From all the indulgent eating last week during Thanksgiving while I was home in Arizona, I’m ready to lighten things up before I get started on holiday baking. While these upcoming months are centered on celebration with sweet treats and indulgent snacks, healthy eating during the holiday season is all about balance. It would be a little extreme (and no fun!) to say no to pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and peppermint bark in December. Instead, I like to practice moderation. (On that note, get ready for some family baking recipes coming your way this month.)
Nourishing bowls like this Butternut Squash and Kale Bowl help me feel like I’m adding lots of goodness back into my body to balance sugary treats. This bowl is loaded with simple seasonal flavors and topped with a fried egg for protein and that gorgeous yellow yolk. Speaking of color, how about that sautéed kale and roasted butternut squash? Paired with the sliced pear, sweet and spicy walnuts, a little goat cheese, and a maple balsamic dressing – this healthy bowl tastes and feels like winter.
This “recipe” doesn’t really have to be structured. While the rice or quinoa is cooking, sauté kale on the stove and toss cubed butternut squash in the oven with some extra virgin olive oil, salt pepper and herbs. Slice up a ripe pear, chop the sweet and spicy pecans, crumble some goat cheese and shake up the vinaigrette. Fry up an egg, assemble the bowl while it’s cooking and top it off with the freshly cooked egg. Done deal! You know I am a big advocate for cooking with whatever you have on hand, so feel free to swap out anything you prefer or happen to have in your kitchen.
- Bowl
- 1 bag of prechopped butternut squash
- 3 cups of kale
- ¼ cup of brown rice
- ¼ of a pear, sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons sweet and spicy pecans
- 2 tablespoons goat cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Balsamic Vinaigrette (makes enough to keep for other salads!)
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Add butternut squash to the pan and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Toss to coat. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until the squash is soft and slightly golden brown.
- Cook brown rice according to package directions.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a skillet and saute kale over medium high heat until it is vivid green and wilted. It will condense to about half the size!
- Slice pear into thin strips, chop pecans and crumble goat cheese.
- To make vinaigrette, place all ingredients into a mason jar or container and shake to combine.
- When squash only has about 3 minutes left, begin to fry egg. Warm a little olive oil over medium heat on a non-stick skillet. Crack egg into pan and cook until egg whites are firm and the yolk is as runny as you would like!
- Assemble all ingredients into a bowl, top with a little dressing and enjoy.
- The squash and kale may extra, depending on your portions, but feel free to double the rest of the ingredients to make enough for meal prep!
I tailored this recipe to be for one serving, but feel free to make a big batch and use for dinners or lunches throughout the week. I know I will be enjoying this to cleanse from my indulgent Thanksgiving week and balance out all the Christmas cookies that are coming in my future! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are getting into the Christmas spirit.
Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela
So... what do you think?