Conference misery::feline

    Andrea....does the pumpkin pie filler in a can have sugar??  To
    regulate VG's bowels after his operation...I always used the can
    stuff that has Pumpkin as the only ingrediant!! Is there really
    sugar in there.....
    
    I'm not a squash eater...so I can't help you there!

I think pumpkin has a high sugar content naturally, but then since squash is
in the same family, shouldn't it, too?  I'll consult my food value books.....

In the mean time, pureed squash is sold in grocery stores in the frozen
food section (maybe canned, too).  I just love it, and so does Biff.....
of course, he prefers a pat of butter and just a hint of nutmeg....

Mary

	Hi - don't they sell squash for babies?  Perhaps that's made to 
	taste as good as possible, without sugar.

	Sandy

    
    	Maybe try mixing the pumpkin and squash together and then
    	little by little make it more squash than pumpkin till it's
    	only squash?
    

    Other squashes that taste like pumpkin are butternut (pale orange
    color, sort of pear shaped but big) and acorn sqaush (big green and
    orange acorn).  But I would think that these also have a naturally high
    sugar contest.
    
    Michelle

    
    	regarding -1, yes there is baby food with squash, my little 
    	fur-face loves it...
    
    	Butternut squash is also a favorite, with a little pat of butter.
    
    	To cook the squash (pumpkin to) if only a little bit cut the squash
    	into squares or sections, put in the micro wave for 5-6 minutes,
    	(cook until soft) scoop the squash out and leave the skin. If you
    	do not have a micro wave then use the oven or steam the squash.
    
    	Good luck
    
    	Mike

    
     Blue Hubbard squash is the one used as a pumpkin substitute.
    
    L

    What's Loki eating normally?  WD?  Sweetie is on WD, and I'm pretty sure
    he's porked back up a bit since his diabetes got under control;  I'm
    planning to ask the vet to weigh him when he's in for his checkup tomorrow. 
    Meanwhile I've cut back slightly on his portions.
    

I once cooked a Blue Hubbard squash....that was 4 years ago and I think it's
still cooking  ;*)...

The frozen squash (Birdseye) is Waltham Butternut.  It's alot cheaper than
the baby food variety and since it's not as finely pureed would probably have
a better fiber 'effect'.

Mary

         Thanks for all the replies.  And a special thank-you to Mike for
    cooking directions - I was going to ask how to cook the blasted thing
    once I got it ;^) .
    
         Loki loves pumpkin pie, so maybe I can add some cinnamon (he goes
    nuts over spices) and he won't know the difference ;^) (yeah, right!).
    
         The baby foods *might* have sugar in them, I'm not sure.  I don't
    know about other kinds of squash; the vet suggested butternut or "any
    kind" of squash ;^) .  I have a butternut at home, garden-grown, but I
    don't want to butcher it up unless he eats this stuff (we have a friend
    who would take it otherwise - we don't eat the stuff {hubby wanted to
    grow it just to grow it ;^)}).
    
         The hard part is that Loki, Bigfoot and Midnight all share 1 cup
    of dry W/D in the morning and one can of wet W/D in the evening. 
    Bigfoot and Midnight get extra "snacks" during the day, and although
    Loki knows this is going on he is such a good trouper and only
    occasionally (once a month) will try to sneak some extra ;^) .  Now
    that he's on insulin, he's digesting better and, like Sweetie, is
    porking a bit ;^) .
    
         I don't want to feed him in a separate room with the door closed;
    the poor guy has been through enough without that on top of it all. 
    I'm hoping that the squash idea works (though I won't try it 'til week
    after next when I come back from vacation with my mother), and that he
    can feel filled without feeling deprived.
    
         Kind of like what I try to do with myself when I go on a diet ...
    
    					- Andrea
    
    P.S.  I'll have to ask about butter ... it has calories and fat, but if 
    it would get him to eat it, it would be worth it!
    

    I just cut squash in half and zap them in the microwave.  You
    could probably leave them whole if you poked holes in them to
    avoid the Amazing Exploding Object in Microwave syndrome.
    

    I peel and cut the squash into big cubes then boil it 'till 
    soft....stick it with a fork and when it's soft it's done.
    
    Then I mash it with alittle cream and/or butter.
    
    We love it...maybe we should try to give it to our furfaces too?
    
    Bet they'd eat it too.
    
    good luck,
    
    Robin: Bosco, Money & Smudge
    
    Love this notes file...I learn something new everyday!
    

    OK, here's the scoop from the US Dept. of Agriculture on the food
    values of various squashes...
    
    Pumpkin, canned 100 grams (about 3.5 oz)--90.2% water, 33 calories, 
    		1 gram protein, .3g fat, 7.9g carbohydrates, 1.3g fiber
    		(and .6g ash)
    
    Squash, winter, frozen, thawed, 100 grams--88.8% water, 38 calories,
    		 1.2 g protein, .3g fat, 9.2g carbohydrates, 1.2g fiber
    		(and .5g ash)
    
    Squash, winter, baked, 100 grams--81.4% water, 63 calories,
    		1.8 g protein, .4g fat, 15.4% carbohydrates, 1.8g fiber
    		(and 1.0g ash)
    
    Baked butternut squash is even higher in carbs--17.5 grams, boiled and
    mashed, it has 10.4 grams.  Hubbard is 11.7 grams baked and 6.9 grams
    boiled and mashed.
    
    So, the lowest carbohydrate (sugar) is boiled and mashed hubbard.
    
    Mary, who's glad she saved all these books from nursing school...
    

    Mary,
    
    is that baked plain, or baked with brown sugar?
    
    Deb

It's baked plain with no sugar, salt, or anything added that makes it taste
decent....

Kinda like a baked potato--full of good stuff, healthy, lots of fiber, then
we make it perfect with butter, bacon, sour cream..........mmmmmmmmmmm

I think I'll check that blue hubbard that's been cooking on the stove for
the past 4 years to see if it's done yet.......

    Well, when you run out, let me know. My freezer still has part of the
    Blue Hubbards that invaded my garden 4 years ago. I love hubbard, but
    it is so much better fresh than frozen that silly me buys it every fall
    rather than digging thru the freezer and defrosting.
    
    Deb (who has a nice harvest of Waltham-grown Waltham butternuts and
         acorns in the cellar)