Food

This filling meal is a healthy alternative to the traditional pasta dish and a snap to throw together in the slow cooker. Cup for cup, spaghetti squash provides about the same amount of fibre as spaghetti pasta, thus ensuring that you’ll still feel full without as many calories or carbohydrates.

This dish is a satisfying “bowl-in-one” supper. It’s low in calories, high in fibre, and a valuable source of vitamin C, manganese, and B6—all helpful antioxidants. Bake squash ahead, following our helpful tips, for an easy weekday meal.

This gloriously comforting dish gets its creamy lusciousness from a can of white beans. Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand instead of broccoli.

This one-pot wonder is a deliciously satisfying twist on family-favourite spaghetti and meatballs. A healthy way to spoon up pure comfort food, the meatballs can also be made with grass-fed ground beef. Serve with a side salad for a complete meal.

Kids in action

Harissa is a North African spice paste that’s now readily available in stores, but it’s so easy and much more affordable to make at home. It’s commonly stirred into stews, soups, and the like, but it shines when turned into a sauce for pasta.

Cut and Paste

Although it may look a little foreboding, don’t be intimidated by cooking octopus; it’s mostly a hands-off process. With a little time and patience, you’ll be rewarded with a stunning octopus antipasto—perfect as a starter or light lunch.

Tip

This soup has both corn and spelt for a stick-to-your- ribs meal that will transport you to Mexico at the first spoonful. Tip: Use up remains of a whole wheat or gluten-free spaghetti package in place of orzo by lightly crushing to break up long pieces into bite-sized morsels.

Beans, squash, and corn are known as the “three sisters” and are a key part of the diet of centenarians in the region of Nicoya, Costa Rica. These breakfast bowls draw on those reliable sisters with a nod to the Costa Rican dish gallo pinto, a mixture of rice and beans, spiked with cilantro, often eaten alongside scrambled eggs. We've topped these bowls with a fried egg instead, but the choice is yours.

You can replace the acorn squash with butternut squash if you prefer. I like this filling for its vibrant colours and pleasing textures—and delicious taste!

These hearty and delicious cakes are a cinch to make but will wow your guests with their depth of flavour. This is a simple dish to prepare, especially if you roast the squash in advance.

This somewhat nontraditional curry emphasizes protein and ease of preparation. Taking the liberty of blending winter squash and peanut butter into the curry sauce lends it a nice sweetness and extra-creamy mouthfeel. It’s the perfect dish to reheat, as leftovers only get more flavourful. Serve with a pile of rice.

The cornerstone of Mexican cuisine and famously complex, mole sauce typically takes days to prepare. This recipe cuts down on the prep and cooking time significantly, yet still yields a deeply flavourful, chocolate-kissed sauce that perfectly complements roasted butternut squash, earthy black beans, and zesty pickled onion.

A big pot of chili is the perfect batch-cooking project, as everything is prepared in one pan and leftovers become even more flavourful. Here, butternut squash forms the base of a sumptuous sauce, while plenty of beans and veggies pack each bowlful with big-time texture. You can make it vegan by swapping out the turkey for a couple blocks of crumbled tempeh.

Deep freeze

Blessed with sweet, buttery flavour, butternut squash is a stellar addition to your winter lineup of smoothie ingredients, although this drink would also work with cooked sweet potato or pumpkin purée. Kefir adds tang along with a healthy population of probiotic bacteria for better digestive and immune health. You want to use the kefir that has a milk-like consistency as opposed to the thicker yogurt-like versions.

This wholesome and savoury take on a traditional sausage roll is a scrumptious way to incorporate more plant-based goodness into your diet. Lentils are a nutritional powerhouse. Enjoyed worldwide, they provide a good amount of protein and fibre per serving along with a healthy dose of B vitamins, folate, iron, and potassium.

How to turn a turkey burger into something your backyard guests will swoon over? Spread on this smoky berry sauce that offers a sweet heat and a wonderful counterpoint to turkey. A bit of goat cheese helps infuse the meat with creamy moisture, which is especially important if you’re using lean ground turkey breast.

Meatballs are for spaghetti

In Japan, it’s a custom to eat kabocha squash on the day of the winter solstice as a symbol of good health. In fact, kabocha squash contains cancer-fighting antioxidants such as beta carotene and lutein. It’s also full of fibre and vitamins A and C. We’ve made a roasted version dressed in a sweet and tangy marinade that’s sprinkled with sesame seeds before roasting in the oven. The remaining marinade, full of ginger, tamari, and red pepper flakes, is used as a dressing to further flavour the squash.

Last summer when my first planting of squash seeds didn’t grow, I planted another batch. Then I decided that growing squash down the retaining wall at the back of our home might also be nice (which it was!). Then, to my surprise, all three batches of squash seeds grew into a wide variety of gorgeous organic squashes. So I began creating new and different ways to enjoy this vegetable. Imagine my anticipation when I created this recipe and then waited for the ice cream maker to churn out the finished product. Then there was the first bite. It was heavenly! I had created my new and favourite way to enjoy squash—in ice cream. This delightful treat, which doesn’t actually contain pumpkins due to my overflow of squash, tastes like creamy pumpkin pie without the crust, or perhaps even better.

Oven-roasted delicata squash makes a crispy treat atop this green salad. As its name suggests, this squash has a thin, delicate skin that’s tasty when cooked. Pomegranate molasses, an ingredient common in Lebanese and Middle-Eastern cuisine, brings a sweet and sour flavour to the dressing.

This plate of pasta gets an extra kick from ponzu sauce. Ponzu is soy sauce seasoned with citrus, and it adds a delicious blend of flavours to many dishes. It is available in grocery stores in the Asian foods section. Some ponzu is gluten free; however, if you have difficulty finding this type, you can make your own using the recipe included below. If you don’t have a spiralizer to turn the squash into noodles, cut squash using a mandoline fitted with a julienne blade. Julienned squash may need a couple of extra minutes of baking time. Noodle Dish 1 medium butternut squash 2 Tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil, divided Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 small red onion, diced 2 1/4 cups (540 mL) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 bunch fresh kale, stems removed, washed, and coarsely chopped 1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped Italian parsley 2 Tbsp (30 mL) ponzu sauce 1/3 cup (80 mL) toasted pumpkin seeds Gluten-Free Ponzu (optional) 1/4 cup (60 mL) orange juice 1/4 cup (60 mL) lemon juice 1/3 cup (80 mL) gluten-free soy sauce 2 Tbsp (30 mL) rice vinegar 2 Tbsp (30 mL) mirin Organic brown sugar, to taste Crushed hot chilies, to taste Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut off bulbous end of squash. Place in reusable container and refrigerate for another use. Trim end off remaining piece of squash and peel. Cut in half to make 2 pieces about 3 in (8 cm) long. Process 1 piece through spiralizer or mandoline, cutting squash into long, thin noodles. Repeat with remaining piece of squash. You may need to separate noodles using your fingers. Toss squash noodles with 1 Tbsp (15 mL) olive oil and spread out in single layer on baking sheet. Season lightly with pepper. Add a little more oil if noodles appear too dry. Bake for 5 minutes, or until squash is tender but still firm when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 Tbsp (15 mL) olive oil in large, heavy saucepan or deep frying pan. Add onion and sauté just until soft. Add chickpeas and stir. Remove from heat. If making your own ponzu, pour liquid ingredients into small bowl and whisk to blend. Add brown sugar and hot crushed chilies to taste. When squash is ready, gently fold into chickpea mixture along with kale and return to burner. Gently toss over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, or until kale wilts and ingredients are piping hot. Fold in parsley. Spoon into heated serving bowls, drizzle with a little ponzu sauce, and sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds. Serves 6. Each serving contains: 243 calories; 11 g protein; 11 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 29 g total carbohydrates (4 g sugars, 6 g fibre); 366 mg sodium source: "Veggie Noodles", alive #390, April 2015

Sage is an excellent flavour companion for squash. When combined with the earthy flavours of mushroom and hearty quinoa, this filled squash makes for a deliciously satisfying meal. Great sources of dietary fibre, winter squashes like delicata and acorn are also good sources of thiamin, which aids in the transformation of ingested carbohydrates into energy.

Many flavours that complement pears—sage, ginger, maple syrup—also go well with butternut squash, so it makes sense to bring the two together. For this autumn salad, mixed greens are tossed with marinated squash ribbons that serve to dress the salad with spicy, gingery brightness. A juicy yet firm medium-sweet pear, such as red Anjou, works well here, and its vibrant red skin makes a pretty plate alongside butternut squash. The finishing touch is a sprinkling of crispy sage and maple syrup-toasted hazelnuts.

Diet alterations