This week we'll explore kabocha squash recipes and digestion-enhancing wellness shots. We'll also delve into a book about how we define family and tips for taking care of your immune system this holiday season.

Eat Colorfully

Seasonal Ingredient Spotlight: KABOCHA SQUASH

Although butternut squash always steals the spotlight, I want to introduce you to a different winter squash that you may be less familiar with: Kabocha. Kabocha squash are dark green, round, and short. They're denser, have lower water content, and are much heartier than butternut, plus the flavor is a bit sweeter and less squashy. Keep your eyes out for this fabulous seasonal treat.

The flesh of Kabocha squash is decadently creamy, making them wonderful soup squash. One of my favorite winter recipes is this Creamy Vegan Kabocha Squash Soup with Fall Herbs, which has a silky and luxurious texture that can't be replicated with butternut squash. This soup would work great as a Thanksgiving side dish or first course.

But my favorite way to enjoy Kabocha might surprise you: I use them to make finger food (which we could possibly call "vegan wings", even though I hate that term). These Kabocha Squash Dippers are the most fun, seasonal finger food around and are perfect for game day parties or seasonal gatherings. Make sure to check out the blog post since I list numerous flavor options for how to season the squash "wings" and what dips to pair with them.

Try This Week: DIGESTION-ENHANCING SHOTS

Feel like your digestive system is a little sluggish? Between holiday travel, holiday food, and less daylight, it's easy for your digestive system to suffer this time of year.

I've recently been making digestion-enhancing shots and have really fallen in love with them. I juice a grapefruit, an orange, several inches of fresh ginger root, and an inch of fresh turmeric root. The bitter compounds from the citrus enhance bile production and get your system ready for a meal, the ginger is warming and soothing, and the turmeric is anti-inflammatory. If you enjoy bitter flavors, try leaving part of the grapefruit and orange rinds on to get the biggest benefit.

Want to get your hands on a good juicer this holiday season? I have the Nama J2 and it's phenomenal; we use it a few times a week. Nama is having their biggest sale of the year right now and you can save $120 on the J2 from now through December 1 using the code BRUSSELSPROUT20 at checkout. That same code will give you 20% off all the accessories, like the fun sorbet attachment and the super-useful citrus attachment.

These digestion-enhancing shots are not only nourishing, they're tasty and refreshing too. Wouldn't it be fun to serve them at the beginning of a holiday meal to help everyone feel a bit better?

Live Colorfully

A Book to Explore: WE ALL LIVE HERE

I just finished a really good read that I'm excited to share with you: JoJo Moyes' "We All Live Here". It's a story about a middle-aged woman struggling with a broken family following a divorce, and eventually finding a new way to define family.

Like other books from JoJo Moyes, it manages to be both thoughtful and funny at the same time. I always really enjoy her character development. Two of the stars in this book are grandpas who are old, quirky, and often at odds with one another because they were both married to the main character's mom. Moyes has a rare ability to make you laugh while exploring difficult situations.

Interested in other books from her? I also loved The Giver of Stars and The Ship of Brides. If you want more ideas, remember that you can always browse my list of favorite books.

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Self-Care Pick: IMMUNE SYSTEM TIPS

Since many of us will be traveling for Thanksgiving, I figured we should dedicate the Self-Care section this week to exploring how we can support our immune systems as we're exposed to more people than usual. Especially if you'll be flying, it might be a good idea to amp up your immune system support this week.

At the risk of stating the obvious, this is a great time to get good sleep, eat nourishing foods, wash your hands, and in general prioritize your wellness. But I also wanted to share a few tricks that I've personally found to be very helpful.

Here are a few of my top picks:

• Hydrate. Everything in our bodies works better if we're properly hydrated. Dry winter air, indoor heating, and super-dry airplane air suck the water right out of you. Keep drinking, and make it fun by traveling with a few of your favorite tea bags, some electrolyte drink packets, or whatever else you know you'll find appealing en route.
• Supplement with Vitamin C. A diet rich in veggies and fruits provides good Vitamin C, but I like to add a supplement before, during, and after travel. I take it for a few days before I fly, the whole time I'm gone, and a few days after. I view it as an immune system insurance policy.
• Fly with Emergen-C. Generally speaking, I avoid powdered drink mixes. However, I always fly with Emergen-C packets to drink on the plane. They're rich in Vitamin C and will help with hydration, so they're an efficient way to address both of the points above. Pro tip: ask for a cup of hot water during the drink service and make a hot Emergen-C, it's surprisingly tasty and oddly comforting.
• Supplement with Elderberry. Elderberry syrup has long been used for immune system support in traditional medicine. It's tasty too, either on its own or mixed into water. I like to take 1 tsp once or twice a day for several days both before and after travel.
• Travel with your usual supplements. Keep your body humming along by making sure to bring your usual supplements when you travel. I like to count out my daily supplements (B12, D, vegan omega, turmeric, etc.) and bring the right number of pills for the days I'll be gone. Your body gets thrown for a loop during travel anyway, but keeping to your usual supplement routine is at least one thing that can stay consistent.

Happy Thanksgiving, if you celebrate. Hope you have a good holiday (and stay healthy!).

Thanks for joining me for this issue of Eat Colorfully, Live Colorfully! I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to reply with questions, thoughts, or requests. If you missed a previous issue, you can view all my newsletters here. Have a great week!