This recipe is healthy, warming and is the perfect meal for a cold winters day.  This is Dr. Gillian McKeith’s creation from her ‘You Are What You Eat’ book.  I have revised the recipe slightly to make this a ‘quicker’ meal to to prepare.  Feel free to use whatever veggies you have in the fridge instead of the ones listed below.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp virgin olive oil (or 2 tsp coconut oil)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 2 stalks celery, washed and sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, halved, deseeded and cut into small pieces (or you can purchase squash already cubed)
• 1 cube vegetable stock (wheat free) disolved in 2 cups of pure water
• 1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 can of lentils if you prefer)
• 4 tomatoes, washed and sliced in half (or use 1 can tomato sauce)
• 1 broccoli head, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp arrowroot powder (to thicken)
• 4 sweet potatoes, boiled for 10 minutes or until soft, and mashed (or 2 yellow potatoes and 2 sweet if you prefer)
• Dash of Braggs Liquid Aminos* (similar to soya sauce)

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the garlic, onion, celery and bay leaf and simmer for approximately 3 minutes.  Add the squash and heat for 3 more minutes, stirring.  Pour in the stock and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the kidney beans, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, and carrots.  Simmer for an additional 5 minutes until the squash is just tender.  Stir in the parsley.  Add a little arrowroot to thicken.

Transfer into baking dish, mix the sweet potato mash with a little of the cooking water and a dash of Braggs Liquid Amino sauce and add as a topping and bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.  Just enough to set.  Enjoy!

Serves 4

*You can find this at Whole Foods, Organic Garage and sometimes Fortinos or any health food store.

Health Benefits:

This meal is high in plant based proteins which are easier for the body to digest.  By using sweet potato, you give this dish and extra dose of vitamin A and C which are powerful antioxidants that help fight free radicals in the body which could be damaging to cells. In the winter our bodies need cooked orange veggies more often because they are warming and easier to digest.

Linda Ljucovic, Registered Holistic Nutritionist