This Roasted Stuffed Squash Recipe Is Rich With Fiber And Beta-Carotene

Last updated on 8 JUN 2016

This recipe for roasted squash stuffed with tomato and spinach chickpea stew is a creamy delight and is high in nutrients. This recipe will keep you full and satisfied, thanks to the fantastic tomato sauce that is rich with flavor.

It’s absolutely mouth-watering, but what really makes the recipe awesome is the fact that it’s packed with health-enhancing ingredients that provide you with beta-carotene.

What Is Beta-Carotene

Beta-carotene is simply precursor to Vitamin A. It is the phytonutrient that exists in vegetables and fruits that give them their color. In this recipe, beta-carotene is found in mainly the spinach, carrots and squash. Vitamin A is essential for mucus membranes, and in keeping our skin and eyes healthy.

Benefits Of Beta-Carotene

The advantage of having beta-carotene rather than taking Vitamin A supplements is that dietary beta-carotene only converts as much as your body needs. This is essential since consuming too much vitamin A in supplement form can be toxic to your body.

Beta-carotene is fundamental to our body because it has powerful antioxidant functions. Antioxidants fight off free radicals, which cause chronic inflammation and can do serious harm to our body. This recipe is the perfect introduction to adding more beta-carotene into your life.

Roasted Squash Stuffed With Tomato
And Spinach Chickpea Stew

Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 small squash (I used Kabocha squash)
• ½ tin of chickpeas (about 200g)
• 1 jar of Passata or 1 tin of tomatoes, 400g
• Handful of cherry tomatoes, around 50g
• 1 carrot, grated
• ½ red chilli, (use a whole one if you like it hot)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 100g of spinach, frozen will work fine
• ½ tsp of rosemary
• ½ tsp of thyme
• ½ tsp of sage
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds

Squash

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180^oF
2. Carefully slice the top off the squash, empty the seeds and drizzle in olive oil and a pinch of salt
3. Place in oven for 50 minutes

Tomato Chickpea Mix

Instructions:

1. Chop the garlic and chilli and place in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil, and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes
2. Add the tinned tomatoes, drained chickpeas and cherry tomatoes to the garlic and chilli
3. Grate in the carrot and give the pot a stir
4. Add all the seasoning (rosemary, thyme and sage) and leave to cook on low heat for 35 minutes
5. Add salt and pepper and give the mix a taste, adding additional seasoning if needed.

Final steps:

1. Add the spinach and cook for five minutes
2. Take squash out of the oven after around 45 minutes, and then add the chickpeas
3. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the mix and place back in the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes to combine all the flavours
4. Take out of the oven, let cool a little and enjoy!

The recipe above is shared with permission from our friends at drstevenlin.com.

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About Sara Ding

Sara Ding is the founder of Juicing-for-Health.com. She is a certified Wellness Health Coach, Nutritional Consultant and a Detox Specialist. She helps busy men and women identify their health issues at the root cause, in order to eliminate the problems for optimum physical/mental health and wellbeing.

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