How to Make Acorn Squash with Ghee & Maple Syrup

SERVINGS: 2

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 60 MINUTES

MEAL: LUNCH-DINNER

STYLE: WESTERN

PREPARATION: BAKED

EAT IN: AUTUMN-WINTER

FOR OCCASION: ROMANTIC, THANKSGIVING, BACKYARD-PICNIC-BBQ, CHRISTMAS, DINNER-PARTY

How Can Acorn Squash with Ghee & Maple Syrup Make You Feel Great?

AYURVEDIC ANALYSIS

Affectionate Acorn Squash with Ghee & Maple Syrup comforts your heart with its abundant coziness, bringing the bounty of the autumn harvest to your home. As the sweetest of the squashes, this seasonal staple is sure to satisfy your appetite for fall restfulness. The pleasant toasty aroma of baking squash will summon your whole family to the table. Smooth rich, ghee adds a contented feel to acorn squash's softness, helping you feel more secure as the cold wind whips outside. A drizzle of maple syrup imparts a sweet final touch, making this easy-to-prepare recipe an irresistible fall treat.

Nourish & Reassure Your Body

As the temperatures dip in mid-October you might feel an urge to soothe yourself with comfort food. In autumn, your body naturally craves the reassurance of sweet, rich foods like Acorn Squash with Maple Syrup & Ghee. The healthy fats of ghee increase your strength and protect you from the fall chill, as they create an insulative layer of cozy warmth. Vata constitutions, who tend to be dry and easily depleted, are particularly nourished by the warming softness of this recipe.

Sweetly Safe

Acorn squash is smooth and easy to mash, making it an excellent comfort food that is even suitable for infants without molars. Although Acorn Squash is somewhat bland on its own, it sweetens with cooking. That makes it a natural choice for a dinnertime treat that won't cause a sugar rush, or leave you with a sweet tooth for dessert. Acorn Squash with Ghee and Maple Syrup can even be served as a gently sweet dessert.

High fiber foods like acorn squash are preferred to refined flours and sugars. Although their sweetness slightly aggravates Kapha, fiber makes these foods hearty and satisfying alternatives to wheat and dairy, and reduces its glycemic index. The natural sweetness of acorn squash also means that a small dab of maple syrup is often enough to satisfy your tongue. Ghee is much lighter than butter, and is safer for those with higher cholesterol. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, its time to start polishing your Ayurvedic baking skills with this safely sweet dish.

Mineral Rich Maple

The mere taste of Maple Syrup's rich aroma transports you back to nature, to the calm and cool serenity of the forest. The full bodied taste let's you know this is a whole food. Its earthy impurities add a rustic component that is likely to be rich in minerals. Maple syrup literally comes from the sap of maple trees, juice that is the very nutritional lifeline of the tree. Consuming it can nourish your body as well. As it digests more slowly than other sweeteners, maple syrup is a favorite in Ayurveda that won't create a sugar buzz.

WHY SHOULD YOU EAT AYURVEDICALLY?

Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. An Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body type and the specific imbalances you are working with at any given time. Foods that supplement your specific body type’s needs and digest easily create your menu. Watch as you eat less but feel more satisfied because what you are eating truly nourishes you. Since Ayurveda believes all disease begins in the digestive tract, food is your first medicine. By eating a healthy diet that’s ideal for your body, you experience optimal health.

LEARN MORE

Is Acorn Squash with Ghee & Maple Syrup Good for Me?

Find out by taking this free, easy quiz. You'll learn your body type, and whether Acorn Squash with Ghee & Maple Syrup is a good fit for you. Time to complete: approximately 1 minute.

MEDICINAL QUALITIES

INCREASES Increases These Qualities (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main states (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which states are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every state has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite state. Learn More	HEAVY ABOUT HEAVY GUNA Heavy is identified by sedation, sluggishness, or increased weight. LEARN MORE ABOUT HEAVY EASY ABOUT EASY GUNA Easy refers to anything easy to digest, or digests quickly. LEARN MORE ABOUT EASY COLD ABOUT COLD GUNA Cold refers to anything that reduces body temperature, metabolism, and blood flow. LEARN MORE ABOUT COLD
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	SWEET ABOUT SWEET GUNA Sweet refers to anything builds tissue, including macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats. LEARN MORE ABOUT SWEET
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types People tend to get sick, over and over again, due to similar causes and habitual imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. Catabolic people tend to be easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic people tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic people are heavy, stable and grounded, but if they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	EFFECT Ojas OJAS Ojas is the essence of healthy tissue, immunity, stable energy and happiness. Substances that improve ojas are recommended after long-term illness, debility, emotional and physical trauma, and even sadness. LEARN MORE ABOUT OJAS , Alkalizing ALKALIZING An herb or food that makes the urine more alkaline (higher pH). This herbal action can be helpful for a number of inflammatory conditions. LEARN MORE ABOUT ALKALIZING TYPE Vegetables COLOR Yellow

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Experiences are Personal

Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.

Energy Vitality Strength	Nutritive NUTRITIVE An herb that is strengthening and nourishing. LEARN MORE ABOUT NUTRITIVE , Tonic TONIC A tonic herb strengthens tissue, often restoring healthy function. Tonics usually target a specific organ, tissue, or system ie: brain, muscle or respiratory tonic. LEARN MORE ABOUT TONIC
Heart & Circulation	Rebuilds Fluids REBUILDS-FLUIDS Herbs or substances that create moisture in the body and increase fluids. LEARN MORE ABOUT REBUILDS-FLUIDS , Alterative ALTERATIVE Literally, an herb that restores the proper function of the body. In practice, alteratives are usually blood cleansers and blood chemistry balancers. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter. LEARN MORE ABOUT ALTERATIVE
Liver & Gall Bladder	Cholagogue CHOLAGOGUE Cholagogues stimulate the release of bile from the gall bladder for improved digestion. LEARN MORE ABOUT CHOLAGOGUE , Livotonic LIVOTONIC An herb that strengthens the liver. It is helpful for people with a history of substance abuse, chronic liver issues from hepatitis and hemolytic anemias. LEARN MORE ABOUT LIVOTONIC
Lung and Sinus	Soothes throat SOOTHES-THROAT Soothes throat discomfort, including from a sore or ticklish throat. LEARN MORE ABOUT SOOTHES-THROAT
Reproductive Health	Promotes Fertility PROMOTES-FERTILITY An herb that promotes fertility. Generally used by women who wish to become pregnant. These herbs may also help with menstrual problems of deficiency, such as amenorrhea (lack of a period). LEARN MORE ABOUT PROMOTES-FERTILITY , Promotes Virility PROMOTES-VIRILITY Encourages virility and potency. LEARN MORE ABOUT PROMOTES-VIRILITY , Builds Semen BUILDS-SEMEN Herbs that increase the production of semen, often by rebuilding fluids in general. LEARN MORE ABOUT BUILDS-SEMEN
Bowel-Poop-Elimination	Relieves burning RELIEVES-BURNING Herbs that soothe a burn or reduce an internal burning sensation, such as aloe vera. LEARN MORE ABOUT RELIEVES-BURNING , General Laxative GENERAL-LAXATIVE Promotes a bowel movement. General laxative is an umbrella term that refers to several different types of laxatives... LEARN MORE ABOUT GENERAL-LAXATIVE , Stool Softener STOOL-SOFTENER An herb that softens stool that is hard and difficult to pass. They are the safest and most gentle type of laxative. Some foods are even stool softeners, such as warm milk with ghee. LEARN MORE ABOUT STOOL-SOFTENER
Strengthening-Tonics	Muscle Tonic MUSCLE-TONIC Herbs that strengthen and tone muscle tissue. Helpful for people recovering from long term illness and debility, or after a sprain. LEARN MORE ABOUT MUSCLE-TONIC