Holiday Stuffed Butternut Squash with Lentils and Kale as part of my 2016 Christmas Menu.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas this week. I wrapped up most Christmas presents already, sent off my Secret Santa package yesterday, and I am getting ready to completely fall into Christmas mode by Sunday. Well, I still got some school stuff to finish, but then I am ready for the Holidays. Which means that now I can think about the really important things: what’s for dinner on Christmas Day? This Holiday Stuffed Butternut Squash with Lentils and Kale is a Christmas menu dream and should go on your potential Christmas dinner list asap. 

I’ve created this dish as a REWE Feine Welt* Christmas ambassador, and I could not be prouder as this is such a cool job.

“Excuse me, I got work to do as a Christmas ambassador.” Yes, I could get used to this.

Jokes aside, this lentil and kale filling can easily challenge any stuffing you’ll ever eat. It’s rich, it’s fresh, it’s delicious. And it’s completely plant based, gluten free and refined sugar free. How can this be, you may ask? Well, turns out, nature is amazing and has so much delicious and healthy produce to offer. I am definitely hooked by the kale and the edible flowers in this filling. I never thought about adding edible flowers to my dishes, but I think it’s so much fun and they are just too precious just to be used as a porridge topping.

Whether you enjoy this filling by itself or combined with the baked butternut squash, you will treat your body to some much goodness such as minerals and vitamins from the pomegranates. Eating it with the butternut will provide some extra beta-carotene, which protects the eye-sight and the immune-system when converted to Vitamin A in the body.

If you’ve enjoyed this main dish, then you might like my appetizer suggestion sweet potato and parsnip soup with truffled popcorn. I’ve also collected some other healthy Christmas ideas in my post 21 Heavenly Healthy Christmas Recipes. I hope you’ll find some healthy inspiration for the upcoming Holidays. Also, I cannot wait to share my delicious dessert suggestion as the last part of this menu on Sunday! Stay tuned!

Enjoy!

*A Big Thank You to REWE Feine Welt for sponsoring this post. And thank you, readers, for supporting the brands that make hour-long recipe testings in the Heavenlynn Healthy kitchen possible.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag your creations on social media using #heavenlynnhealthy.

I’d love for this blog to be a dialogue.

The post Christmas menu entrée: Holiday Stuffed Butternut Squash with Lentils and Kale appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

This amazing dish may look a bit like a winter dish, but it is so amazing that you can eat it all year around. It is also a dish that takes you less than 30 minutes to make which is great. All you need is fresh spinach, pomegranate, and lentils, which I usually always have in stock. Spinach is one of my favorite greens. It’s my favorite ingredient in smoothies, salads or soups as it is extremely good for you. It is an excellent source of vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting and healthy bones. It is also packed with other key vitamins and minerals such as calcium and iron or vitamin A.
The lentils make this dish extremely filling as they are full of dietary fiber and healthy plant protein. Pomegranates are an absolute antioxidant power house because of their high vitamin C content. They strengthen our immune system and protect our body cells from harmful radicals.
As you can probably tell, health wise you can’t go wrong with this recipe, but I assure you, it tastes absolutely great, and not healthy at all. If you like you can serve it with a starchy side of brown rice to make it even richer. I assure you, that this trio will be a hit on your dinner table.

Health benefits in this spinach with lentils and pomegranate:
– calcium (important for bone, teeth, muscle and nerve health)
– iron (important for healthy red blood cells that transport oxygen through your body)
– manganese (for nerve health)
– magnesium (important to maintain bone integrity, manages blood pressure and cholesterol levels)
– vitamin A (antioxidant powerhouse, anti-aging benefits, maintenance of good eye-sight)
– vitamin C (good for your immune system, tissue health)
– vitamin K (important for blood clotting and healthy bones)

  
Ingredients:
Serves 4:
– 3 cups (500g) fresh spinach (about 6 handful)
– 2 cups (500ml) vegetable broth
– ½ cup (120g) lentils
– 1 onion
– 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
– ½ tsp salt
– ¼ tsp pepper
– the seeds of ½ pomegranate

Start by rinsing the lentils. Then pour them into a medium saucepan together with the vegetable broth and cook for about 20-25 minutes or according to the package.
While the lentils cook, remove the seeds from the pomegranate, wash and dry the spinach, and chop the onion.

Once the lentils are soft, but not mouchy, drain the water and set aside.
Now heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the chopped onion for about 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and add the spinach. You may have to do this gradually as your pan might not be big enough to hold the entire batch batch at once. Cook the spinach on medium to high heat for about 5-10 minutes or until wilted. Reduce the heat to low, add the lentils and heat them up for another 3-5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and garnish with the pomegranate seeds. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

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If you’re planning a trip to the local farmers market today, then why not take some brussels sprouts home with you? Yes, brussels sprouts. I admit that these are not everybody’s favorite little veggies. In fact I only know a handful of people who like them. This used to be a pity for me, because for some reason I have always belonged to the minority of people who absolutely loved them, but could not share my passion for them with anyone. But fortunately for me, and for you as you will now find out, I have found a way for everybody to fall in love with brussels sprouts. You don’t believe me? Then read on.

The secret is not to steam or boil them, but to roast them. To make it even better, we are going to coat them in heavenly creamy honey before we place them in the oven. And to top it all, we are going to add some balsamic vinegar to give it kind of a sour touch. If you want to omit eating refined sugar, you will have to substitute the balsamic vinegar with apple cider vinegar. You need to trust me on this, even if you haven’t liked brussels sprouts at all, you are going to love these. The honey makes the sprouts unbelievably sweet, and takes away their significant bitterness. The vinegar makes the outsides heavenly crispy, and the insides nicely moist.
Just try it and be amazed by how easy it is to transform brussel sprouts into something you will want on your table every day from now on.

Health benefits in these honey roasted brussels sprouts:
– fiber (important for heart health, lowers cholesterol levels)
– folic acid (important for a healthy heart; prevents certain cancers)
– manganese (for nerve health
– vitamin C (good for your immune system, tissue health)
– vitamin K (important for blood clotting and healthy bones)

INGREDIENTS

 Serves 4
– a bag of brussels sprouts
– 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (substitute with apple cider vinegar for a refined-sugar free option)
– 2 tbsp honey
– 1/4 pomegranate
– sea salt

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (360 °F) Wash the brussels sprouts and remove potential brown leaves. Half the sprouts and place them into a large bowl.
2. In a separate smaller bowl combine the vinegar, honey and sea salt and stir well with a whisk until the honey is completely dissolved.
3. Pour the sweet mix over the brussels sprouts and mix well with a spoon until the sprouts are evenly covered.
4. Spread the brussels sprouts on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and roast for about 20 minutes until the outsides are nicely crispy.
5. Remove the seeds from the pomegranate and sprinkle them on the roasted sprouts.

Serve as a side dish.

Enjoy!

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