Chunky roast squash salad with courgette, red onion and cinnamon recipe
With this month seeing the celebration of Thanksgiving, why not show appreciation for your body by feeding it this nutrient rich dish, using roast squash, cinnamon and other ingredients containing an abundance of health benefits. It´s a really simple dish to make, giving you plenty of time to enjoy activities with family and friends.
Bursting with health benefits
Roast squash is a feast for the taste buds and the eyes, bringing a colourful burst of nutrition to your plate. This root vegetable is high in antioxidants, and vitamin A, as well as a source of fibre which can lead to good digestive health.
Along with lowering bad cholesterol levels (LDL), cinnamon can help to lower blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity. A daily intake of this sweet but pungent spice may also help to manage type 2 diabetes – some authors have suggested that it might help to even reverse type 2 diabetes, when incorporated into a nutritious healthy diet.
Roast squash brings a natural sweetness to your plate, so too does onion when it is roasted in the oven. We love to find natural ways of giving our taste buds that sweet taste that they enjoy! You can read more about the debate on sugar and how it can effect our health in our article here. (insert hyperlink to blog article “Sugar-the highs, lows and alternatives”)
Chunky roast squash salad with courgette, red onion and cinnamon recipe
Serves: 4
Calories: 557 total (140 per serving)
Ingredients
½ large butternut squash, peeled and seeds removed, diced into chunks
1 large courgette, (skin left on), cut into chunks on the diagonal
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
Optional: handful pumpkin seeds (If you use pumpkin seeds, add 285 calories to the dish, or 71 calories per individual serving).
Method
Place the squash, courgette, onion and garlic into a large oven proof dish. Sprinkle with the lemon juice, olive oil, cinnamon and dried parsley. Add a little bit of water – this will help to prevent sticking.
Put the dish (uncovered) into a low-medium oven and leave to cook for around one hour, shaking every now and again to prevent sticking. You want the veggies to turn really soft and a lovely golden brown colour.
Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh parsley, squeeze over a little more lemon juice, black pepper and the handful of pumpkin seeds. Serve hot.
Serving suggestion
This dish goes well with anything! We love to serve it with our delicious millet burgers and a simple leaf salad. You can get inspiration on creating refreshing salads here.
Find more recipes on our blog
If the cinnamon in this recipe tantalizes your taste buds, why not try our Cinnamon Cleanse juice recipe. It’s just one of the many juices we serve on our Detox and Weight loss retreats at La Crisalida.
About the author
- Lisa is one of the founders of La Crisalida Retreats. She is an Epidemiologist, therapeutic hatha and yin yoga teacher and also teaches mindfulness meditation. Lisa has studied NLP and hypnosis, as well as nutrition (she designs the menus).
