Last year my dear friend Karly mentioned that she started seeing a business coach. She was struggling to find balance with her quickly growing career while juggling a busy personal life, and found some much needed support and accountability with a coach. Consider me intrigued! I admire her for taking the initiative to get outside help with running her own business, and for gently planting the seed in my own mind. As I wrote in my last post, asking for help has never been my forte, but I’m lucky to be surrounded by many self employed friends who are always eager to share their sanity-saving tips.
Life got busier than ever with our new family and work. The business coach idea fell off my radar, as I didn’t think I could add one more thing to an already full plate. Looking back, it probably would’ve helped me more than it didn’t, but recently, it was as if the universe was giving me a gentle nudge to go for it. Don’t you love when that happens? First, our friend Chris mentioned his business coach, and what a great experience he’s had over the years. Then, I saw Karly recently and she told me she’s been seeing her coach for over a year now with amazing success (and I’ve noticed the positive changes, too). Well, that was it. In the words of my girl crush Mindy Kaling, Why not me?! I decided right then and there that I would make time to give it a shot.
Our first session started with an exploratory exercise. My coach presented me with “The Wheel of Life”. It has various labels on it like “career”, “fun”, “personal growth”, “money”, “significant other”, “health”, “friends/family”, etc. Then I rated each one on a numerical scale from least to most satisfaction. The poor little wheel was so imbalanced by the time I was finished. I wasn’t the least bit surprised since I’ve felt like a wagon with 3 wheels for a while now, but this exercise helped me decide on a few areas to improve. Even though my original intent was to focus on business, I realized that personal growth, or lack thereof, impacts every single area of my life. I think it makes sense to start with this area as I’m sure it’ll have a positive impact on all the other areas too. I’m in my early thirties, but I occasionally feel like my personal growth is stuck in the last decade (or on bad days, maybe my first decade of life, hah). Is this just me, or can you relate to that feeling?
I can’t even tell you how many insights I had in our first session. We set some goals in a few categories, and I came up with some potential solutions to issues. Before we met, I decided that I wasn’t going to sugar coat things or make excuses for myself; as a result, our conversation was authentic, passionate, real, and inspiring. One thing I love is the accountability that I now have to follow though with goals. Rather than simply saying, “oh I’d love to hire a team some day…”, I’m actively moving forward with the goal! I don’t want to stand in my own way anymore. It’s amazing how much we can hold ourselves back by telling ourselves the same stories each day. The question is – what would YOU do if you got out of your own way?
Simple Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
Yield
6 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This is my favourite method for cooking butternut squash—chopping it into small cubes and roasting until it's tender and slightly caramelized. I have to exercise some serious restraint not to eat the whole pan straight from the oven! The squash cubes are layered on a base of fluffy quinoa and topped with creamy chopped avocado, sea salt, and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. It's super simple, but delightful. My best tip is to make sure you season this salad properly. Quinoa and roasted squash will fall flat without a generous seasoning of sea salt, so don't be shy. I also like to keep some Herbamare on hand when serving so others can season with additional salt if desired. Be sure to see my Tips below on the many ways you can change up this salad! Thank you to my friend Karly for inspiring this recipe. She brought this salad to a recent get-together and I knew I had to try recreating it at home.
Ingredients
For the roasted butternut squash:
- 1 large (3-pound/1.4 kg) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced into 1/2-inch cubes (about 8 cups)
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- Fine sea salt, to taste
For the salad:
- 1 cup (200 g) uncooked quinoa
- 1 large ripe avocado
- Fresh lemon or lime juice, to taste
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- For the squash: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Spread the chopped squash onto the baking sheets and drizzle 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or olive oil, if using) over each sheet. Toss to coat. Spread the squash into an even layer (being careful not to overcrowd the squash) and sprinkle with a few pinches of sea salt.
- Roast the squash until the bottoms are just starting to brown in some spots, about 40 to 50 minutes I don’t bother flipping the squash halfway through roasting, but you can if you’d like.
- For the salad: Once your squash are about 25 minutes from being done, begin preparing the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and transfer to a medium pot. Add 1 3/4 cups water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low-medium, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook for 12 to 14 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender and fluffy. Once cooked, fluff with a fork and remove from heat. Season the quinoa with salt and pepper to taste (I recommend a generous amount) and stir to combine. Keep the lid on until ready to use so it stays warm.
- Just before assembly, pit and chop the avocado so it’s ready to go.
- When the squash is finished cooking, spread the warm quinoa onto a platter or spoon it into a large bowl. While the squash is still hot, spoon it on top of the quinoa before adding the chopped avocado. Garnish with a couple more pinches of salt and a small amount of fresh lemon juice (or lime juice) drizzled over top (you can also try lemon or lime zest for a twist). I use a light touch with lemon juice as it can quickly overwhelm the other flavours. Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side.
Tip:
Want to change this recipe up? Here are some fun ideas for how you can create a new dish!
- Add some minced garlic to the cooked quinoa for a subtle garlic flavour
- Sprinkle some garlic powder or nutritional yeast on top
- Boost the protein by adding black beans, chickpeas, or any bean of choice
- Try experimenting with spice combinations like cumin + chili powder + cayenne; cinnamon + nutmeg; curry powder + coriander, etc.
- Finish with fresh minced herbs such as parsley or cilantro
- Sprinkle my Pecan Parmesan on top for a nutty crunch
- Add finely shredded kale, chard, or spinach for a boost of green power
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Photography credit: Ashley McLaughlin Photography
Sounds absolutely yummy. Think I’ll have this for supper tonight. Love the alternative additions as well. Thanks so much. Glad you’ve taken the plunge to personal growth- much luck.
I can totally relate to that. I turned thirty this year and I feel like I have been stuck for more than a decade and I have no idea how to get out of the rut. What would you do if you got out of your own way…. Sadly, I don’t have the guts to answer that question. That would mean some huge changes…
I love the recipe, just bought me a squash. And I’m so glad your back by the way!!
Angela!!!!
Ok — first off: I friggin’ love you. I’m a dedicated user of your cookbook (it is a disgusting, stained mess from all the splashes and overflows of my attempts at cooking…) although I’ve never ventured to make a comment on your site — until today!
Just wanted to reach out because I can totally relate — balancing the entrepreneurial gig with parenthood and maintaining a social life can be daaaang tricky. I’d always kind of rolled my eyes at the thought of coaching — until I actually experienced it and realized the amazing shifts that can happen as a result.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is coaching is pretty amazing, eh?! Glad to hear its helping you get where you want to be. And as a totally random side note: met your friend Joanna at a blogging conference this weekend as we bonded over our mutual geography. Small world!
Anyway, this is turning into a novel so I’ll wrap it up. Have a great day and best of luck as you continue on with your coach!
*sending virtual high fives*
Kelly
Hey Kelly,
You are way too sweet – Joanna mentioned meeting you! Small world. :) I’m off to check out your blog. Thanks for your kind words and love for my cookbook!
Too funny! I just walked in the door from the market, I have a beautiful butternut squash now, and here’s a fantastic recipe!
I love this, looking forward to a squashy fall. I also think the photos have improved dramatically. Much more you. I like the warmth of wood or fabric more than the coldness of stone, but then again the colors and patterns in th stone are so lovely. Congrats, looking forward to more.
Hi Angela,
Loved this post. It’s always such a great thing to take a step and reassess your priorities and what you really want your life to look like (if only you/your brain/your perception got out of the way!). I hope you came away with some awesome new intentions and that one of them included spending more time with your gorgeous family and being happy with exactly where you’re at! Sometimes we need to hear it from someone else to believe it’s true.
Love your blog (and looking forward to you coming to NZ one day, come say hello!).
x Buffy
This is simple yet bursting with flavor. I absolutely adore the butternut squash and avocado combination. It reminds me of sweet potato and avo…another match made in heaven. Will have to try this or something very similar for my blog. Thanks for sharing :)
Squash and avocado go so nicely together. Love how pretty this dish is as well. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Love this post, Angela!
Even after I felt I had my disordered eating under control, meeting with an eating psychology coach was tremendously helpful in improving not only my relationship with food, but also my ability to take on hard life decisions. It’s so important to have someone on your team, challenging you to do the hard things that you want to do, but also supporting you wholeheartedly on the way.
So glad that you are having such success already! Way to take care of yourself and your own needs, it’s such a beautiful example <3
Love this post Ange!
Will you be sharing who your business coach is? I have been pondering the idea of working with one as well but there are so many out there, I have no idea how to go about finding a good one!
I have such a hard time peelimg butternut squash. What type of tool do you use?
Butternut squash is the perfect vegetable to get you in the fall mood! This recipe sounds delicious :)
I believe that recognizing when you need help and knowing how to ask for it is a sort of skill, and definitely one I wish I had developed earlier in life. It’s absolutely amazing what a little outside help can do for a person. Good for you for recognizing what you needed and seeking it out!
Is there anything better than fall weather + roasted squash? I don’t think so.
It looks really healthy and fresh, and it’s still Autumn appropriate which I like the most. Right now I want hearty food, not greeneries and this looks delicious as hell.
Hello Angela! I’m new to the vegan diet and am looking for recipes to try. I just discovered your blog searching for vegan cookbooks. Your photos are great but there’s something I noticed about your squash picture after it is peeled. It looks like your peeler has a curvature in it. Made me wonder what kind of peeler you are using and if it makes life easier peeling oddly shaped vegetables like this?
I found this recipe at just the right time! I bought a butternut squash the other day and I’ve been wondering what to do with it. I might try out this recipe tonight :)
Hi Angela!
I’ve been following ohsheglows for quite some time (since I did research in veganism in 2012) and have always admired you, and been inspired by you (and love your recipes to pieces; my fave is your vegan mac n cheeze and your peppermint chocolate bar thingies. emagawd delicious). I tried doing the blog thing for myself and it didn’t quite work out, I wasn’t confident enough and it wasn’t the right time in my life, however, my boyfriend is an amazing cook and has an interesting life story. I was wondering if you would be willing to feature his website, as he hasn’t been able to kick start a following group, even though he started off really well. If you have time and don’t mind, you can email me for more information? We’re a young couple from Montreal, and we <3 you
thanks in advanced for your time! xo
([email protected])
It was delicious. Thanks!
I’m coming around to winter squash after thinking I didn’t care for it (I know) and caramelization sells this for me.
I just made this for dinner tonight, and it was so amazing, delicious, and easy! Thank you :)