Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Apple
When I go to the grocery store I like to check out foods I’ve never made before. What if it’s something that I absolutely love? I’ll never know unless I give it a taste.
Which brings me to Acorn Squash. I love Spaghetti Squash as seen in my Low Carb Spinach Bacon Carbonara and I often eat it topped with a little ghee and marinara but I hadn’t tried Acorn Squash yet. I found this great recipe at www.thelemonbowl.com and had to give it a try.
Of course I jumped at the chance to incorporate my super most favorite food, quinoa. I cook the heck out of quinoa. Quinao Mac and Cheese, Quinoa Pizza Snacks and Quinao Stuffed Peppers are a few of my favorites.
This recipe is super awesome because not only is it vegan and gluten free but paleo is you omit the walnuts. Nutritionally it boasts 6 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. Hearty, filling and nutritious is a pretty perfect meal or side dish in my book.
You don’t know what you are missing if you don’t branch out and try new foods. I used to be close minded to things I never tried before but after being pleasantly surprised a couple of times, now I look forward to trying new foods.
- 1 acorn squash, seeded and cut into small cubes (leave the skin on)
- ¼ cup olive oil - divided
- 1 teaspoon salt - divided
- ½ teaspoon pepper - divided
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa - prepared according to package instructions (I used vegetable broth instead of water to cook mine, it just adds a little more flavor)
- 1 apple - cored and diced small
- ½ cup scallions - minced
- ¼ cup parsley - minced
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts - toasted (optional if making paleo)
- Read the entire recipe before starting.
- Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Place acorn cubes in a resealable plastic bag and coat with half of the olive oil, salt and pepper (2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.) Seal bag and massage to combine.
- Lay out the squash on foiled lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until softened.
- Since the squash will be softer at this time, if you need to make the pieces smaller, you can easily do that now.
- While squash is baking, combine cooked quinoa, diced apple, scallions and parsley in a large bowl.
- Toast walnuts in a dry pan for 4-5 minutes over medium heat or until they smell toasted. Add to bowl with quinoa.
- Add cooked squash to the quinoa and dress with lemon juice, remaining olive oil, salt and pepper (2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.) Toss well and season with additional salt or pepper if needed.