Easy Roast Butternut Squash Soup

This is the easiest way to make squash soup. It requires minimal effort but yields delicious but hearty soup.



Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash
1 litre of homemade chicken broth or vegetable stock
1/2 cup water
1 x clove garlic
1 medium onion
2 tsp sage
Sea Salt & Ground pepper to taste


Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C
Slice butternut squash in half length ways (along the longest part of the squash)
Scoop out the seeds and discard.
Place the squash on a baking sheet and season on the flesh side with sage, salt and pepper.
Turn it over skin side down and pour the 1/2 cup water into the tray, this will act as a steam to cook the squash quicker.
Add the onion, sliced, and the clove, chopped.
Place tray in the oven and cook for 45 minutes or until the squash and other vegetables are tender and beginning to brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Using a spoon, scoop the contents of the squash out and place in a saucepan. Remove the garlic and onion from the pan and add to the saucepan with the squash.
Add the stock bit by bit and blend with a hand held blender according to desired consistency (add less stock if you desire thicker soup)

How To Make Nutritional Therapy A Career For You!

I get asked a-lot on my facebook page for information on the course I am studying. 

I am almost finished my third and final year of a Naturopathic Nutrition Diploma course with the College of Naturopathic Medicine,(CNM) Dublin. 

Naturopathic Nutrition,in CNM's words "stresses the use of whole and organic foods as medicine - an integral concept of healing in many indigenous societies. Today, we see that a return to chemical-free foods, along with other dietary measures, is an effective answer to many health complaints and common conditions". 

It is an excellent course and very comprehensive, based on up to date scientific evidence and research based findings. It provides the platform for graduates to open their own clinical practice to help clients over come illness through food and nutrition. 

The first year of three focuses on biomedicine and gives students an incite into the human body and how each of the systems function. It is very interesting and very necessary if you are to understand the impact of nutrition on the body. If you are already working in the health industry or have already studied biomedicine you may be exempt from this particular year. 

Second and third years are based on nutrition studies and focuses on topics such as firstly the building blocks of nutrition eg micro and macro nutrients, types of diets, detoxification and then nutrition for disease processes. 

As well as the academic side of things years 2 and 3 also focus on clinical theory and clinical practice. The in-class clinical observations are extremely informative and involve observing actual clinical cases. This is key to gaining experience for our own clinical practices and total clinical hours are 200 over the final 2 years. 

I absolutely love the course. If you have a passion for nutrition and want to inform and help people overcome illness through nutrition I would strongly urge you to do it. 

I started this blog in 2011 as a little incentive to stick to Paleo. What it triggered in me was a realization that this is what I love and what I want to do with my life - teach people to realise that what we put into our mouths has SUCH an impact on how we feel and how healthy are bodies and minds are. 

If you feel the same way and are looking for a change of career I recommend you check out their website here

They have courses on offer in Dublin, Cork and Galway. They also have a base in the UK for those of you who wish to study over there. 

It is fully accredited with the Irish Association of Nutritional Therapy. 

I hope this helps! 

Denise 

5 Common Nutrition Myths Debunked Series Part 2 "LowFat Is Good"

Modern society has become obsessed with eating low fat. Starting in the 1980s, when the US government published reports highlighting a flawed correlation between cholesterol and heart disease, the media as a whole soon followed suit with now infamous publications of articles such as THAT "Times" magazine article. The fat fear had officially been ingrained in the conscience of society.

Butter and egg sales fell dramatically and people opted for the "healthier" options of vegetable oils and breakfast cereals to keep their fat intake down.

No one could have imagined the rate at which the food industry corrupted the general nutritional profile of our food. In an effort to meet the demands of fat fearing consumers, food producers began removing the fat from their foods by processing. Except without the fat the food tasted bad. So they had to add something to make it taste palatable - namely sugar, artificial sweeteners, flour and salt. The sad reality is that although these nasty extras were being added to the food,  the only thing people looked at was the fat content of their foods, not its overall nutritional profile. We had lost the point.

Fat Is Not The Problem 

Consider this - if low fat eating is the most healthy way to eat then why has society's health got WORSE since the emergence of the low fat diet phenomena? Obesity is higher than it has ever been in our history and chronic disease is on the up rise with diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancers on the rise.

The supermarkets are full of low fat biscuits, low fat crisps and low fat juices - guilt free eating at its best. However our waistlines are not getting smaller.

If the low fat diet is so good for us, why are we still so fat?!

All Fats Are Not Created Equally 

The things about fats is they are not all the same. It is not necessary the amount of fat that matters, but rather the TYPE.

Fats are an important component in a proper functioning body. It has a role in hormone synthesis and nerve health. It is therefore crucial that you include sources of good fats in your diet.

They also play a very important role in reducing inflammation.

Good fats help to lower LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol. Think of them as "mopper uppers" of bad cholesterol as they guide it to the liver to be synthesized.

Fats To Avoid

• Vegetable Oils (eg canola oil, sunflower oil) 
• Margarine
• Transfats (found in processed foods) 
• Cooking with easy damaged oils like extra virgin olive oil 

Fats to Increase

• Avocados
• Coconut Oil
• Nuts and Seeds
• Olive Oil (dressings, cold uses) 
• Saturated Fats like lard, tallow, duck fat etc

Risks To Eating Low Fat

The truth is that by constantly focusing on low fat in your diet, you may be inadvertently eliminating crucial  nutrients from your diet.

During processing low fats foods have all the fat removed from them. Of course removing this fat also eliminates the fat soluble vitamins such as Vitamins A, D, E, K. Many producers add synthetic vitamins back into the food to make up for this, but these vitamins are just that; synthetic. They do not work in the body the same way as their natural counterparts. Fat soluble vitamins are also designed to work with fat. By eliminating the fat they should be soluble in, the vitamins are unable to be absorbed in the way they should be.

Signs and Symptoms Of Insufficient Essential Fatty Acid Intake

• Dry skin
• Cracking/peeling fingertips
• Patchy dullness/skin discolouration
• Small bumps on the back of arms
• Combination skin
• Dull nails 
• Dry eyes
• Lack of vaginal lubrication
• Menstrual cramps 
• Excessive ear wax
• Stiff/painful joints

If you are suffering 3 or more of the above symptoms you may benefit from including more essential fatty acids in your diet. 

Despite the common hype, low fat diets are not the healthy lifestyle many suggest, nor are they the gold standard in weight-loss many believe. 

A more healthy approach to a good lifestyle is to eat real food and to include the good sources of fat outlined above. 

A lifestyle like Paleo contains a good ratio of protein, fats and natural carbohydrates. 

Eat Real Food, Eat Paleo.