Butternut Squash Soup Recipe for Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year and I switch from eating lots of salad to soup. Two days ago I read through several soup recipes using Butternut Squash and decided to come up with one of my own. It was delicious and is now in my favorite recipe notebook. If you are looking for some good tasting soup recipes using Fall vegetables this will satisfy.

Butternut Squash Soup with Apples

1 butternut squash peeled and cut into cubes

1 medium apple, peeled and sliced

1 medium or 1/2 of a large red onion

1 Tblsp fresh ginger, grated

1 Tblsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ancho chili pepper

1 cup turkey or chicken broth

1 15oz can of fire roasted tomatoes

2 medium fresh tomatoes cubed

1 1/2 cups fresh coconut milk ( So Delicious is one brand)

Heat oil in large soup pot. Add onion and saute’ until it begins to brown, then add ginger and spices toasting them until they become fragrant, under 1 minute. Add Turkey broth and scrape up browned bits on bottom of pot. Then add squash, apples and tomatoes. Simmer until squash and apples are soft. Stir in coconut milk and make sure soup is warmed through. Remove from heat and puree preferably with a blender stick or wait until it cools slightly to blend in conventional blender. Return soup to the pot and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Advertisement

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 82 The Traveller

The recent road trip to Denver proved to be a challenge for vegetarian eating.  A few discoveries are noteworthy. For breakfast we packed protein shakes and meal replacement bars.  They make your tummy feel good when you have to eat early in the morning and they keep you from veering off the road into hash browns and sausage sandwiches.

For lunch we found at Sonic, of all places cranberry juice, sugar was added but it was a wonderful break from bottled water and orange juice.  Quiznos grilled mushrooms and onions for my veggie sub and made it to my specifications.  It was delicious.  Of course the Morningstar brand of veggie burger is available at Burger King and if I’m feeling deprived I also order the onion rings.   Finally, the old standby, Cracker Barrel has a four vegetable side dish platter with corn muffins that is very satisfying and they serve pinto beans with a really nice pickle relish.  Their Apple Iced Tea and Sweet Potato Casserole are a highlight of the menu.

Once in Denver we ate at two different restaurants.  Las Fuentes near Speer Blvd in downtown has homemade Mexican food with bean and rice fillings.  The sauces make the food extraordinary.  The Old Spaghetti Factory is a great place to eat if you are hungry and like homemade Italian food.  We ate Mizithra cheese from Greece with  browned butter on pasta, which was the best entree of the week.

Finally, we never go into the higher altitudes without our Perfect Water.  It is purified, re-mineralized, ionized, micro-structured, and oxygen rich which is very helpful when trying to walk or climb stairs in the Mile-High City.

If you have tried to eat a healthy, vegetarian diet on the road send me your finds.  I would love to hear from you.

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure Day 33 – How To Stay On the Eating Well Wagon

Let’s face it, this Vegetarian Adventure is not easy.  Living in the US means there are lots of quick, unhealthy choices everywhere you go, even in your own freezer.  So how do you stay on the Eating Well  Wagon? . . . Great cookbooks, planning meals, shopping for fresh ingredients, and COOKING.

Case in point, last night my husband was out-of-town,  the rest of the family was tired from a busy week.  I had planned to fix veggie fajitas and realized too late that the last shopping trip was disorganized and did not include pinto beans.  So, it’s pouring rain and my 9-month granddaughter is sleeping.  It’s not a good time to run to the store for just one item.  I made a healthy green salad, however, threw chicken nuggets into the oven, thinking that I wouldn’t eat them.  Just for the rest of the family, right?  Wrong, when I am tired and hungry, I’m weak.  I actually ate chicken nuggets, blech, I don’t even like them and they are definitely not part of the Adventure.

Staying on the wagon begins with great cookbooks.  See the book recommendations here.  Dr. Dean Ornish is one of my favorite authors along with Laurel’s Kitchen.  A great way to try out a cook book before you buy it is to check it out of the library.  You have three weeks to try the recipes.

Planning meals and shopping your plan not only keeps you eating healthy but also saves gas, time and money.  Keep healthy choices on hand and have a list available for whenever you run out of something.  Buying food for a family means stocking choices that aren’t necessarily part of your own eating plan, hence the chicken nuggets. However, if you make sure your own choices are in the freezer it’s easier to make food for everyone.

Then, cook your plan.  Prepare what you can in the morning, for example, put the beans on to cook, or place ingredients in a slow cooker.  Or you can prepare some of the ingredients the night before and refrigerate them.  It’s so helpful to have dinner partially ready in the evening when you are tired.  Following these guidelines helps me to continue to eat in a healthy way, staying on the Eating Well Wagon.

Do you have tips for staying on the Wagon?  Please leave your comments!

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 30 I Love King Arthur

Flour that is, I love King Arthur brand Whole Wheat Unbleached Pastry Flour.  It has a delicious nutty flavor and the texture makes the best pizza dough and bread that I’ve ever eaten.  Since I make my own bread I’ve tried lots of different flours including a special hard red wheat bread flour from Minnesota.  King Arthur beats them all.  It tends to be a little pricey but it is well worth it.  So, keep up the good work King Arthur, you are greatly appreciated by this particular baker.

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure Day 13 – Passing the test

Yesterday was a major test of the vegan eating plan.  My extended family met at the Utica Picnic and had a family style fried chicken and ham dinner.  The Utica Picnic is a yearly fundraiser for the local church.  It takes place in a wooded area that has hosted this picnic for decades.  The locals come out in droves and the church members serve lots of home cooking, family style and al a carte.  From hot beef sandwiches and full fat ice cream to fresh garden vegetables and country ham it is a major test of willpower.

This year I made it about spending time with family, and not about the food.  Avoiding the meats, rolls, and cake left lots of room for fresh garden tomatoes, potato salad, pepper slaw, peaches, apple sauce, green beans, homemade beet and cucumber pickles.  The food was delicious but not necessary for a great time.

So, I passed the test and really enjoyed seeing my family.  No one asked why I wasn’t eating meat or gave me a hard time, though my brother did offer me a piece of vanilla cake with peanut butter frosting.  I wasn’t even tempted.

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure Day 5 Reformer

Ever since the juice fast I feel like I’m on the outside of the American food experience looking in, realizing how very unhealthy the typical US diet is and how oblivious everyone is to what they are putting into their bodies and the effect it has on wellness.

I also feel like someone who has quit smoking and is on a crusade to reform everyone they know who smokes.  So, I promise to record my own experiences and not to get up on the soap box preaching reform to all of you who don’t give a darn.   But I just have to say one thing.  It is difficult to order an entrée in an American restaurant that is not meat-based and slathered in cheese.