Grown-up sloppy joes with mashed delicata squash
Grown-up sloppy joes with mashed delicata squash
Plus, video tutorials and better-for-you Halloween treats
Good morning! I had every intention of sending this newsletter out early, at least a day before Halloween, but here we are, Thursday morning, with the perfect, pre-trick-or-treat dinner recipe, and I realize I have given you hardly any time at all to gather what you’d need to prepare it.
Regardless, it’s a delicious recipe that is totally appropriate for any night of the week, not just on Halloween. And as a bonus, I’ve even added a few videos to help walk you through the process and know exactly what to expect!
We plan on doing a bit of trick-or-treating tonight with cousins (my kids are going as Rex from Fortnite, Barbie, and the cutest little cow). And let me just say that trick-or-treating in a warm weather climate beats anything I have ever known. It’s 1000x better than trekking through the rain or snow in bulky jackets that cover up costumes.
I love that we can now sit out in our driveway along with other neighbors and hand out goodies, or walk around the neighborhood trick-or-treating in the cool night air.
Since I don’t have any costume photos from this year yet, here are a few from years ago, just for fun. Note the middle picture, bundled up during one of our many Halloweens spent in Alaska. ❄️
Today’s recipe is the perfect quick dinner idea (kid-approved, too) before a night of trick-or-treating.
Like all of my recipes, it’s low-carb and high in protein. (If you feel like indulging in Halloween treats/candy, a dinner like this before hand can help prevent really high blood sugar spikes, something I’ve noticed really helps my kiddos.)
I call it a grown-up sloppy joe. There’s no bun involved and it’s a tad more “elevated” than the dream dinner of our childhood.
The sweet/savory meat sauce is spooned on top of roasted and mashed delicata squash. The sauce is every bit as saucy and messy as a traditional sloppy joe (that is a requirement, as the name suggests), but it’s made with real-food ingredients that are mostly pantry and spice cabinet staples.
If you’re not super familiar with delicata squash, this is a wonderful first recipe to give it a try! (My 30-minute autumn chicken chili is another good one.)
Roasted and mashed, the squash’s potato-like texture really stands out. It’s a great base for the meaty sauce, but if you do want to keep things extra simple, you can skip the veg and spoon the meat into a low-carb hamburger bun, a la authentic sloppy joes.
I know there’s always a strong case for chili as a Halloween meal, but I think these healthy sloppy joes are even less effort to prepare and might even get more fanfare from little eaters.
As I mentioned above, this is also the first newsletter that includes step-by-step recipe videos!
I spent some time in the kitchen shooting some short, informal videos, which I hope, are helpful. And because my youngest refused to nap, she makes a couple of cameos too. 🤪
This is the season we are in and I’m learning to be flexible. Some things take a little longer and sometimes don’t go as planned, but such is life and I know that dinner prep for many of us looks like this!
I do feel like I must point out that Millie was perfectly safe in the kitchen, and was either in my arms or in her high chair or walker. She was never near a sharp knife or hot stovetop (a point I feel compelled to make because this is the internet, after all 😅).
The recipe, printable PDF, and step-by-step videos, are all available below for my lovely paid subscribers.
Did you know you can gift a subscription to At the Table? An annual subscription gives readers an all-new dinner recipe every Thursday (always grain/gluten free, low carb, and ready in 30 minutes or less!).
Paid subscribers also receive bonus content like meal plans, holiday menus, and access to the full recipe archive. (I’m currently working on a Thanksgiving menu and a fall meal plan for November and I can’t wait to share it with you!).
With the holidays right around the corner, now is a great time to give the gift of healthy and delicious recipes to friends and loved ones. 🤍
Five fun, better-for-you treats
If you’re looking to indulge in some sweet Halloween treats this week, I have a few suggestions that are low-glycemic, made with real foods, and taste great.
Salted caramel chip cookie pops (really, you could bake any cookie with a popsicle stick and it would be 10x more fun!)
What I’m loving this week
A wonderful starter guide to eating real, whole foods, with easy, actionable tips.
I just got these in taupe from Target and they’re so comfy (and a fraction of the price of Birks).
Danielle Walker’s high-protein breakfast pudding looks delish, and you could certainly turn a bowl of no-oats oatmeal into this!
The kindest blog comment about these keto tahini cookies.
Wow is all I can say! I just made these cookies, just tasted one and they are so good that I am compelled to write a review as I’m eating it. You would never know that these cookies are sugar free. They are just downright amazing. The tahini and coconut is the perfect combo. I didn’t have coconut flour so subbed in more almond flour and hoped for the best…. Even with that, they are amazing. I’ll have to make them right next time and they will be just that much better ;)
-Melissa
Grown-up sloppy joes with mashed delicata squash
This recipe is quick, easy, and versatile. You can use whatever kind of ground meat you have (ground turkey, ground game meat, ground bison, etc.!), and feel free to adjust the spices to your liking.
In the videos, I share a few tips for the best results, including:
two ways to serve the squash
the sweetener of choice for this dish
how I cut up the squash into cubes.
Video 1: Roast the delicata squash
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