Stuffed Winter Squash w/ Lentils and Kale
When it’s peak season for winter squash, when the “meat” is wonderfully sweet, this is a delicious and filling meal all by itself but is especially an attractive main dish for Thanksgiving. It can be served individually in halved or quartered acorn squash, the “bowl” of a butternut squash (my personal favorite) or fill the center of a banana squash. (Although banana squash aren’t usually as sweet.) The savory flavor of the “stuffing” mixes so nicely with the “sweet” from the squash.
If you have food allergies or intolerances and aren’t able to eat seeds or nuts, replace them with avocado. Just dice or mash avocado and mix it into the stuffing. Having trouble with legumes? Replace some or all with more wild rice.
This recipe is from my cookbook Whole Food American Favorites.
4 – 5 acorn squash or other winter squash
1/2 cup wild rice
1 cup green lentils
1 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup sliced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chopped mushrooms, cremini or white button
1 large bunch of kale, finely chopped
2 1/2 T Holiday Herb Mix (See below)
1/2 cup roughly chopped pumpkin seeds, walnuts, or pecans
1/2 t pepper
Sea salt
Bake squash whole on a baking sheet at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until soft. Let cool. Cut in half lengthwise, scrape out seeds and discard.
Boil 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Add rice, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 30 minutes until tender. Boil 2 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Add lentils, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Over medium-high heat, sauté onion, celery, garlic, and mushrooms in 1/2 cup water or broth until tender. Add chopped kale and 1/2 cup more liquid. Cover, bring to boil, lower heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes. Add herbs and continue to cook until kale is tender. Add more broth or water if needed to keep from sticking. Add cooked lentils, rice, and pine nuts. Mix well and salt to taste. If needed, warm squash halves in 300 degree oven on a baking sheet before stuffing. Fill center of each squash half with lentil-kale mixture. Fills about 8 – 10 acorn squash halves.
Holiday Herb Mix
1/4 cup rubbed dried sage
2 T dried marjoram
2 T dried rosemary
2 T dried thyme
Grind all herbs in a coffee grinder. Store in a glass container.
Seed Cheeze Sauce
I use this in my Deep Dish Tortilla Pie recipe here.
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup water
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and quartered*
6 T lemon juice
3 T nutritional yeast
1 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t sea salt
Blend all ingredients until smooth. If needed, soak seeds in water to soften for 4 hours before blending. *For a spicier cheeze sauce, add 1 – 2 red jalapeños, with or without seeds, in place of the bell peppers.
To cut out some of the fats, use 1/2 cup steamed potato in place of 1/2 cup seeds. It works great!
Chicken Style Cauliflower Gravy
This gravy is wonderful served over Thanksgiving Chic Pea Loaf or Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. This recipe is from my cookbook Whole Food American Favorites.
1 pound cauliflower florets
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
2 T Chicken Style Seasoning (page 100)
1 1/2 t onion powder
Sea salt
Steam cauliflower in a covered pot with 1/2 cup water until tender. Blend steamed cauliflower, steam water, and remaining ingredients with 1 cup water until smooth. Add 1 more cup of water. Blend to mix. Heat if needed.
Cauliflower Mushroom Gravy
This gravy is great served over my Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, Thanksgiving Chic Pea Loaf, or Holiday Lentil Loaf, and is in my cookbook, Whole Food American Favorites.
1/2 head cauliflower
1 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped mushrooms, cremini or white button
1 t dried thyme
Sea salt
Break off cauliflower florets into large pieces and steam in 1 cup water until tender. Transfer cooked cauliflower and steam water to blender jar, along with onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and sunflower seeds. Blend until smooth. Set aside. Sauté mushrooms and thyme in 1/4 cup water until mushrooms are tender. Combine the cauliflower mixture with the mushrooms. Stir in more water to reach desired consistency. Salt to taste.
Green Spanish Rice
On an elimination diet I always have cooked rice and sweet potatoes on hand. For this recipe I use the yellow fleshed sweet potatoes instead of orange. They have a firmer texture and believe it or not, replace the texture of beans, which are often not tolerated by those with food sensitivities. This is one of my more advanced stage recipes. I wasn’t able to add tomatoes or chili powder until after a year. When I was finally able, halleluia!
Cooked short grain brown rice
1 small baked sweet potato, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped or can chopped tomatoes
1 t turmeric
2 t chili powder
4 cups finely chopped broccoli
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 t black pepper
Salt to taste
Sauté onion in dry pan until it starts to brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minutes stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and cook until juicy. Add spices and broccoli. Cook until broccoli is tender. Add sweet potato and desired amount of rice, cilantro and pepper. Heat through if needed. Salt to taste.
A nice addition is chopped almonds or pumpkin seeds.
Sour Cream Frosting
This frosting goes perfect with Vegan Carrot Cake but could be folded into a fruit salad. Leave the lemon out for a delicious “whip cream” for Vegan Pumpkin Pie.
1 cup light colored sweet potato (not orange “yam”)
15 small pitted dates soaked in ¾ cup water
1/4 cup raw cashews
Juice from 1 lemon (add zest if you like more lemon flavor)
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Use just enough water to make it a thick cream. You will need more water is using pecans.
Sesame Parmesan
1 cup sesame seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Toast seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Process all ingredients in a coffee grinder or blender until smooth. Store in the refrigerator.
This recipe is from a great little cookbook entitled “Of These Ye May Freely Eat” by JoAnn Rachor. See her YouTube channel here for some great cooking videos.
Brussels Sprouts w/ Avocado Garbanzo Dip
Avocado Garbanzo Dip
I could have this as a meal all by itself! It’s a great way to get that pound of veggies in.
1 large avocado
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1 T nutritional yeast
1/2 t onion powder
Salt to taste
Blend all ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Serve with steamed or roasted Brussel sprout halves, broccoli or cauliflower.
Cranberry Relish Salad
From Whole Food American Favorites
This recipe was inspired by my love for cranberry sauce without all the sugar! If you prefer less sweet, use a more tart apple and/or less dates. Cut down on the walnuts if you need to cut back on the fat.
1 medium Fuji apple
1 cup raw cranberries
8 small pitted dates
1/4 cup walnuts
Chop all ingredients in a food processor to a relish consistency.
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes w/ Spinach
From Whole Food American Favorites
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes made with just cauliflower would not cut it with my very traditional standard American family. So I came up with this version which includes real potatoes. It’s 
always a hit in my cooking classes and at family gatherings. To simplify, you can leave out the spinach but it adds a beautiful touch!
10 oz. package frozen, chopped spinach
3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in chunks
Florets from 2 heads cauliflower
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup raw unsalted cashews
Sea salt
Thaw frozen spinach. Press out as much water as possible in a strainer. Warm over medium heat. Boil potatoes until tender. Strain, set aside, and keep warm. (A crock pot works great for this!) Steam cauliflower florets and garlic until tender. Blend 1/2 the cauliflower, garlic, and cashews until creamy. (You may need to do this in two batches.) Combine remaining cauliflower with potatoes and the blended cauliflower mixture. Mash with potato masher, beaters, or stick blender. Stir in warmed spinach. Salt to taste. Mix well, transfer to serving dish, and heat in oven if needed before serving.
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