Tonight, I had planned on cooking a butternut squash I had in the fridge.  But, while I prefer I more color-balanced (i.e., nutrient balanced) meal, I couldn’t come up with a great second side to go with our chicken. I was trying to keep dinner fairly low carb–squash has about 20 carbs a cup–so potatoes, rice, etc were out. So, I cooked the only other veg we had in house–carrots! I had already tossed some frozen chicken in the crockpot  this morning,and seasoned it heavily in preparation for dinner and sandwiches for the rest of the week.

So, here’s what we ended up eating tonight:

NOTE: this same recipe is just as good with sweet potatoes. :)

Cinnamon Butternut Squash

Hardware: Cookie sheet, GOOD, heavy knife

Butternut squash, cut in half after removing seeds.

1 Butternut squash

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)

Nonstick spray

Preheat oven to 375.

The hardest part of butternut squash is cutting it. You may want to microwave it to tenderize it a bit before attempting to cut it in half. Cut the entire squash into bite-sized cubes. I’ve learned that you don’t have to peel it, either. Place on cookie sheet and toss with cinnamon and sugar, if wanted. Bake for 20 minutes, turn and bake another 10 minutes or until tender. (You can precook a bit in the microwave if you’d like to cut this cook time down.)

Nutrition: Depending on the size of you squash, this will vary in servings. One cup is about 90 calories.

My plate at dinner. I really gotta find some prettier plating options.

Cinnamon Carrots

Hardware: one bowl

Carrots with cinnamon. Trust me, it's goood. :)

Carrots (as many/few as you’d like)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 to 1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar

Sprinkle salt

1/2 tablespoon butter (optional)

Clean and slice carrots. Cook for 2 minutes in microwave. Add cinnamon and honey/sugar, (less or more depending on how many carrots you have). Microwave until carrots reach desired tenderness. Add butter at end, if you wish. (We didn’t add any, the cinnamon adds much more flavor in this case than the fat.)

Nutrition info: Okay, since it all depends on the size of your meal, I’ll parse it out for you. A cup of carrots is 52 calories, brown sugar is 45 calories a tablespoon, honey is about 60 per tablespoon, and butter is about 100 calories per tablespoon. One cup of carrots with 1/2 T honey and 1/2 T butter is about 130 calories.


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