I read myself the riot act about 6 months ago, when my cholesterol level reached a new high. My doctor seemed nonplussed, perhaps because my cardiac calcium score was a perfect zero. But I was not happy. Yes, I had lost weight and was exercising, but to be honest, my heart belonged to cheese. And eggs. And ice cream. Something had to change.
Breakfast was easy. The whole eggs (which I had been eating almost daily) were replaced by Starbucks Sous Vide Egg whites or oatmeal served with a side of chicken sausage. Lunches were yogurt or soup or vegan bean burritos or salad or tuna or peanut butter. I started snacking on nuts and fruits and avocado.
But dinner remained a challenge for some time, as it’s the one meal my husband and I always eat (and often cook) together, and he loves meat. Though we often cooked chicken, we were definitely eating more red meat than recommended, not enough fish and almost never an entire veggie meal. He loves salmon, so we added that more frequently into the rotation. But It was hard to convince him to forgo the red meat. Until his cholesterol returned elevated – though not as high as mine.
We decided it was time to tackle dinner together. We dropped red meat from the menu, except for the occasional grass fed beef and lamb or top rib in a cabbage soup, upped the fish to several times a week, and started rotating in some vegetarian dinners.
I’m proud to report that, with just these changes, my total cholesterol dropped over 60 points and my LDL almost 50 points! I’m still not where I want to be, but I’m on my way, out of mandatory statin territory and eager to move further into meatless cuisine.
Luckily, I have a few vegetable-forward relatives who are also creative and wonderful cooks, and who have generously shared their recipe and ingredient gems with me. Let me in turn share this one with you.
See you in the land of meatless meals!
Whole Roasted Squash With Tomato-Ginger Chickpeas & Za’atar
Ingredients
- 3 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
- ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 3 14½-ounce cans diced tomatoes
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 oregano sprigs plus leaves for garnish
- 2½ tablespoons peeled, finely chopped ginger
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 3- to 4-pound butternut squash
- ¾ cup full-fat plain yogurt (I use sheep yogurt)
- Za'atar to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 300 degrees. On a sheet pan, stir together the chickpeas, ⅔ cup olive oil, tomatoes, cinnamon, oregano sprigs and 2 tablespoons chopped ginger. Season with salt and pepper and spread in an even layer.
- Scrub the squash and prick in a few places with a paring knife. Transfer to a foil-lined sheet pan and coat lightly with oil, salt and pepper.
- Bake the squash in the preheated oven on the bottom rack and the chickpeas on the upper rack until a knife slides easily through the squash and the chickpeas and tomatoes are dark red and thick like jam, 2 to 2½ hours, stirring the chickpeas occasionally.
- Meanwhile, stir the remaining ½ tablespoon ginger into the sheep yogurt. (If using Greek yogurt, you may need to thin it with a little water) Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Discard the herb sprigs, then season the chickpeas to taste with salt and pepper. When the squash are cool enough to handle, cut into big pieces and scoop out and discard the stems, seeds and stringy bits. Keep the skin on – it's edible. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the squash to a platter flesh side up, then top with the chickpeas, some of the ginger yogurt and a very generous sprinkle of za'atar. Serve the remaining yogurt alongside.
