If you're like me and your science-brain still craves some hard data to back up the fact that you feel better eating more real, vibrant food - here's a study out of Australia...
Researchers found that eating a traditional Western diet (high in processed foods, refined sugars, poor quality beef and animal foods (ie - factory farmed/corn fed)) lead to a 50% increased likelihood of depression vs. eating a whole foods based diet (including a good variety of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts/seeds, grass fed beef/dairy and free range chicken/eggs).
Read the article HERE.
So, as my brother likes to say: here's to feeling good all the time!
Try this simple, delicious way to get some of that variety onto your plate...
Honey Lime Roasted Butternut Squash
1 x 3lb butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lime***
1 tsp. honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
sea salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375F.
Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Peel the squash - this is about the hardest part of this recipe. The safest way I have found to do this without dismembering yourself - is to take a chefs knife and cut each of the lengths into 4 pieces. Then take a piece and place firmly on the cutting board and slice down and away from you removing the skin and as little flesh (both yours and the squash's) as possible. Move around the piece until you've got all the skin off. Go slow and you'll get the hang of it. A vegetable peeler doesn't seem to work on that thick skin and a small paring knife felt treacherous to me.
Once the squash is peeled, dice into 1 or 2 inch cubes.
Grab a metal or pyrex baking dish big enough to spread the squash in one layer. Toss the squash with the olive oil, lime juice, honey/maple syrup or agave nectar, and add salt and pepper to taste. I gave some quantities as a starting point here, but I usually just eyeball it and taste as I go.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the squash is fork-tender, stirring once during baking.
Serve as a side dish, add to black beans and rice, or to top a spinach and quinoa salad, drizzled with lime/olive oil/garlic dressing with a pinch or two of ground cumin. Delicious...
** The juiciest limes and citrus fruits are the ones that are heavy for their size, glossy and vibrant in colour and still have the calyx (the little stem bit) attached to the end. When this is gone, the lime is older and likely dried out. Avoid limes with lots of dark patches, a few is fine but more can indicate an undesirable mouldy flavour. To juice a lime, first roll it back and forth on the counter while pushing down with the heel of your palm. This breaks up the tiny juice vessicles so you'll get way more juice out. Cut it in half crosswise (between the stem ends), push a fork into the cut side and twist it while squeezing the lime half against the fork.
