Holiday Recipes
Chickpea & Wild Rice Stuffed Butternut Squash
By Katie Stewart · October 6, 2023 · 4 min read
Looking for a hearty and nourishing plant-based main that will warm your soul? The latest KSW blog creation, Chickpea & Wild Rice Stuffed Butternut Squash, bursts with flavour and is chock-full of nutrients. Blending the earthy sweetness of butternut squash with protein-rich chickpeas and wholesome wild rice, this dish epitomizes our ‘nourish to flourish’ skin philosophy.
Butternut Squash: Your Skin’s Bestie
Butternut squash is like the autumn version of a beach vacation—it’s warm, comforting, and makes you feel good. With its tan skin and vibrant orange inside, it’s packed with fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Its sweet and nutty flavour makes it a versatile ingredient, perfect for everything from roasting to soups.
Why Your Gut Loves It
Fibre content is like the GPS for your gut, guiding waste out and promoting a healthy digestive system. A clean gut equals clear skin.
Balancing Your Hormones
With a low glycemic index, butternut squash helps keep your blood sugar levels stable. This acts like a “mood ring” for your hormones, maintaining a calm hormonal environment that lessens acne flare-ups.
Antioxidant Overload
Think of antioxidants like the “spa day” for your cells. They help refresh and protect your skin, reducing inflammation and acne.
Chickpeas: The Nutritional Powerhouse
Also known as garbanzo beans, chickpeas are the multitaskers of the food world. They’re super versatile and great in everything from soups and snacks to hummus and falafels. Think of them as the jack-of-all-trades in your kitchen pantry!
Protein Punch
Picture protein as the construction worker of your body. It’s fundamental for skin repair and regeneration, a godsend for acne sufferers.
Gut Health
The fibre in chickpeas is the “traffic cop” directing the smooth flow of your digestive system, ensuring things keep moving and helping to eliminate acne-triggering toxins.
Detoxifying Minerals
Rich in minerals like zinc and copper, chickpeas are like the “janitorial team” for your insides, clearing out the toxins and acne-causing bacteria.
Wild Rice: The Unsung Hero
Fun fact: wild rice is not actually rice but a type of aquatic grass. Unlike the typical white or brown rice, wild rice has a dark, almost black colour and a robust, nutty flavour. It grows in shallow waters like lakes and rivers, mainly in North America, especially in the Great Lakes region and parts of Canada.
Skin Benefits
Protein and antioxidants work in tandem, like a dynamic superhero duo, for your skin, fighting off free radicals and promoting cell growth.
Gut Health and Detox
Fibre keeps things flowing while its nutrients, like selenium, act as a detoxifying agent. Imagine this as a “gut cleanse” without the juice fasting!
Hormonal Harmony
High in nutrients that help with hormone regulation, wild rice is like the mediator that keeps hormonal levels in check, helping to curb acne.
Pro Tip: Wild rice tends to be more expensive because it’s usually hand-harvested from canoes, which is pretty labour-intensive. To make it more budget-friendly, it’s often blended with brown rice. If you want to tailor it to your taste, feel free to create your own mix by choosing your preferred ratio of wild rice to brown rice.
Combining Forces: The Chickpea & Wild Rice Fusion
When you blend chickpeas and wild rice, you get a nutritionally dense medley that’s tasty and filled with lots of delicious textures. It’s like having a team of nutritionists working synergistically for your skin and health!
Complete Protein Source
Together, they provide all essential amino acids, the building blocks for cellular growth and repair.
Hormonal Balance
Both are low on the glycemic index and high in fibre, helping to moderate blood sugar levels and creating a harmonious hormonal environment.
Ultimate Detox
With their combined minerals and fibre, this duo acts like a “detox power couple,” aiding your body in eliminating toxins that can lead to acne.
Final Thoughts: Embrace the Nutritional Symphony
This stuffed butternut squash perfectly balances flavour, texture, and—most importantly—nutrients. Each ingredient brings unique benefits to the table, creating a delicious dish that harmonizes with your gut, skin, and hormones.
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
- ½ cup wild rice cooked as per package instructions
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 398 grams
- ⅓ cup cranberries apple-juice sweetened
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh sage finely chopped
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups spinach chopped
Optional:
- ¼ cup cashew cream see notes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the squash halves cut-side up on a baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
- While the squash is roasting, prepare the stuffing. In a large pan, sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the chickpeas, cranberries, garlic powder, thyme, sage, sea salt, and black pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Add the cooked wild rice to the pan along with the fresh lemon juice. Stir in the chopped spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Set aside.
- If opting for the cashew cream dizzle, make it while the squash cooks.
- Once the squash is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool slightly. Scoop out a bit of the flesh to create a hollow center in each half. Fill the hollowed-out squash halves with the chickpea and rice mixture.
- Return the stuffed squash to the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the stuffing is heated through.
- Remove from the oven and drizzle with optional cashew cream. Serve immediately.