Quick and Delicious Acorn Squash

Fall time for me is always associated with certain foods. Aside from the obvious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin pie…I love squash! All kinds…butternut, acorn, spaghetti…you name it. I’ve been itching for some acorn squash, and tonight was the night. My mom always bakes her acorn squash in the oven, which is delicious; however, I didn’t have time for that tonight. SO, I cooked mine in the microwave. It turned out perfect. 

Here’s how it’s done.

Cut your squash in half and clean out the seeds.

Season your Squash however you’d like. I added salt, pepper, cinnamon, a little splenda, and a touch of brown sugar, but you really can use just about anything!

 Cover your squash completely with saran wrap and place it in a microwave safe dish.

 Microwave it on high for 4:30 and then rotate it and put it in for another 4:30. Remove from the microwave and let it sit for a moment. It will be hot! Be very careful as you remove the plastic wrap. Can you see the steam coming off of that?? 

Dig in! You can eat it straight out of the skin or dish it out first, whichever you like. I only ate about 1/2 of it, and scooped the rest out and saved it in a tupperware for tomorrow. It reheats like a pro. If my dinner looks familiar to you it’s because it’s a total repeat of my one ingredient chicken and roasted vegetables from last week. It’s such an easy meal and a great way to eat a mountain of veggies!

Not only is acorn squash delicious, but it has some awesome nutrition facts as well…116 calories for an entire half! Amazing. 3 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 1.2 grams of protein. Not too shabby.

Today’s workout was legs and shoulders:

10 minute warm up on the elliptical

3 sets of each exercise

Leg Press (12 reps/270 lbs)
alt with
Front raise (12 reps/25 lb plate)

Reverse lunges (24 reps alternating/20 lb DB’s)
alt with
Overhead Arnold Press (12 reps/15 lb DB’s)

Standing Squats (12 reps/20 lb DB’s)
alt with
Lateral raises (12 reps/10 lb DB’s)

Single leg rebound lunges (15 on each leg/no weight)
alt with
Upright row to a dead lift (12 reps/20 lb DB’s)

10 minutes on the elliptical to finish!

Don’t forget to enter October’s Sickeningly Sweet Mix Giveaway if you haven’t already! I hope you have a great start to the week!