The recipes I publish on my blog are mostly SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) and GAPs (Gut and Psychology Diet) friendly.
I’m aware that some people with IBS, (those with bacterial overgrowth in their small intestine) have a hard time digesting certain fruits, fats and veggies that are SCD and GAPs legal. They do much better following a low FODMAP diet which excludes many of the veggies I cook with. And some of the fruit.
The traditional low FODMAP diet does not exclude grains. It may take tummy troubling trigger foods out but does little to actually heal the intestines. A grain-free FODMAP diet is even more restricted than the SCD or GAPS but it is doable and I promise to help by including more FODMAP friendly foods in future recipe posts. I have downloaded my FODMAPS shopping list and am going to start experimenting.
This week’s recipe is butternut squash “mac and cheese”. I use a creamy butternut squash sauce to substitute for the cheese sauces and broccoli slaw to replace the pasta.
The secret ingredient is gut-healing bone broth!
How to sex up butternut squash
I know what you are thinking. Butternut squash is not a good replacement for cheese. Here is a “before” shot showing the squash in raw form.
Cooking the squash in beef bone broth is the secret to transforming these raw cubes into a savory, creamy sauce. Adding in red onion, sauteed with pancetta (Italian bacon) is the other flavor secret.
Saute until the squash is soft and most of the broth has evaporated (but make sure there is enough liquid left to give the squash a saucy consistency). Add the bacon and onion and mash with a fork. Spice it with salt, cumin, paprika. If you want to boost the health benefits of this dish, squeeze a juice of half a lemon into the sauce.
Preparing the pre-cut broccoli slaw
This part is very simple. Buy some broccoli slaw (you can also use kelp noodles or spaghetti squash), toss it in olive oil and bake at 350 for half an hour or take out of the oven if the ends of the broccoli stalks begin to curl up.
Pour the butternut squash sauce onto the noodles.
If you have kids who are picky eater, you can try mixing a little bit of cheese into the squash, to give it a cheesy taste. Then, the next time you make this dish, put in less cheese and repeat this process until their taste buds adjust. Our body starts to crave what we are feeding it already. The cheese may help the squash go down, but pretty soon your kids might want squash over cheese.
What I love about this recipe is how simple it is to make, how creamy the squash is and what a great substitute it is for the gut-busting original.
I dare you to try it.
Angela Privin is proof that IBS is NOT an incurable disease, but a cry for help from a gut out of balance. When the body AND mind are complaining, it’s an opportunity to examine what’s not working and change it. After solving her own IBS mystery almost two decades ago, Angela became as a health coach to help others. Angela uses root cause medicine protocols personalized to the individual to solve each IBS mystery. Her tools are lab testing, dietary changes, supplementation, subconscious mind work and nervous system rebalancing . Learn more here.
This looks delicious! Do you have a recipe with the amounts? I’d like to try it.
The amounts don’t really matter, just put the cut up butternut squash in a pan and cover it with bone broth and boil until it softens. If it evaporates before the squash is soft, just add it some more. Use as much onions and bacon as you like. It is really hard to mess this one up. Experiment with it and let me know how it turns out. Good to hear from you. And sorry that I didn’t answer with measurements. I cook intuitively and don’t think about measurements.
I am in heaven with this recipe!!!! It’s happening with spaghetti squash! 🙂
Wow, that looks delicious. I happen to have a large butternut squash in my pantry that I need to use so this may happen today.
I’m curious if the sweetness of the butternut squash comes through? You’re recipe uses some great spices and with the addition of the bone broth and bacon, I’m thinking the sweetness of the squash is not present. I would love to pass this one to my son (not as mac and cheese but rather a delicious veggie dish) but if the sweetness of the squash is present, he will likely balk.
I had this dish a while ago but I don’t remember it being too sweet. The bone broth, onions and spices does bring out the savory qualities in the squash. Enjoy this wonderful dish, it was a favorite of ours.
Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll report back after I try it!