I can’t say that I’ve found all the answers after that short break, but at the very least, I’m ready to take on the new year with renewed focus. That’s all that I can ask for now, right? Now, on to this scrummy dish. One of my (many) resolutions this year is to eat healthier. For someone who runs a blog with the word “healthy” in the name, it’s embarrassing to admit that my eating habits need to be cleaned up. They do, though. Ever since I started blogging, I’ve gained about 15 pounds. But there is a caveat. I was on a pretty rigorous diet right before I started my blog, which involved working out 6 to 7 times a week and making sure that I consumed only a certain number of net calories a day. I became very obsessive with calorie counting and declined dinner invitations with friends because I was afraid that one meal out with them would completely derail my weight loss. I felt miserable. Of course, as with most fad dieting, that kind of lifestyle was not sustainable, and I regained all the weight that I lost. By no means do I want to go on a diet again, but I would like to be in better physical shape for my next race (I’ve decided that I would sign up for 3 big events this year). This Mediterranean chickpea salad stuffed in roasted squash is my first effort to reaching that goal. Here’s to a healthier new year! (Eek! This post sounded more like something I would say at a support group meeting than an actual recipe post, but it certainly felt good to let all of this out in the open. Hope you don’t mind.)
MASTER MY MISTAKES / COOKING NOTES
Baking the squash: The first time I made this dish, I baked the squash cut-side up and drizzled olive oil on top to keep the squash from drying out. It tasted fine, but to save a few more calories, I decided to bake the squash cut-side down with water. Both methods work well—it’s just a matter of what you like more.Chickpea Salad: The Mediterranean chickpea salad was inspired by a salad that I buy from time to time at the Sacramento Co-Op. The original version had a much stronger dijon mustard flavor, which I’ve toned down significantly. Can you skip the mustard? Sure. I don’t want you to go out buying an entire jar of dijon mustard only to use a teaspoon of it for this recipe!Nutrition Information: Starting this year, I’m going to include nutrition information in my recipes (located at the bottom of my recipe cards). I’ve been resisting this move for the longest time because I just don’t think there is any way for me to get reliable information for my recipes. (Case in point: I used 3 different recipe calorie calculating tools for this recipe and got 3 sets of results.) However, I always receive comments and e-mails asking for the nutrition information, so I decided to take a stab at this. They’re only meant to be a guideline and may not be 100% accurate.
If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes by leaving a comment or sending me a message! Or take a photo of the food and tag me on Instagram so that I can give you a fist bump! I love seeing your creations!
