How to Make a Healthy and Delicious Lunch: Squash Tahini Salad

Today's Recipe of the Day is a healthy salad bowl made with kale, acorn squash, avocado, dates, and chickpeas, dressed with tahini and a mix of curry spices. This salad is the easiest way to load up on the nutrients our bodies need all while enjoying the delicious flavors of sweet squash, zesty curry, crunchy chickpeas, and savory tahini.

This recipe calls for one 12 oz can of chickpeas, a healthy source of plant-based protein and fiber. One cup or 200 grams of chickpeas contains 35 grams of fiber, increasing satiety and helping you feel fuller longer to avoid binge eating or snacking.

This salad bowl also calls for tahini, a savory, nutty sesame seed spread that adds buttery flavors to your veggies and fruits leaving you with a strong umami aftertaste. Tahini helps boost your calcium intake with 182mg per tablespoon, "it’s over half the calcium of a glass of regular milk," Mariam Metwally, accredited practicing dietitian and nutritionist told Mary Fawzy for The Beet.

Adding to the list of health benefits, avocado is a superfood that works wonders. In this recipe, you will use one full avocado, an easy and delicious way to increase satiety and load up on essential vitamins and minerals. After eating just one avocado, you most likely will feel full for up to 6 hours afterward, according to a study published by NIH, which makes this recipe even more special. Also, shockingly enough, avocados contain more potassium than bananas because a 3.5-ounce avocado has 708 milligrams of potassium or 14 percent of your recommended daily allowance, and bananas have 422 milligrams or 10 percent of your daily recommended allowance, according to Healthline. Consuming foods high in potassium support healthy blood pressure.

Before you get wrapped up in all the health benefits, just make yourself a bowl and discover how delicious healthy eating tastes.

Recipe Developer: Cameron Rogers

Named one of the five entrepreneurs changing New York’s wellness scene by Forbes, Cameron Rogers, the courageous voice behind @freckledfoodie, is a content creator and authority in the wellness space on a mission to make healthy living realistic and approachable.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 Minutes
Total Minutes: 50 minutes

Squash Tahini Salad

Yields 2 people

Ingredients

• Kale (1 head)
• Acorn squash (1)
• Avocado (1)
• Dates (3)
• Pecans (1/2 cup)
• Chickpeas (1 12oz can)
• Avocado oil (1 teaspoon)
• Olive oil (1/3 cup)
• Tahini (2 tablespoons)
• Curry spice (1/2 teaspoon)
• Turmeric (1/2 teaspoon)
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds.
2. Cut each half in half, lengthwise, and then slice into ¼ inch wide slivers.
3. Season the sliced squash with salt & pepper and ½ teaspoon of avocado oil and place on a parchment lined baking sheet in the oven at 425 degrees for ~ 20 minutes, or until the interior is soft and cooked through and the exterior is slightly crisped.
4. Drain the can of chickpeas and season with ½ teaspoon of curry seasoning, ½ teaspoon of turmeric, salt & pepper, and ½ teaspoon of avocado oil.
5. Place the chickpeas on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in the oven at 425 degrees for ~15 minutes, or until they are crisped.
6. While the squash and chickpeas are cooking, wash, destem, and chop the kale into small ribbons and then set aside.
7. Slice the avocado into ½ inch wide chunks and set aside.
8. Chop the pecans and the dates into small pieces and set aside.
9. Massage the kale, using your hands, with 1/3 cup of olive oil and place into two bowls.
10. Top the kale with the chopped pecans and dates, the avocado, the curry-spiced chickpeas, and the roasted squash. Drizzle each salad with 1 tablespoon of tahini and serve.