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I’ve been looking into autumnal, seasonal and warming food to eat and pack for lunch when working in my zero waste shop. I also had some leafy veg I needed to use: beautiful, dark green kale that I received last Friday with my Riverford box.
Packed lunches are not only much better for you to eat, because you know what goes in them as opposed to the supermarket bought sandwiches or ready meals but they also waste free as you don’t have to buy something in plastic packaging. You can tailor them to your taste, time and make them healthy and nutritious.
Is packed lunch a little bit of effort? Yes. But is it much better for you and the environment? Also yes. Does it save money? Definitely. Is home cooked food that you prepared healthier than anything store bought? Also yes. You do you – but I think it takes only a little extra effort and even if you don’t pack lunch every day, only every other day – still ,it’s much better.
So this is a Wholewheat Couscous With Roasted Butternut Squash And Kale Salad (Vegan), should be ready in 50 minutes. I make it for dinner and the left over (I make as much that I have left over, since I’m cooking. I tend to do that with any meal I can to save time spent with cooking) is next day’s lunch. Still fresh and delicious. This salad also can be eaten warm or cold and you can add feta/roasted things if you want to make it non-vegan.
Swaps you can make in this recipe
- swap wholewheat couscous for white couscous or giant couscous for normal. Totally fine.
- swap kale for spinach (or use both – I was tempted)
- swap squash for pumpkin
- add chickpeas for extra protein
- swap maple syrup for honey
- eat it as a side dish for even more substantial meal
- add fruit like fig or pomegranate
- kale can go in fresh as well, but I like to roast it so it’s a bit softer
Enjoy!
Wholewheat Couscous With Roasted Butternut Squash And Kale Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 400 g cubed butternut squash roasted
- 10-12 leaves kale lightly roasted
- 250 g wholewheat giant cous cous cooked
- 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 tsp olive or rapeseed oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard or wholegrain
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the butternut squash: peel, cut into small cubes, toss with oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven on 175 Celsius for 20-25 minutes.
- At the same time, cook the couscous as per instruction till it's al dente. Also cut the kale up into small bites and lightly roast it in the oven for 3-4 minutes.
- In the meantime prepare the dressing, set it aside. Chop the onions.
- When everything is cooked, combine in a bowl and serve.
