Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad

Photo courtesy of Smitten Kitchen.

I adore this salad from Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen. Her recipes are great and I’ve tried many of them over the years, but this one was the first and it’s one I come back to often, especially as we move into cooler months.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For salad:

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 medium garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)

1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley or cilantro

For tahini dressing:

1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425° F.

In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, garlic, olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Toss the squash pieces until evenly coated. Roast them on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool.

Make the tahini dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic and lemon juice. Add the tahini, and whisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. The sauce should have plenty of nutty tahini flavor, but also a little kick of lemon. Add more water to thin it out if needed.

To assemble the salad, combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and parsley or cilantro in a mixing bowl. Add the tahini dressing to taste, and toss carefully. Serve immediately. I often will serve this salad on a bed of brown rice. I also think this salad tastes just fine the next day.

Carrot and Grilled Corn Salad for the Summer to Fall Transition

This is the perfect end of summer salad! Fresh local corn and peppers are still in season. Cilantro is still popping up in my herb garden. And I always start to crave root vegetables more when the weather starts to cool.

Ingredients:

2 large ears of corn

Coconut oil

Juice and zest of one lime

1/2 fresh chili pepper (Serrano or Jalapeno)

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 carrots sliced into into thin rounds

4 medium spring onions, sliced into thin rounds

1 small bunch cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Brush corn with melted oil and grill until the corn is tender and slightly charred, 7-10 minutes. Let cool slightly. Slice the kernels off the corn and put them in a large bowl.

Roast carrots for 7 minutes, until cooked with a bit of crunch.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime zest and juice, minced chili, honey, salt, cumin and olive oil.

Add carrots, spring onions and cilantro to the bowl with the corn. Pour the dressing over, toss to combine, and let the flavors soak in for at least 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Somatic Experiencing and Caring for Your Whole Self

I started my second year of Somatic Experiencing training a few weeks ago, and I feel even more passionate about the role this work has in supporting healing.

My interest in Somatic Experiencing is rooted in my own experiences of stress and trauma and feeling a need to heal in a deeper and body-focused way.

Stress (trauma) shows up in the body with physical symptoms. Chronic pain, chronic fatigue and low energy, anxiety and feeling “wired and tired,” insomnia, and digestive issues are all examples of symptoms that can be helped by supporting the nervous system. While nourishing movement (such as Pilates) is a huge piece of the puzzle of feeling good in our bodies I think understanding and supporting nervous system regulation is something everyone should understand and incorporate into their lives and learning this can only aid you in feeling your best.

Somatic Experiencing is a gentle, body focused technique that supports your health and overall wellness as well as supports healing from specific stresses and traumas.

This work is very complimentary to your Pilates sessions and will deepen your body awareness, which will enhance your Pilates practice.

It’s evident to me that we can’t neatly separate our emotional and mental health from the physical, and I can support a much deeper and richer experience by holding space for your mental AND physical well-being.

If this sounds at all interesting to you, I’d love to chat more with you about it, and I’d love to share Somatic Experiencing with you. Current pricing is $50 for an hour (sometimes a little less time depending on your nervous system and how you are feeling in the session).

7 Reasons to Love Pilates

I tried Pilates for the first time during college and took a semester long course. We were supposed to do the mat abdominal series every day (I didn’t…because college!), but I distinctly remember leaving class and feeling sooooo good and so different than I did after the gym, biking or running.

When a few years after college, I was suffering from pretty painful and persistent lower back pain and I had the opportunity to take Pilates reformer classes, I tried it, loved it, and it helped my pain immensely. I almost immediately started training to be an instructor.

Pilates has kept me strong and flexible and feeling good in my body for years. When I don’t do as much Pilates, my body doesn’t feel as good, and that’s a pretty good reminder to be consistent.

Here are a few reasons why I love Pilates and what my clients tell me they love about it.

1. It’s challenging and engaging for the mind and the body.

2. Moving in a way that feels good is so great in a fitness world that often tells us to “just push through” pain and discomfort.

3. It’s like a reset that supports and balances the other things you’re doing (Crossfit, running, golf, horseback riding, etc.).

4. Through Pilates, we can learn about ourselves—from imbalances and ways we feel different from side to side, to noticing our breath to cultivating a deeper understanding of ourselves.

5. It is time just for you every week. This is incredibly valuable and, in fact, I think should be a non-negotiable for everyone.

6. It’s great to come in for a session and not have to think. I’ll tell you what to do :) In a world of many decisions and choices, it can feel really nice to not need to think about what you should do for an hour.

7. You’ll almost certainly feel better when you’re finished than when you started!

What are your favorite things about Pilates?

I hope to see you in the studio soon! Schedule a private session for 55 minutes or 30 minutes here.

Tangy Chickpea, Broccoli and Sundried Tomato Salad

This salad from Cookie and Kate is a regular around our house in the summer. It’s simple, fresh and is great on a wrap or pita bread with smashed avocado. It would also be delicious on a bed or arugula. The dressing adds tons of flavor with ingredients many of you will have laying around the house.

Ingredients:

1 bunch broccoli. florets removed and sliced thin

1 can (15 oz) of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped

1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (or chopped kalamata olives for vegans)

2 medium avocados

Salt, to taste

4 whole grain pita breads, or 4 large, thick slices of hearty whole grain bread, or other gluten free wraps.

Lemon dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste

1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 ½ teaspoons honey or maple syrup, to taste

1 clove garlic, pressed or minced

1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste

Pinch red pepper flakes

Instructions:

Prepare the chickpea salad by combining broccoli, chickpeas, red onions, feta cheese and sundried tomatoes

In a small bowl combine the dressing ingredients and whisk until emulsified. Taste and add additional salt, if necessary

Pour the dressing over the broccoli chickpea salad and toss to combine

Mash avocados and spread on your pitas, bread or wraps and top with chickpea salad.

Serves 2 with enough leftover for a lunch. My personal tip: Make a double batch of this yummy salad so you have enough for a couple of meals.