[GARD] Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup

[RobinN]

2 acorn squash, pumpkins, or other smallish winter squash
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
(if you are keeping extremely pure this should be clarified butter), or you could use olive oil to keep the squash from sticking
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1 teaspoon (or more) red Thai curry paste
water
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt (or to taste)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the oven racks in the middle.

Carefully cut each squash/pumpkin into halves (or quarters). Slather each piece of squash with butter, sprinkle generously with salt, place on a baking sheet skin sides down, and place in the oven. Roast for about an hour or until the squash is tender throughout.

When the pumpkin/squash are cool enough to handle scoop it into a large pot over medium high heat. Add the coconut milk and curry paste and bring to a simmer.

Remove from the heat and puree with a hand blender, you should have a very thick base at this point. Now add water a cup at a time pureeing between additions until the soup is the consistency you prefer - a light vegetable stock would work here as well. Bring up to a simmer again and add the salt (and more curry paste if you like.

Keep in mind that different Thai curry pastes have differing strengths. Start with a teaspoon to start and then build from there until the soup has a level of spiciness and flavor that works for your palete. Top with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Serves six.

Thanks to:
101 Cookbooks


**please edit title if you know this to be allowed on any other diet

[Bernard]

Pumpkin has a glycemic index of 75, but a glycemic load of 3. According to the LGIT specifications, it is a no-no, but I have read many places (regarding other low GI diets) that the glycemic load is really the more important number (because it takes into account serving size). I hope to get a clarification on the LGIT regarding low glycemic loads.

Thanks for the recipe... It sounds delicious!

[Bernard]

Interesting! (emphasis mine):

So, look at the composition of coconut and coconut milk at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl :

It finds 32 types. For example, 100 grams of Nuts, coconut meat, raw is mostly fat—33 grams. It has a bit of protein, 3 grams, and only 6 grams of available carbohydrate (carbohydrate minus fiber).

Similarly, with 100 grams of Nuts, coconut milk, raw (liquid expressed from grated meat and water). It has 24 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein, and 3 grams of carbohydrate.

These numbers would put coconut and coconut milk within the range of those products that are not feasible to test—since they have to test 50 grams of available carbohydrate. That would mean, for example, that the test subjects would have to drink 3333 grams of the stuff, which is too much to ask of anyone!

All the fat in the coconut will also slow down any blood sugar rise that the carbohydrates might provide. Therefore, I would have to conclude that the GI of coconut and coconut milk has to be quite low.

Coconuts

I also found this:

A study on bakery products supplemented with increasing amount of coconut flour in 10 healthy and 10 diabetic human subjects was done at the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, an agency of the Department of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Philippine Coconut Authority.

The study found that increasing levels of coconut flour in bakery products resulted to lower GI of the food. This has great significance in the control and management of diabetes mellitus and in weight maintenance. This also means diabetics and weight conscious people should try to add coconut flour in their daily meals.

Coconut flour-supplemented foods are good for diabetics and weight conscious

[Bernard]

Top with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Not for the GARD diet. Seeds are no-nos.

[RobinN]

OOPS!

[RobinN]

Pumpkin seeds are high in zinc

Zinc ions are now considered neurotransmitters

Brain development is stunted by zinc insufficiency in utero and in youth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc
so hard to know what to think

[Shelley]

wikipedia?

[RobinN]

not sure if you are questioning the source or have never heard of it...

www.wikipedia.org

it's an online encyclopedia

[Shelley]

I'm just questioning its reliability. I've had friends quote excellent sources for their wiki entries, only to be edited out by somebody with an opinion.

[RobinN]

I personally think it all comes out in the wash...
I will look for other reliable sources in the future. Didn't think I needed to be quite so careful here in the recipe file. I understand the conflict.

[Shelley]

Meant no disrespect, my friends avoid wiki like the plague. If you like it, great. I've just learned to find other sources for stuff as well.
Keep rockin' Robin.