Posts Tagged ‘squash soup’

Lose Weight By Eating Soup

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Most people who have tried to diet will tell you that losing weight is a tough business. The main reason people find it so hard to resist that extra slice of pizza of chocolate cake is because hundreds of thousands of years ago our brains were evolving in a time when food was scarce – our brains evolved to tell us that we needed to eat high calorie food as often as we could. However, the problem now is that we obviously do not live in a world where high calorie food is scarce. In fact, we live in a world where high calorie food is hugely abundant and easily available, and our brains have evolved to tell us to eat as much as possible (because it doesn’t know that the next meal is just around the corner!)

In 1999 a bunch of scientists discovered one of the main causes for us feeling hungry – a hormone called “ghrelin”.

This hormone is released by cells in the walls of our stomach. It then travels through in our blood to the brain, where the part of the brain monitoring hunger detects it. Once detected, it tells our body that we must eat.

The interesting thing about ghrelin is that the stomach only releases it when the stomach is empty. It knows when our stomach is empty because the walls of the stomach are not stretched. If they are stretched (i.e. we are full) then the hormone is not released.

Pretty straightward so far isn’t it – a stretched stomach wall means you don’t feel hungry. Not too taxing…

Now let’s look at an every day situation. At lunchtimes say you have a drink of water and a sandwich. This will probably keep you from feeling hungry for a couple of hours, but no more.

Something funny happens when you blend the water with the food, i.e. you make soup – you end up feeling fuller for longer. How can this be when you have consumed the same amount of food?

The reason for this strange phenomenon is because of the way that your stomach handles water and food. When you drink water, this is passed through the stomach quite quickly, so it won’t fill you up very long. However, food is held back for longer so it can be digested. But, if you mix the water with the food the whole lot is held back – meaning a stretched stomach for longer, meaning no ghrelin is produced and therefore you feel full for longer!

Very simple. Very effective. Eating soup at lunchtimes will help you lose weight because it will hold off those mid afternoon cravings!

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Parsnip and Squash Soup

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Ingredients:

one large butternut squash, three big parsnips, two large onions, three thyme stems, olive oil, salt and pepper, six cups of veg stock, apple cider vinegar, optional squash seeds for garnish

Method:

Line a baking tray with foil and heat the oven to 350F.

Take the butternut squash and cut in half lengthways, and then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Peel and cut the onion and parsnips in half also and put all these ingredients into the tray, with the cut side faced downwards.

Cover well in the olive oil, add the thyme, salt and pepper and mix well.

Roast all ingredients for an hour, turning the parsnips after 30 minutes.

After an hour remove from the oven. The onions and parsnips should be browning by now, and ensure the squash is tender by testing with a knife. Remove the thyme and allow to cool.

Now that the squash is well roasted, remove the skin – you should be able to do this easily.

Now cut all the vegetables up into small pieces and puree in a blender with the stock. Blend until smooth. You may at this point wish to add some apple cider vinegar, cream and salt and pepper, as you see fit. (I prefer it with the cream, but there’s nothing wrong with not adding anything!)

Serve with a nice wedge of white bread, toasted squash seeds and thyme.

Serves 8 to 10.

Optional

To roast the seeds of the squash wash them in water, add to a small baking tray with oil, paprika and salt and pepper and roast at 300F for twenty minutes. By this time the seeds should start to turn brown in colour. Leave to cool and then seal them in an air tight container for a week.

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The Wonders of Butternut Squash

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Butternut squash is a fruit that grows on a vine. As it ripens it’s colour turns orange and many say it tastes similar to a pumpkin. In Australia, it is actually regarded as a pumpkin.

Squash is very healthy containing large quantities of fibre, vitamins (A and C), magnesium, potassium and manganese. During the warmer months it is imported from Argentina but in Britain is grows between autumn and the winter.

It is a good fruit for the kitchen as it can go into a lot of dishes. Curry, soup and different bakes are well suited and in Africa it is often baked with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Many people are put off by squash because you must remove all skin and seeds before cooking. However, if you have a good peeler (an ordinary potato peeler is usually fine) and knife this won’t take more than a couple of minutes.

When buying a squash it should weigh around a kilo and be quite firm. If you buy one that is substantially more than 1kg they tend not to have as much flavour. If you tap it you should hear a hollow sound and ensure there are no green shades on the skin of the fruit. Some supermarkets sell pre-prepared squash but it is usually better (and cheaper) to prepare it yourself as you’ll get more of the goodness.

When storing squash the best place is a dark, cool cupboard in the kitchen. I prefer not to put it in the refrigerator because the wet atmosphere can cause it to rot. If you buy a few in a sale and want to keep them over a longer time there is nothing stopping you freezing squash. I recommend removing the skin and seeds first though, and perhaps chopping into cubes before sticking them in the freezer. You could always make a squash soup instead to freeze.

For more information on squash, as well as a video on how to make squash soup, click the link. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

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Making Squash Soup

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

A few weeks back I visited my parents. They cooked my fiance and I a great slap up meal, three courses, the lot. The starter was particually good – squash soup. This was the first time I had ever tried squash soup so I asked my mother for the recipe. She was reluctant to give it to me at first because she knew I’d immediately publish it online (and guess what… she was right!)

Here are the ingredients that you will need:

3 lbs. of butternut squash, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, 1 large onion, 3 tablespoons butter, 4 cups of chicken stock (or vegetable stock, whichever one you prefer), 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper

Right, first off, take the squash and peel, a normal potato peeler should do the job. Next, take a large knife and cut the squash in half. Scoop out all the seeds and chuck them in the bin. Now cut the squash into large cubes (approx 1 inch should be fine) for later.

Now you need to peel and slice the onions into small pieces. Do the same with the two cloves of garlic. Now, get a large pot and preheat it to a medium heat. Once warm, add the butter and coat the bottom of the pan as it melts. While the butter is melting, add to the pan the onions and cook them for around five minutes, ensuring the onion doesn’t get hot enough to brown. Now add in the garlic and cinnamon and cook for another thirty seconds. Finally add in the chopped squash and chicken stock, put the lid on the pan and cook for a further 25 minutes.

After 25-30 minutes check the mixture – the butternut squash should now be well cooked. Now blend the mixture well, add some syrup for a treat, maybe add some cream (unless you’re on a diet) and blend some more. Make sure it’s nice and smooth before serving in separate dishes.

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Delicious Squash Soup Recipe

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Australians call it butternut pumpkin because of it’s close similarity to pumpkins, but butternet squash is the real name. It comes from central America, grows on vines and has a yellow skin with an orange pulp inside. It’s fantastic as an ingredient because not only is it very versatile – it’s a good source of fibre, vitamin C, vitamin A, manganese and potassium. Squash can be roasted, toasted, grilled, pured, or mashed and used in soup, bread, casseroles, even muffins. Squash soup is a great choice for a starter. It’s easy to make, takes around half an hour from start to finish but above all else it tastes amazing. Below are the ingredients and an easy to follow recipe.

Time from opening cupboards to serving: Half an hour, Serves four people

Ingredients: 1 large squash, medium onion, 1/2kg of potatoes, coriander, olive oil, 100ml double cream, stock cube, pepper for seasoning and a knob of butter

1. Using a peeler, remove all skin from the squash. Cut off the ends, cut in half and take out all the pips. Then cut into 1″ cubes.

2. Heat a large pan on a low heat, add the oil and butter. Allow the butter to melt.

3. Chop the onion into small pieces. Add to the pan and fry – still on a low heat. You don’t want to brown the onion, just soften it up.

4. Peel the skin off all the potatoes. Cut these into 1cm cubes and add to the onions. Make sure you stir them well to get them covered in oil.

5. Now add the squash, again stir well covering with oil, put the lid on and leave for ten minutes, returning after five minutes to stir.

6. After 10 minutes check that the potato has started to soften. When it softens mix the stock with 1 litre of water and add to the pan. Simmer gently and wait until all vegetables are soft. This should take about 15 minutes and you may need to add water – add just enough to cover the vegetables or the soup will be too watery.

7. Add the coriander and cream to the mix and blend until smooth.

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