After my ambitious triple-blog-post week just after Arlo was born, I lost the motivation to write. I even had a few recipes and photos uploaded to my drafts folder, but I just couldn’t write the actual posts.
Knowing how fast this time goes by, I yearned to simply be present. I slowed down, which felt absolutely amazing. I worked when the inspiration was there and didn’t when it wasn’t. I soaked up our sweet baby boy. I savoured the confidence and ease of being a second-time mom (what a difference). A rollercoaster of hormones hit me early on, and I struggled with the blues on and off. I nursed and pumped and nursed some more. Eric and I mumbled incoherent words, back and forth, in the middle of the night (why is it so impossible to string words together at 3am?). I kissed Arlo’s head, cheeks, and feet a million and one times, and it has yet to feel like enough. I don’t think it ever will.
We witnessed Adriana transform into a little girl right before our very eyes. One night as I rocked her at bedtime—with her long legs falling off the side of the rocker, my arms burning under the weight of her body, and her bossy words instructing me what songs to sing and not to sing (“NO thank you, MOMMY!”)—it struck me that I was not cradling a baby anymore. I fought back tears. It had been a while since I rocked her, as my 3rd trimester bump had gotten in the way. Now she was basically a teenager disguised as a two-year-old.
Our basement renovation is almost wrapped up, so we’ve taken up dancing, the four of us, in the unfurnished rooms while listening to Christmas music. Adriana clutches her baby doll in her arms, just like I do with Arlo. We also play hide and seek. Often, the basement fun abruptly ends in tears as Adriana has a penchant for running into walls. Ouch. Boo-boos are kissed, and we explain, once again, why it’s a bit too soon for her to pick up her baby brother. So she hovers about an inch over his face, just trembling with excitement, sneaking in kisses. “He’s looking at you!” she yells with delight as he stares into her eyes.
I never want to forget these moments.
Even though I haven’t been writing as much, I’ve been cooking every chance that I get. A couple months ago, Pulse Canada contacted me about partnering with them to develop and share a recipe in celebration of the International Year of Pulses. If you can believe it, I’ve never created a sponsored recipe; most offers I’ve received didn’t feel like authentic reflections of me and the Oh She Glows brand. But pulses…well, I didn’t have to think twice. Peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas? You know I’m down with that. As I’ve shared on the blog before, Canada is one of the world’s leading producers of pulses (in fact, we’re the #1 producer of peas and lentils, which I think is super cool). There are a whopping 22,000 pulse farmers in Canada (high fives), and our pulses are consumed in over 150 countries. (“Our pulses”? Okay, now I’m talking like I grew them myself or something!) On a personal level, I eat pulses every single day, and I adore their flavour and versatility. Red Lentil Hummus, Chickpea Pancakes, No Bake Chickpea Cookie Dough Bars (a recipe I never got around to finalizing!), Lentil-Walnut Taco “meat”…the sky’s the limit with what you can create!
Aside from being super nutritious and easy on the wallet, pulses are friendly to the environment, too. Their carbon footprint is lower than almost any other food group.
Pulse Canada has created the “Pulse Pledge” encouraging people to commit to eating pulses once a week for 10 weeks and reduce their carbon footprint all at the same time. It’s totally free, and you can sign up with me here. (Spoiler alert: I’m killing it, lol.)
A big thanks to Pulse Canada for sponsoring this post. I’m delighted to finally share my newest pulse-based stew recipe with you below!
A couple housekeeping notes:
Be sure to check out my Instagram post on Friday for some super exciting Black Friday news (hint hint: big app sale, a free holiday cookie app bundle, and Android news!).
Lastly, I’m thrilled to let you know that Oh She Glows Every Day has made it to the final round in the Goodreads Choice Awards. Thank you so much to everyone who has voted and helped to get the book this far! Voting for the final round is open through November 27th; if you’re game to cast one more virtual ballot (or maybe your first!), I would appreciate the support more than I can say. :)
Butternut squash, red lentils, and sweet potato are wrapped in a lightly sweet and creamy coconut and tomato broth accented with spicy notes of turmeric, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and garlic. Apple cider vinegar provides a tangy brightness to bring everything together. This stew tastes better the next day once the flavours have had a chance to mingle; if you can make it the day before serving, I’d highly recommend it! This recipe was created for Pulse Canada, and was inspired by Deliciously Ella. * Make sure to dice the squash and potato very small (about the size of almonds), as this will expedite cooking. Also, if you are short on time, you can skip peeling the butternut squash as the skin is edible. (I don’t recommend skipping peeling the potato, though.) ** You can swap the red lentils for 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can chickpeas (drained and rinsed). *** You can swap the chard for 5 ounces of baby spinach or a bunch of kale (stemmed). I recommend chopping the greens into small bite-size pieces for easier eating.Cozy Butternut, Sweet Potato, and Red Lentil Stew
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11 cups (2.75 quarts)Prep time
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For the stew:
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Angela,
Great receipe, you have really nailed this one. But then again, I have tried many of your receipes from your books, and they are very tasty. Nice job. I cut down the liquid to two cups in order to make a slightly thicker stew and it works great. Thanks!
Gary
Hey Gary, Thanks so much for your review..I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed so many recipes. And thank you for all your support with my books…means a lot to me!
Hi Angela,
Really looking forward to trying this recipe later today! Do you happen to know the nutrition facts for the recipe?
Thank you :)
Just remembering back, years ago, when I first started sharing your name – when friends would ask for the best resources to explore this healthy way of eating/cooking. I wanted to take a moment and let you know I think you are amazing at what you do and grateful that you share! I made this stew when I was fasting Tuesday for my husband and was so anxious to try it. Had it tonite and it just could not have been tastier!! YOU ROCK ANGELA :)
Hey Suzi, Well if this isn’t a way to start my Monday morning I don’t know what is!!! I can’t thank you enough for your amazing support..it truly means the world to me. :)
Question to the author. Is this your original recipe? What cuisine can we include this dish for? I managed to do it. delicious
Hey there, The recipes I share are original recipes unless otherwise indicated. So in this recipe, I’ve mentioned that it was inspired by a recipe from Deliciously Ella. Hope this helps!
I made this tonight, and it’s the most delicious and flavorful dish I have tasted in a while! Cannot wait to have my boyfriend try it tomorrow. It has so much flavor, I cannot get over it, or even pin point what is making it taste so bomb!! I actually only had 2 out of 3 cups of veggie broth left at home, that worked out fine. I also used frozen squash. I did have to add around 1 cup of water near the middle-end of the simmering at medium because it was needing it (obviously my fault), but it came out perfect at the end. Grams wise, I did use a smaller sweet potato, smaller by about 100 grams than the called for amount, and the squash amount I used was 560 grams, slightly more than the called for amount. I skipped the chili powder and only added a pinch of cayenne. This was such a beautiful, sweet, creamy, and satisfying dish. I think I found another staple meal! Thank you Angela :)
Hey Rachel, Thank you so much for sharing your recipe tweaks! That’s awesome you love it so much. Thank you for trying it out!
I like everything I’ve ever mad from the OSG books and APP but this blew my mind!!!! It was so flavourful, filling and satisfying. Will be making this often!! Thanks for always giving us the most tasty recipes – oh ya and it’s husband approved (by a non-veg/vegan)!
Hey Lisa, Oh I’m so happy you loved it! I made it this weekend too and I had forgotten how much I love it. I already bought more squash for my next batch.
Hi there, this sounds absolutely delicious.
I have to try and adapt a week’s worth of meals to a lady who is allergic to the deadly nightshade family.. so no tomatoes. Have you ever tried making this without the tomatoes?
Hey Georgie, I’m sorry I haven’t made it without the canned tomatoes, but I’m planning on making it again tonight so I will try to remember to try it! I’ll add the tomatoes near the end and compare the two.
Me again :)
I’m testing it right now and just wanted to update you! I tasted the stew half way through cooking without the canned tomatoes and the tomato paste and it’s quite good! I do think you can get away without using them, however since there’s no acid from the tomatoes I think it’s especially important to use the apple cider vinegar at the end of cooking, and you may even want to use a bit more (adding to taste). I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it out!
brilliant.. I will try it out and let you know . thanks so much for getting back to me .
No problem! Happy to help
I’m new to plant based eating and am trying this recipe for the second time – no tomatoes first time except 1 measly Roma tomato! It was so good. I’m following the recipe exactly and my kitchen smells wonderful. I especially like the “dice small, about the size of almonds”; I use this all the time! Love your app, insta-stories and website – it’s making this lifestyle/eating change easier. Thanks Angela!
Aww Colleen, I can’t thank you enough for your encouragement and support! :) And Im so glad this stew worked for you without tomatoes…I tried it this week and was pleasantly surprised myself.
I’m so happy I stumbled upon this recipe! I made it for dinner last night, and it’s definitely a keeper! It’s so flavorful and filled with healthy ingredients. I sautéed the veggies in water and reduced the recipe by 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Everyone loved it! I just had a sweet potato with this stew over the top for lunch. I’m so happy there are leftovers!
Hey Renee! Cozy must’ve been in the air last night as my mom made it for us too…one of my faves! Thanks for trying it :) I love that you served it over a sweet potato!
Hi Angela,
I am about to make this, really looking forward to trying it. yum
And great that Colleen has also tried it without tomatoes..
little question on quantities.
i need to make it for 13 plus people. the recipe is for 11 cups. I am not very good at quarts.. being english I am a little unused to this measurement.. Any tips greatly received.
Thanks a lot
Hey Georgie, Thank you! 11 cups is equal to roughly 2.6 litres or 2.75 quarts…does that help at all? :)
I think you’d probably want to double the recipe if you are making it for 13 people. I think this recipe would serve 6 (at just under 2 cups/500 mL per person). Doubling soups can be a bit tricky as sometimes you don’t need to double the liquid fully, and sometimes you need less salt too, so my advice would be to add the liquid and salt slowly as it cooks, to taste.
Thank you for the deliciousness! I made this and it was so good! I love your cookbook and stumbled across this recipe online. The spice combination is awesome and I added a bell pepper as well. Served with rice and warm naan perfect supper.
Hey Annie, Woohoo so glad this was a hit! I make it almost weekly lately! This cold weather just doesn’t want to leave.
OMG, instant new favorite! As I was making this it kind of reminded me of the Glowing Spiced Lentil Soup (another favorite), so I threw in some cinnamon and cardamom almost by habit. It was so freaking delicious that I literally dreamed about it last night and this morning my husband and I fought over who gets to have the leftovers for lunch (I won, moahahah).
haha that’s hilarious and sounds like me and Eric. So happy it was a hit! It’s one of my all time faves :)
Angela, Thanks for the recipe. Discovered a cozy butternut)
Fabulous recipe! Truly delicious. Thanks Angela.
Angela, Delicious! I wonder, but a lot of calories?
How would you modify this for a slow cooker?
Hey Jessica, I would saute the onion/garlic/spices in a saute pan first, and then add it along with all the ingredient (except for the greens) and cook on low for about 8 hours. I would add the greens during the last 30 minutes probably. I haven’t tried this before but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. I hope this helps!
this recipe gets better and better every time i make it – which is quite often in the fall. just so yummy and so healthy. thank you angela for giving us such tasty and healthy recipes. <3
Aww thank you Ann! I’d have to agree with you…whenever I make it I always say that I forgot it tasted this good! haha.
Thanks for another great recipe, Angela! We have been eating more plant-based meals over the past year and your blog has become a go-to site for me :) It’s better than sifting through Pinterest! I omitted the tomato paste, chard, and ACV because I didn’t have the first two and forgot the last one, but it was great nonetheless! Wonderful for a rainy, cool fall day.
Hey Kelly, I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying my recipes! Thank you for the kind words. :) And that’s great news that the stew stilled turned out without those ingredients…I love when a recipe is versatile like that.
I made this on our camping trip– previously measured everything out, so all I had to do was add to the pot and let it cook over the campfire. I doubled the red lentils, and did not blend, so it ended up being a thick(er) stew. I also did not serve with rice or toppings. It was the perfect meal while we all sat around the campfire :) THANK YOU!
I LOVE THIS!!! How cozy does this campfire stew sound? So perfect…thanks for sharing Jessica!
Tried the recipe. Delicious! I added less cumin and no cayenne pepper, so it is on the sweeter side. But to be honest – it is perfect for cold autumn nights at home. Thank you! Will make again! Where do I find your cookbooks ?
Hey Elena, I’m so happy you loved the lentil stew! Isn’t it so cozy this time of year? Most chain bookstores should carry my cookbooks, or you can find them on Amazon using the following links…. This is my first cookbook: https://ohsheglo.ws/c And this is my second one, if you’re curious: https://ohsheglo.ws/v Thank you so much for your support! :)