocery store full of acorn, spaghetti and of course, butternut squash.

I’m fairly new to this amazing vegetable. I tried my first one a few years ago and fell in love. It has a sweet flesh similar to a sweet potato, but softer and less dense once cooked. You’ll probably laugh, but my favorite way to eat them is in fry form like this.

It was time to spread the squash love to Little Bean. May I present our Butternut Squash Adventure… (Warning: photo overload ahead. I was having too much fun with the camera)

The store didn’t have BIG ones yet so I settled on this small to medium one for our adventure.

Cut in Half.
It’s tough but jam that knife in there and go to town. I also cut the top off, as it’s hard to make it through the stem.

Scoop out the seeds and pulp but don’t throw away! More about that later.

Rub a little olive oil on the tops of each half so they don’t dry out too much in the oven. Place the halves on a cookie sheet. I cover with aluminum foil for less of a mess.

Place the squash in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Back to those Seeds.
Rinse and remove pulp.

Line another cookie sheet and spray with non-stick spray. Spread the dry seeds, spray with a bit more spray, and then sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 10-15 Minutes.
Just put them in the warm oven on a different rack

A Fun Treat!
Big Brother loves these but he was at school. My goal was to save him some.

After about an hour (depending on the size) the squash should be soft to the touch. The same way a sweet potato would feel.

The squash flesh will be soft enough to scoop right out of the skin.

Add a little water and mash with a fork or run the flesh through a processor.

I ended up with 6 baby food jars of very concentrated puree. NOT like the water downed stuff you get in stage 1 & 2 jarred foods.

Preferably don’t wait until you have a cranky baby like I did. He was in a MOOD!

Even cranky he always seems ready to eat!

“Hmmmm”
“This is ok, but I’m still cranky. What is it?”

“Get OUT!”
“Butternut squash? Really?”

More?
Ok, but you have to move your fingers bud.

“It’s not bad,”
“but what else do you have?”

The squash is good on it’s own, but I like to beef it up by adding some oatmeal and applesauce.

It’s good!
I swear! I try everything I give him. It’s a rule. :)

Bulk it up?
I also added a scoop of formula as I’m supplementing his breastfeeding.

Great meal!
He ate it all. I couldn’t believe it. But he was still cranky so I put him down to nap shortly after this.

Big Brother Comes Home!
It was hard but I did end up saving some of the seeds for him. As soon as he came home from school he devoured them!