The festive countdown can be a tricky for anyone wanting to avoid sugar. There are indulgent, sweet, sugary temptations everywhere.
But going sugar free doesn't mean you have to miss out! This time of year is the perfect time to use all the gorgeous, fragrant and warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice, cardamom and cloves to create gorgeous sugar free treats.
I have loved experimenting with Butternut squash - it is such a versatile veggie and we all know how gorgeous it works in savoury dishes, but it’s spectacularly undersold and underrated when it comes to sweet recipes.
This time of year we’re all slightly frazzled, its been a long 12 months and now we begin clambering our way in to the festive break while trying to surmount the behemoth task of preparing for all the gatherings, present buying, Christmas parties… as much as we all love the excitement, it can leave us feeling a little burnt out.
The great thing about the gorgeous and vibrant Butternut is it contains a litany of health benefits including anti inflammatory properties and it aids the nervous system! Perfect for anyone with frayed nerves!
There are plenty of vitamins, minerals and nutrients packed in to this veggie such as vitamin A,B & C, folic acid, manganese, magnesium, potassium and calcium. Its also loaded with antioxidants - perfect for Christmas time when we tend lose sight of eating healthy!
We know this veggie is good for us - but how do we go from turning this root veg in to a scrumptious dessert? Well it’s actually really very simple and it requires minimal fuss and little in the way of cooking. This recipe literally bursts with flavour as well as being deliciously healthy.
So here we have a dish that wonderfully combines the warming spices, creamy, thick Greek yogurt, punchy sweet bursts of flavour from the pomegranate and a lovely tangy sweetness from the blueberries…
Honestly, this really is a delicious, warming treat that bursts with flavor! There’s something about the textures and the mix of flavours that makes this so interesting to eat. The pomegranate seeds are like little jewels that explode with taste and the creamy yogurt makes this feel like a super indulgent dessert.
As for the star of the show, the butternut has a smooth texture and a nice bite because of its skin. It absorbs all the spices perfectly and has such a delicate sweet flavour.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 (generous portions) 2 x butternut squash 1 x tub Greek yogurt 1 x pomegranate 1 x regular punnet of blueberries Spice Mix:
1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of mixed spice, 1/2 tsp of cardamom and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
METHOD
The hardest part to making this recipe (and it’s not hard at all!) is slicing the butternut squash length ways, yes really that’s the extent of difficulty! You don’t even need to peel it, you leave the skin on for extra bite.
Get the sliced butternut and toss it in coconut oil on a baking tray, sprinkle it with all those gorgeous spices and cook in the oven for half an hour on 180. Meanwhile, whizz up the blueberries with a splash of water in a processor until pureed.
When cooked, take the butternut out the oven, plate up and dress with generous dollops of greek yogurt. Then spoon over the blueberry puree, add the pomegranate seeds and sprinkle your creation with nutmeg, and cinnamon and serve.
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