This recipe was inspired by a wonderful young client of mine who has successfully changed her relationship with food back to a positive one. Alot of us need stop looking at food in a negative light, as “calories” or the “bad guy”. We all need to focus on food’s ability to nourish. How does the nourishing food make you feel? Does it give you increased energy and a improved mood? Do you notice your mind seems clearer and more focussed after a healthy meal? Get back to working together with food to create a healthy mind and body. This will result in a nutrient dense diet in which you listen to your hunger, feel fuller/more content with the food you do eat and refrain from overeating.

Serves 2 (and if you’re lucky some left over for lunch the next day!) 

Time: 30mins

Ingredients: 

2 baby butternut halves (each one the size of your two hands cupped together) 

1 cup long grain brown rice

200g raw chicken breast

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 bunch fresh coriander chopped

2 spring onions sliced finely

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili flakes

1 tsp olive oil

1 small 200g tub plain greek yoghurt

1 lemon squeezed

Method

Put brown rice on to cook. Scoop out the insides of both baby pumpkins leaving about 1.5cm of the shell. Lightly spray with oil and put in the oven on a baking tray at 180 degrees for 15mins. In the meantime, dice up chicken breast finely and add with oil and spring onion to pan. Cook over medium heat until brown. When both chicken and rice are complete add all other ingredients and mix together in a large bowl. Take out pumpkin from the oven. Scoop in mixture until full. Put back in the oven for another 5-10 mins. Take out and let it cool a little (I learnt this the hard way!) Top with a tablespoon on greek yoghurt. ENJOY! 🙂

Note: I ended up steaming the scooped pumpkin up & adding to leftover mix. Then I used this in a salad with iceburge lettuce the next day for lunch.  Delicious. 

Nutrition:  Pumpkin is high in Vitamin A, a nutrient essential for growth but also the maintenance of skin and mucus membranes. It also contains an antioxidant called zeaxanthin that protects the eye retina from UV damage and is beneficial for vision.  The long grain brown rice is of a low GI which with the protein in the chicken, keeps you fuller for longer but also provides a good source of dietary fibre to promote a healthy digestive system. Cinnamon has anticlotting and antimicrobial properties. Cumin is a good source of iron, important for immune function. And the yoghurt contains some calcium to help you get a little closer to your daily goal of sustaining strong bones! Why wouldn’t you make this meal when it’s both nutritious and delicious?