What’s cooler than a bread bowl? An edible squash bowl filled with chili. Plus, starchy squashes, such as delicata, provide fiber, vitamin powder, and major potassium — and they don’t get soggy at the end of the meal. And you can eat them as leftovers without them turning to a paste. Wow! Bread bowls aren’t sounding that cool anymore. Squash bowls are where it’s at!
Makes 4 servings / Prep time: 15 minutes / Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- Olive oil spray
- 2 large delicata squash (or acorn squash if you can’t find delicata)
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup chopped red or yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ground grass-fed beef or bison
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped seeded poblano peppers, or 1 (4-ounce) can mild green chiles (optional – use only if you like spicy foods)
- 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juice
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Coat a baking sheet with olive oil spray.
- Cut both squash in half lengthwise and discard the seeds. Place the squash halves facedown on the baking sheet and bake until softened, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven, flip the halves over, and season with ½ teaspoon of the salt, sprinkling it evenly over the 4 halves.
- While the squash cooks, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Sauté until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
- Add the meat and cook, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon, until crumbled and browned, about 10 minutes more.
- Stir in all the remaining ingredients (chili powder through tomatoes) and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture has thickened and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 22 minutes.
- Fill each squash half with one-quarter of the chili mixture.
- Bake the squash until fork-tender, about 10 minutes more.
Per serving: 438 calories, 34 g protein, 53 g carbohydrates, 13 g fiber, 12 g total sugar, 13 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 532 mg sodium, 2052 mg potassium (59% DV), 160 mg calcium (16% DV), 108 mg magnesium (27% DV), 2.2 mcg B12 (37% DV), 1.111 mg B6 (56% DV), 7.7 mg iron (43% DV)
About the book:
Healthy, Happy Pregnancy Cookbook is the perfect guide for pregnant women. Full of humor, heart, and wisdom, it promotes clean eating and the idea that using food as medicine is the best remedy for dealing with the symptoms that occur most during pregnancy—such as swollen ankles, bloating, and more.
From HEALTHY, HAPPY PREGNANCY COOKBOOK. Copyright © 2016 by Stephanie Clarke and Willow Jarosh. Reprinted with permission of Atria Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
