Summer Squash Surplus

My garden has entered into its annual summer squash surplus.  While my spinach and lettuce have bolted and my cucumbers have wilted in the heat and drought, my garden is overrun with sunny yellow summer squash.

Last April, those tiny squash plants didn’t look like much.  They certainly didn’t look capable of producing a continuous supply of full-sized fruits nearly overnight! Now, at the height of the season, I find us eating a rather one-dimensional diet: Squash.  We eat squash in salads, squash in stews, and squash in smoothies.  I fry, bake, and saute squash.  I substitute squash for pasta, and hide squash in muffins and cookies.  I try to pass squash off to unsuspecting neighbors and acquaintances, and offer squash as a treat to our chickens. By the middle of July, I’m about squashed out. 

Thinking about the summer squash surplus got me to thinking about how many American diets, and especially g-tube diets, are frequently one-dimensional.  A commercially-processed g-tube formula is definitely one-dimensional.  In addition, if you honestly evaluate your family’s meals, you may find yourself using the same recipes and the same ingredients over and over, creating one-dimensional food that lacks the variety needed for a balanced, healthy diet.

So how do you turn one-dimensional food into a fabulous 3D diet? Feed what’s missing!  Start by adding colors and flavors that aren’t normally found on your table and in your g-tube meals.  Try different proteins (eggs, meats, nuts, beans, tofu), colorful vegetables (bell peppers, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, squash), handfuls of leafy greens (spinach, Swiss chard, kale), healthy fats (olive oil, smashed avocado, coconut milk), and tasty liquids (tomato juice, broth, soy milk, plain yogurt). 

If you have a g-tube user that also eats by mouth, select foods for your g-tube recipes that are often lacking in other meals.  My daughter, Kyra, likes to eat peanut butter and bananas, so I don’t include these ingredients in her g-tube recipes.  However, she has a hard time eating meats, so I blend a lot of meat for her g-tube.  In general, you can blend 1- ½  cups of chopped proteins and vegetables with about ½ cup liquid and 1 Tablespoon of oil to prepare a g-tube meal that contains about 250-350 calories.  (Remember to strain g-tube food before feeding.)

Experiment with what’s missing, and serve your entire family a more satisfying 3D diet!

Summer Squash Pizza

I’d like to share this Summer Squash Pizza recipe with you.  In addition to helping out the summer squash surplus, this pizza crust is easier to eat than regular crust, and blends well for g-tube meals.

• 3.5 cups grated summer squash / zucchini.
• 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded.
• 1/3 cup flour.
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese.
• 3 eggs.
• 1 Tablespoon basil.
• Salt & Pepper.
• 1/4 cup pizza or spaghetti sauce.
• Your favorite pizza toppings.

 Mix crust ingredients together (everything except the sauce and toppings), and spread onto a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet.  Bake the crust at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until slightly brown on top.  Cool 5 minutes.  Spread the crust with about ¼ cup pizza or spaghetti sauce, and add your favorite  toppings.  Bake about 10 minutes more.  Cool pizza 5 minutes before cutting.  

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