October 2019 Newsletter

When someone uses the words “healthy” and “Halloween” together in a sentence, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

  1. The old lady on your block who passed out boxes of raisins (!!!) to trick-or-treaters.
  2. Extremely sad, sugar-free chocolates that taste like chalk.
  3. Eating carrot sticks in the corner of your friend’s costume party while everyone else goes ham on the pumpkin cheesecake because you’re on the Whole30.

None of these options scream Halloween fun. But if you’re trying not to totally blow your goals on the spookiest night of the year (and you’re sick of healthy candy), you can still get in on the holiday-appropriate foods. Just try one of these festive (but good-for-you) healthy Halloween recipes:

  1. Halloween Roasted Veggies
  1. Halloween Stuffed Peppers
  2. Banana Popsicles

  1. Halloween Sushi

All About Protein

Your protein needs

The amount of protein you need in your diet depends on your weight, age and health. As a rough guide, the recommended dietary intake (RDI) for protein (measured in grams per kilogram of bodyweight) is:

  • 75 g/kg for adult women
  • 84 g/kg for adult men
  • Around 1 g/kg for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and for men and women over 70 years.

For example, a 75 kg adult male would need 63 g of protein per day. It is recommended that 15 to 25 per cent of total energy intake per day is from protein sources. The human body can’t store protein and will excrete any excess. Therefore, the most effective way of using the daily protein requirement is to eat small amounts at every meal. Using the example of the 75 kg male above, this would require that he eats approximately 21 g of protein at three meals each day.

1. Eggs
2. Almonds
3. Chicken Breast
4. Oats
5. Cottage Cheese
6. Greek Yogurt
7. Milk
8. Broccoli
9. Lean Beef
10. Tuna
11. Quinoa
12. Whey Protein Supplements
13. Lentils

14. Ezekiel Bread
15. Pumpkin Seeds
16. Turkey Breast
17. Fish (All Types)
18. Shrimp
19. Brussels Sprouts
20. Peanuts

Healthy Transformations

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • One 4-pound sugar pie pumpkin
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 large or 6 medium garlic cloves, pressed or minced
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ teaspoon cloves
  • Tiny dash of cayenne pepper (optional, if you like spice)
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
  • ½ cup full fat coconut milk or heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
  • ¼ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)

 

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Carefully halve the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds (you can roast the seeds if you’d like—see note—but you won’t need them for this recipe).
  2. Slice each pumpkin halve in half to make quarters. Brush or rub 1 tablespoon olive oil over the flesh of the pumpkin and place the quarters, cut sides down, onto the baking sheet. Roast for 35 minutes or longer, until the orange flesh is easily pierced through with a fork. Set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
  3. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add onion, garlic and salt to the skillet. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. In the meantime, peel the pumpkin skin off the pumpkins and discard the skin.
  4. Add the pumpkin flesh, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cayenne pepper (if using), and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper. Use your stirring spoon to break up the pumpkin a bit. Pour in the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, to give the flavors time to meld.
  5. While the soup is cooking, toast the pepitas in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, golden and making little popping noises. You want them to be nice and toasty, but not burnt. Transfer pepitas to a bowl to cool.
  6. Once the pumpkin mixture is done cooking, stir in the coconut milk and maple syrup. Remove the soup from heat and let it cool slightly. You can use an immersion blender to blend this soup in the pot. I prefer to use my stand blender, which yields the creamiest results—working in batches, transfer the contents of the pan to a blender (do not fill your blender past the maximum fill line!). Securely fasten the blender’s lid and use a kitchen towel to protect your hand from steam escaping from the top of the blender as you purée the mixture until smooth. Transfer the puréed soup to a serving bowl and repeat with the remaining batches.
  7. Taste and adjust if necessary

Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Sprinkle pepitas over the soup and serve. Let leftover soup cool completely before transferring it to a proper storage container and refrigerating it for up to 4 days (leftovers taste even better the next day!). Or, freeze this soup for up to 3 months.