Although, nothing can truly beat roasting an entire Kabocha squash until the entire house smells of its goodness, at least in my books.

Oven: 450
Procudre: Roast whole kabocha (I like to poke a whole or two into it)
Time: 15-45 minutes (depends on on the size of your squash) or until just soft enough to safely cut.
LET COOL 5-10 mintues before slicing in half
Slice: Remove stringy insides and seeds and slice Kabocha into half moons and top with any seasonings you like
Seasoning: I left 1/2 of the slices plain; 1/4 seasoned with pumpking spice and coconut oil; the last 1/4 of slices I seasoned with braggs liquid aminos, ginger, garlic, seseme oil, red pepper flakes, and maybe a few others. I figured an asian spice mix was appropriate as Kabocha is a Japanese Pumpkin!
Roast: Roast the the half moons until it reaches your desired crispiness/softness/gooeyness (20-45 mintues longer, flipping half way through)
NOTE: I prefer to roast my veggies on parchment paper with canola oil spray, but when I run out, I opt for foil + spray

I roasted a few trays of kabocha, as you can never have too much! One of the trays also included extra firm tofu, brussel sprouts and broccoli trunks.

Tofu: Extra Firm patted dry & sliced
Seasoning: (another Japanese insipriation) Red pepper flakes, braggs, garlic powder, onion powder, seseme oil, ginger powder, agave, onion granules, and I think that is all (?) I also enjoyed my tofu with some nori!
*The broccoli trunks and sprouts were included in this seasoning mix to simplify things

I loved the half moon style of roasting kabocha. It was carmelized in parts and absolutly delicious (of course). I will defintly rotate my Kabocha prep methods with the half moon style.

Kabocha dinner #1 (there were many “seconds”):

Reheating for Kabocha dinner #2 (although Kabocha is delicious cold!):

squash + maple brussel sprouts + roasted mushrooms + spinach + leftover black beans stir fried with veggies + spices

ps: spinach leaves make awesome little mini “wraps” for the beans or squash

Kabocha dinner #3

tortilla veggie&cheese pizza + shrooms + leftover black beans + bell pepper halves stuffed with black beans and parmesan + Kabocha squash

I am slighly addicted to dipping Kabocha into ketchup + tobasco, but it is excellent on it’s own as well!!

How do YOU enjoy Kabocha if you have tried it? What is your favorite winter squash and way of preparing it?

1. Baked tofu + green beans

(extra firm tofu, pressed with paper towels & baked for 20 minutes with seseme oil + bragg’s liquid aminos + spices, flipped half way through, at 425)

2. Smoked salmon chunk + carrots + peanut and pumpkin butter + brussels sprouts and parsley from the garden

3. Spicy Black Beans from scratch (these have such an amazing texture compared to canned beans. Plus, NO SODIUM!)

Instructions: Soak beans overnight (or in the morning before you go to work/school) with double/triple the water. After 8-12 hours, rinse beans thoroughly. Add fresh water (double the amount) to your pot/pan and with the rinsed beans and slowly bring the water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 hours, or until your beans are the consistency you want and the water is absorbed. Easy!

4. Snack Plate: Celery + almond butter + raisins, pumpkin and cinnamon

5. Tortilla Pizza + Veggies + Cheese
(high protein La Tortilla Factory tortilla’s or Flat Out Wraps)

6. Dessert lately has been alot of Greek yogurt + toppings:
Raspberries + dark chocolate chips + pom seeds + crushed Newman’s o cookie

Random eats but good ones, especially the new addition of yogurt to my dessert menu (18 grams protein/serving)

*some snacks/meals that don’t exactly follow my protein theme of the day*

Brussels Sprouts + Shallots (before)

After:

These were awesome! I have never pan “fried” brussels sprouts before, I always roast them in oil + maple syrup

Lots of veggie salads + Annie’s salad dressing (the best!)

ORGANIC DARK CHOCOLATE

Sorry for the overload of eats!

Leftovers

Try these amazing pulled chicken sandwiches

You will need:

3 Tablespoon (T) of Ketchup
1 T of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 T of grainy mustard (regular will do fine as well)
1 T molasses
1 teaspoon (t) chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
4 turns of fresh ground pepper
a dash (or 1/8 t) of ground ginger
Desired amount of shredded chicken meat, at least 3 servings (or 12 oz)
-you could also use raw chicken meat cut into 2 inch pieces, cooking time will increase
-add the raw chicken to the saute pan with all other ingredients, follow instructions and cook until cooked through (20-25min)
*Buns of choice (I prefer Rudi’s organic)
Mayo/horseradish

1. Combine all of the ingredients besides the shredded chicken and buns in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover and cook, stirring occasionally.
3. Once sauce has reached desired consistency, should be like a very thick bbq sauce, add chicken
4. Stir with chicken just until it is heated through
5. Spread mayo onto bun (or desired sauce) and top with chicken mixture
6. Serve with a pickle and enjoy

Preheat oven to 425

Step 1: Rinse your chicken with cold water and pat dry
Step 2: Remove giblets if they have not done so for you from the cavity of the chicken
Step 3: Stuff about one lemon’s worth of slices, entire head of garlic, fresh herb sprig and a 1/2 tablespoon of butter into the cavity of the chicken
Step 7: On the top of the chicken, make a small insert into the skin and slide a 1/2 tablespoon of butter underneath the skin
Step 8: Sprinkle chicken liberally with sea salt + pepper
Step 9: Put chicken in casserole/baking/roasting pan or dish and into the oven for 90 minutes, or until the juices are running clear

Enjoy leftovers all week long: Rather than buying chicken strips, chicken thighs, breasts, ect, try and reduce your footprint and buy a whole chicken for roasting. From there, make your own soup stock and freeze it for future usage. Save the planet AND money.

CHeck out THIS link to learn more about the most enviormentally friendly way to eat meat.

HERE is another article to check out about eating meat in the most green fashion possible.

Baked tofu with homemade pumpkin cardamom sauce:

Slice and blot (with paper towels) extra firm tofu and bake at 425 for 20-30 mintues depending on your oven, flipping half way throught. You can also “marinate” your tofu in oil or any yummy sauce you like. BBQ is delish. For this recipe, I bake it plain so that it may be dipped in this yummy pumpkin sauce.

Meanwhile, make pumpkin sauce:

1/4 cup pumpkin pecan butter (or TJ’s pumpkin butter)
cardamom and cumin seeds (about a tsp each)
one clove garlic
pinch of ginger powder (optional)
honey, agave or brown sugar to your taste
soy milk creamer to thicken
water to thin if needed

Begin by frying seeds until fragrent in a non stick skillet
Remove from heat and mix with crushed clove of garlic.
Add pumpkin to skillet and stir until warmed throughout, add other spices and seasonings, and then add the fryed seed mixture.
Stir in soy milk creamer and sweetener to taste.
Drizzle over baked tofu, or use as dipping sauce! Delicious on sweet potatoes too.

Sweet Potato Fries:

Peel potatoes if desired, otherwise slice sweet potatoes into wedges.
“Paint” them with olive oil using a pastry brush, you can be quite generous with oil here, as this is the main fat source of the meal and will help in the absorption of valuable nutrients. (you can see my technique for “painting” oil here)
Season with sea salt + garlic powder + red pepper flakes or chili powder

Bake at 500 degrees for 15-20 minutes, flipping half way through.
(Or, if you are baking your potatoes and tofu at the same time, put the oven to 450 and flip tofu when browned on the bottom. Baking time will vary, so keep a close watch!)

Last but not least, MYVERYFIRSTKITCHEN wouldn’t be what it is without a ginormous salad:

Spinach + mushrooms + broccoli + tomatoes + yellow bell pepper + favorite salad dressing (honey mustard for me.)

Perfectly satisfying deliciousness of protein + startch (with some healthy EVOO fat!) + vegggggies. There is even room for a cupcake!

It can LOWER your risk for cavaties, diabetes, colon cancer, depression, Alzheimer’s, liver disease, gallstone disease and more! Oh and for me? It helps decrease my asthmatic symptoms, wakes me up, makes me feel warm and cozy, and gets me out of bed in the morning! Addiction? Maybe! But then I am also addicted to vegetables…so there

I found a lot of my coffee facts here and here

I know many bloggies out there are anti-coffee drinkers, and I know its not the BEST thing in the world for me, but I LOVE it!! We all have our vices, right? A steaming cup of coffee in the morning, mmm, nothing better Well, we are all out! I knew I would have no time to stop anywhere, so tea it was. Chai is my fav!

I even got a Pilates workout in this morning thank goodness. My back has been KILLING me since school started, lugging books and my laptop all over campus all day!

Snacks for school/work today included:

I didn’t have the Amazing Meal, and have yet to try it! Any thoughts on it?? I am back in an Oikos greek yogurt phase…!

Dinner tonight was what is becoming quite the usual: Flat out wrap tortilla pizza + one HUGE sweet potato (which I added ketchup and tobasco to) + greens + some of the boys unpictured Beecher’s Mac and Cheese (so good!!)

Night friends! Gotta get up early to go get coffee!!!!