Acorn squash is a type of winter squash that was named for its acorn-like shape. Acorn squash come in a variety of colors including: yellow, dark green, tan, and orange.

How to Select

Select acorn squash that are dull and heavy for their size. Avoid squash with soft spots or cracks.

How to Store

Store acorn squash in a cool, dry area away from extreme temperatures and sunlight. Acorn squash can stay fresh for up to 3 months.

Nutrition Benefits

Fat free, saturated fat free, cholesterol free, sodium free and a good source of vitamin C.

Ingredients:

7 Cup water

7 Cup wild rice (about 12 ounces)

3 small squash (each about 10 to 12 ounces), cut in half, seeded

2 Cup Water

2 Cup finely chopped onions

2 tsp crumbled dried sage leaves

2 Tbls fresh lemon juice

1/2 Cup plus 3 tablespoons dried cranberries (about 3 1/2 ounces)

1/2 Cup plus 3 tablespoons chopped toasted hazelnuts (about 3 ounces)

1/4 Cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

Bring 7 cups water and rice to boil in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 1 hour. Drain. Transfer rice to large bowl.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil baking sheet. Place squash, cut side down, on sheet. Bake until tender, about 40 minutes. Cool. Using spoon, scoop out pulp from squash, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shell; reserve shells. Transfer pulp to medium bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

Add 2 cups water to large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until very tender, about 15 minutes. Add sage; stir 2 minutes. Add rice, squash pulp and lemon juice; stir until mixed, breaking up squash pulp into smaller pieces. Mix in 1/2 cup cranberries, 1/2 cup hazelnuts and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide rice mixture among reserved squash shells. Place in roasting pan. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)

Bake squash until filling is heated through, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons cranberries and 3 tablespoon hazelnuts.

Serves 6

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Recently, the great Sir Paul McCartney wrote an article in the Huffington Post called "My Life as a Vegetarian", reflecting on the life of his late wife Linda McCartney, who started a movement with Meatless Mondays, and who like John Robbins, among others leaders in plant-based nutrition, brought to our awareness the fact that eating animals every time we sit down for a meal; for some multiple times per day, has a huge, negative impact not only on our health but on other species inhabiting our planet and the environment.

It's a great article and is accompanied by a new campaign that Sir Paul is coming out with to continue her legacy. Have a read...

That said, many people miss the main point about eating More Plant-Based, Nutrient Rich and 'potentially' going Vegetarian or Vegan.

Let me clarify...

From a 'nutritional' point of view (which is where most people are focused, on health and weight loss...), eating More Plant-Based, Nutrient Rich is not primarily an animal rights or environmental issue. These points of view are directly related, but whole 'other' conversations in and of themselves. And while these are major reasons why many people choose to eat less or eliminate meat or animal products from their diet, reasons I/we as a company do support for switching up the way people eat; they are not the primary reasons we need to be eating more plant-based, nutrient-rich diets. Not understanding the main reason, is also the primary cause of diet, weight and long-term health issues.

Note: We say plant-based, "nutrient rich" because according to Joel Fuhrman M.D. the SAD Standard American Diet is actually a "plant-based" diet with 62% of calories coming from refined plant foods, 25% of calories coming from animal products, and roughly 12% coming from vegetables and fruit (mostly from fries and ketchup), of which, only 5% come from fresh produce!

Translation: If you understand that refined foodstuffs are nutrient-barren, even if they come from plants, then the above statistics reveal that 90% or more of the foods people are eating are nutrient poor- meaning they are devoid of any substantial amount of phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins and minerals and health-promoting forms of protein, carbohydrates and fat.

Eliminating or limiting meat and going "plant based" is not enough; not nearly. Even if you eliminate or limit nutrient-poor animal foods from your diet, you may still be eating just a healthier version of the same SAD nutrient barren diet, as many do, resorting to fake meats and an endless variety of refined foods that are not much better than the foods they aim to supplant; which is why we say, "More Plant-Based Nutrient Rich".

"Nutrient Rich" means the foods are whole food of plant origin, not refined (they can be processed, but not refined). Understanding this, is what ensures you will actually be eating healthy. And for many, realizing this prompts them to make the "switch" to 90% or More, Plant-Based, Nutrient Rich, healthy eating, or to at least get on that path, away from how they are eating right now.

So, when we talk about eating More Plant Based Nutrient Rich, we are first and foremost talking about eating in a way that optimizes your health, by eating mostly micronutrient-rich foods--leafy, green, and colored vegetables and fruits, beans, seeds, nuts, and whole grains, small amounts of animal products if you choose to eat them and outright eliminating refined foods which provide no nutritional value whatsoever; in great-tasting ways you like and enjoy.

Eating "nutrient rich" is not 'about' going vegan or vegetarian (although by all means do if you are ready and want to). Few, if any primates are actually 100% vegan (at the very least, they are also consuming insects, etc.). Even though we can thrive very well in being 100% vegan (there is more than enough science to make this point intelligently, and we are in no way discouraging you from going vegan; the main point in eating More Plant-Based, Nutrient Rich and potentially going vegetarian or vegan is about making sure you are meeting all your nutrient needs. In addition, not overwhelming your body with substances that it does not need from foods, and eating foods in as close to their natural state as possible to protect nutrient integrity.

You want to make sure you are in line with The 5 Golden Rules of Healthy Eating.

So, if you are going to go vegan (which can be an ideal way to eat if it's nutritarian or nutrient rich), or improve the way you eat in any way towards that direction, make sure you understand the main point-- its a necessity to eat the More Plant Based Nutrient Rich foods for purposes of staying healthy!

Nutrients, Nutrient Diversity and Nutrient Quality. Learn More, next.

The post Are You Missing the Main Point of Eating More Plant-Based Nutrient Rich and Potentially Going Vegetarian or Vegan? appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

See complete graphic below.

There is no one diet "program" that fits all. As is it, even if there was, people have different food preferences, require different amounts of foods and have unique nutritional needs based on the previous usual way of eating, their current condition, how their body functions (more or less), activity levels etc.

That said, we all require the same nutrients, and there are basic eating patterns that tend to work for most people because many of us face similar work / rest routines and believe me, these routines have a big effect on what you eat, when you eat and how much you eat.

Also, it's a not-so-commonly understood fact that your body needs micronutrients to function, so a nutrient-rich, healthy eating style works for everyone on that basis alone. Eating foods that are lacking in nutrients never works.

Last, but not least, as most people have experienced; if your approach to changing the way you eat, is not based on "small changes" and completely doable, you won't be able to sustain a routine, which you can then build on and develop. What you think you can't do, you won't do.

What works best?

Think about the average person who's eating the Standard American Diet. They do what they think they can do and that results in the world's most common eating routine. The problem is, it only seems to be working for them, only on the basis that eating whatever they can whenever they can is all that works because they're so busy; but most of the time that means eating nutrient poor food.

Nutrient poor food promotes weight problems and health complications and if you look around, you can easily agree with this observation. This way of eating does not work for us, it works against us.

• For Breakfast, most people wake up, drink a big cup of coffee, with or without a light meal. People are so busy in the morning they just fly out of the house. Besides, many people aren't that hungry in the morning, because they've likely eaten a rather large dinner the night before and haven't yet been active.Tired, they are, because they've gone to bed overwhelmed by all the night time seductions (TV, iPhone in bed, other things or people in bed the biggest of which is recreational eating--going to bed on a full stomach and not getting a sound enough sleep, hence the perceived need for coffee.

• For lunch, they are still so busy, after perhaps a few snacks to keep going, they eat a relatively light lunch, larger than breakfast because they have been active and they need more calories and nutrients. Worried about falling asleep, and suffering from the mid-day drag, most people are careful not to slow down too much, for too long or overeat at lunch because any masked hours of sleep debt, can be triggered by both and not one wants that drag during the day. So they eat a rather light lunch and carry on with the pace of the day.
• For dinner, this is the first time most people have the time to eat a rather robust meal. First, we have the most time, we are the most social during dinner, we have time to digest, we are usually not under the gun. We are also not as afraid of being tired during these hours and for many eating is a night time past time while watching TV or working late. And eating late helps many people as a sleep aid, with the proverbial "full stomach".

It's a cycle and so it repeats.

Now, how does this author, trainer, coach, entrepreneur know this and how do you get the world's most common eating routine working for you, not against you? Besides asking my clients and noticing these patterns for years, I've done it myself!

It's a relentlessly busy world out there, with a faster pace that we've ever experienced before as a human population, with stress that is ever-persistent as we're all driven by technology, competition, this fear or that, keeping up etc. So to some degree, we're all faced with similar work / rest demands and therefore similar eating patterns. I'm not saying they are exact for everyone, I'm simply saying, "similar".

This is why, even hugely successful companies like Slim Fast, used to promote the ole' drink a shake in the morning, one in the afternoon with a light meal and a "sensible" dinner. Not because they were simply brilliant but because it works for most people's lives. Today, though, they've bought into a different plan, to change things up. It's likely in response to another pattern that has been emerging over the past several years--because so many people are stuck in the vicious cycle of eating nutrient-poor, calorie-rich foods, and that is eating animal products and refined foods, a common patterns is now eating 5 times per day in such a way that keeps you on a treadmill of undernourishment, and overeating, boosting your energy with sugar-laden foods, then trying to manage your weight with low carbohydrate eating--just look at this nutrient poor menu!

By the way, when I say "nutrient poor", I'm talking about a diet that is lacking vitamins, minerals, fiber and most importantly the thousands of phytochemicals that enable your body to function, and then of course, health-promoting versions of protein, carbohydrates and fats. Not all calories are created equal.

So, how could you get the world's most common eating routine, working for you?

First of all, you need to break the vicious cycle of eating nutrient poor, and make the Switch today, for your best health tomorrow and that is the switch to a nutrient-rich, healthy eating style! Why? Because eating more plant-based nutrient rich, is the healthiest way to eat, especially when 80-90 % or More, of the foods you eat are from vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes, raw nuts and seeds, and whole grains. Plants are where all the nutrients come from.

An eating routine is a just routine, but the quality of the foods you orient that routine around makes the difference.

Learn how to do that right, and you will literally detoxify your body, lose weight naturally, reverse lifestyle-induced diseases from overweight and obesity to diabetes and heart disease... age slower from less nutritional stress, look younger and live longer.

The problem is, for so many of us, the promise of a plant-based, or plant predominant eating style, can "seem" to be too time-consuming not convenient enough and for those who've been eating the SAD Standard American Diet for far too long, rich in highly addictive foods, not tasty enough. All of which, could not be further from the truth. But when you've been trained to eat in a certain way for a long period of time, usually for commercial reasons that are marketing-based and just aren't true, by what appear to be respectable organizations like Slim Fast, among countless others promoting high consumption diet traps, people get "stuck" in these addictive ways of eating.

So the answer is this:

You continue to follow the world's most common eating plan, because the routine works. Only now, you do it with great-tasting nutrient-rich foods, not nutrient-poor foods. So, your eating plan might look like this: (there are many variations to this...)

Note: Today, it's just as easy to eat nutrient rich (healthy) as is to eat nutrient poor (unhealthy) as you'll see below:

The Simplest, Quickest and Easiest Way to Eat Healthy!

• A Superfood Drink in the morning, with or without some fruit or whole grain cereal.
  An ideal superfood drink is juiced vegetables and fruits or a live juice powder combined with whole food concentrates and nutrient dense ingredients such as Living Feast, which you just mix with water.
• A Superfood Drink in the morning, with a soup or salad including vegetables and fruits, an oz seeds or nuts, beans, etc.
• A Robust Nutrient Rich Salad Meal for dinner, with raw or cooked (steamed greens) nuts or seeds, loaded with vegetables, and other whole food toppings, including some whole grains or other starchy food, with a fruit based dessert.* if you want to include a small amount of animal and refined foods keep it to 10% or less of your total calorie intake and make it white meat chicken or fish only a couple times per week and a whole grain products that are legitimately whole grain.

You can look into this menu and label it countless ways, but one thing it is, it's nutrient-rich, satisfying and filling, it won't overwhelm your body with too many calories, will flood your body with micronutrients and given you the fuel your body requires to sustain a long demanding day free of the distractions caused by unhealthy food (fuel) choices.

It works; give it a try! When you eat in this way, the simplest, quickest and easiest way eat nutrient rich "healthy", you can begin imagining and realizing a life with a whole new set of health dynamics supporting you. Read about them here.

The post Is the World's Most Common Eating Routine Working for You? appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

This is an amazing movie and is one everyone should see at least once! I say this not only because this movie is helping thousands of people begin making the switch to a more plant-based nutrient-rich diet, but because it highlights the works of some of the biggest giants in the healthy-eating movement, including the authors of The China Study and those involved in preventing and Reversing Heart Disease. It's a combination of On Golden Pond and a hard-hitting expose of the truths about eating and what can happen when you stop eating nutrient poor and start eating in a plant-based healthy way.

I was asked to give a short talk and answer some of the questions that were prompted by the film. In this approximate 7-minute clip, I answer a number of niche questions about olive oil, soy, pesticides, organic food, and deliver a whole bunch of other insights. Enjoy it. The event was a lot of fun! I implore you to see the movie, if you haven't already done so.

Today, there are so many people looking to find a way out of the vicious cycle of eating nutrient poor, and this movie screening just created another ripple in the big pond!

If you want to learn more about having me speak at your next event, click here.

The post A Video from John Allen's Recent Q&A Session Regarding A Screening of Forks Over Knives in NJ appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

That means, make the Switch to 90% or More Plant-Based Nutrient Rich eating, the cornerstone of a healthy eating style, in which you ideally want ninety percent of the foods you eat to come from leafy greens, colored vegetables, fruits, beans, raw nuts and seeds, and whole grains, and ten percent or less of the foods you eat to come from animal products and refined foods.

So, if you were to eat 2000 calories each day, 200 calories or less could come from beef, chicken, fish, dairy, eggs, bread, pasta, flour, sugar, oils and salt. \Why? Because they are nutrient-poor, and in some cases, nutrient-barren foodstuffs (foods so devoid of micro-nutrients that not only is what you are eating loaded with calories, but the calories (macronutrients) you are eating, are not ideal for the human system or packaged with the (micro-nutrients) that enable the body to function right).

This is the predicament most people find themselves in. They are eating diets where up to 90% or more of the calories they consume are coming from nutrient-poor foods, and they wonder why they are having such difficulty with weight issues and health complications.

Their bodies are overwhelmed with calories, in the case of the Standard American Diet eater, or deprived of calories, in the case of the weight loss-only dieter, or confused, with one foot closer to the promised land of healthy eating, but irritated because of all the added salt, oil and sugar they are consuming, as half-baked "healthier" eaters.

In all three cases, their bodies are dysfunctional to the extent that they are unable to effectively run their cellular machinery, which is needed to keep the body detoxified and functioning right with everything from true hunger signals and senses they can trust, to a clear understanding of what's really going on when thyey get sick (most, not all of the time).

Their immune function is low because of such low levels of phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, and fiber (which give rise to probiotic bacterial growth) making them even more susceptible to viral infections, bacterial infections, flus, etc.

Are you getting the picture?

So, when I'm talking about optimizing the way you eat, its doesn't mean eating less, or playing around with protein, fat and carbs, or simply eating "healthier" versions of the foods you are currently eating, like eating less egg yolks, or taking the skin off your chicken. Rather, it means making a "Switch" from eating predominantly nutrient- poor foods, to eating to predominantly nutrient-rich foods. And, since virtually all nutrients originally come from plants, making them the most nutrient-rich, health- promoting and protective foods there are, it naturally makes sense that you would be eating More Plant-Based Nutrient Rich.

But, notice that I am not referring tho this as organic, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, non-GMO, low glycemic, low cal, low carb, low fat or any other type of diet regimen. The reason is simple--a nutrient-rich diet can be all of the above or not, depending on how you design your eating style.

These other eating styles are simply other ways you can optimize the way you eat nutrient rich. Eating More Plant-Based Nutrient Rich, makes every one of them possible,and some more likely, than others, depending upon your preferences. You can take eating nutrient rich as far as you want to take it.

So, the concept is simple. When you make the Switch to nutrient-rich healthy eating, you are  optimizing the way you eat for all the the Success Results you are always hearing me talking about, but so few every really experience -- a detoxified body, natural weight loss, dramatically improved health and personal performance, reversal of lifestyle-induced diseases, slower aging,  a younger look and a longer life.

To get those results you want to take these 5 steps.

1. Make a wholehearted decision to Switch to nutrient-rich healthy eating.
2. Begin by eating More Plant-Based Nutrient Rich foods,
3. Break free of the vicious cycle of eating nutrient poor,
4. Optimize your diet for nutrients, density, volume, variety, and great taste, free of addictive substances, so you can eat the right amount of calories for you with the help of The Nutrient Rich Healthy Eating Plan and Support.
5. Develop a healthy lifestyle to support your success.

Healthy eating, like successful living, is the foundation on which you can better achieve and enjoy what you want. Any eating style that is not healthy, or tricks or manipulates calories to lose weight only, or emphasizes growth and muscular development, in ways that compromise health, is not only difficult to maintain, it doesn't end well.

Is the path you are on going to take you where you want to go? It will--if it's a nutrient rich path.

The post Optimize The Way You Eat by Taking These 5 Steps appeared first on Nutrient Rich.

Do You Have a Nutrient-Rich Body?

This article discusses ten simple ways to know if you don't yet have a nutrient-rich, healthy body and what you need to do to develop one.

Many of us do not get all the nutrients the body needs to stay healthy. Our diets can be overwhelmed with calories - protein, carbohydrate and fat, and the wrong sources for all three, which are lacking in the essential vitamins and minerals, fiber and phytochemicals we need for the body to function right.

Yes, you read that right, the body does not function right, if you don't have a body rich with immune system-supporting, detoxifying and hunger-satisfying micro-nutrients, which are not present in any significant amount in animal products and refined foods.

Most of us are consuming foods that have few positive benefits to health and have many negative consequences, even though they may promote rapid growth, and taste satisfaction.

The question is, how do we know if we are getting all the nutrients we need?

These ten circumstances will let you know that your body is nutrient poor and not getting all of it's nutrient needs met -- those nutrients that you are aware of, aren't aware of, and have yet to be discovered, resulting in an overall state of health is low.

An annual visit to the nutritionally-oriented doctor who focuses on natural methods, for an overall health check can also help you determine where on the scale of health you are at.

10 Ways To Know If You DO NOT Have a Nutrient Rich Body

1. You are hungry all the time, even after you are full.
2. You are getting headaches and other symptoms when you don't eat, for more than a short period of time, maybe a few hours.
3. Strong cravings are the reason you are eating.
4. Unless you are eating animal protein, regularly, you feel weak and foggy.
5. You are eating more than 10-20% of your calories from animal and refined foods, and only small amounts of produce.
6. You have to eat 3-5 times per days or else you don't feel good.
7. If you need to eat breakfast the minute you wake up, due to reasons other than *true hunger, you know don't have a nutrient-rich body.
8. You are getting sick regularly, with strong, longer-lasting colds, the flu, etc.
9. You know you don't have a nutrient-rich body, if the minute you eat a carbohydrate, natural or not, you gain weight.
10. You react with weird faces when you see someone drinking a green smoothie!

* A pleasurable sensation that is experienced in the throat and mouth.

If you are experiencing any of the above, your body is nutrient poor.  Period.

What do you need to do to develop a nutrient rich body? It's simple, you need to make the Switch to Rich - nutrient rich healthy eating that is optimized for nutrient density, variety, volume and great taste, free of addictive substances, so that you can eat the right amount of calories for you, when you are hungry; and be so satisfied, you are able escape the diet traps forever!

Building a nutrient-rich body, means the end of the vicious cycle of eating nutrient poor, dieting, weight gain and long-term health issues!

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