Orange, Spice, And Everything Nice; Butternut Squash Soup!

A seasonal bowl of gorgeous, velvety, spicy, orange perfection!  Can you smell it?

I have been in love with butternut squash soup now for quite some time, but this last batch made my heart skip!  Yeah, that good!  If this isn’t heaven in a bowl, I don’t know what is.  One of the things I love about the fall is the abundance of all the winter squashes, specially sweet, hardy, buttery butternut!  This soup embraces the season with the perfect combination of color and spice.

This G’licious superstar packs quite the punch when it comes to health benefits.  Butternut squash is low in fat, high in fiber, loaded with Vitamins A, C, B6, Potassium and Folate, which make it heart healthy, good for bone health, nervous and immune system.  However this squash’s big star is it’s abundance in carotenoid antioxidants, rich in both alpha and beta carotene, proven to help prevent heart disease, prostate and breast cancer, and macular degeneration.  Add to that the additional benefits of the Vitamin C found in almost all the ingredients in this soup (aka bowl of perfection) and you have yourself a wellness super hero!

Now contrary to most G’licious recipes, this one does take a little bit of work nevertheless it is absolutely worth it and it yields about 10 servings so that bit of work will pay off!

What you’ll need:

• 1 Butternut Squash
• 1 Sweet Onion (lg / md)
• 2 Carrots
• 2 Celery Stalks
• 6 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock (can use Vegetable stock to make vegan)
• Zest and Juice of half an Orange
• 3 Tbsp Unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 1 Bundle Fresh Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Ground Nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp Ground Ginger (fresh or ground)
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• .5 tsp kosher salt
• .5 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter (can omit for vegan, but may need a tad more oil)

How to make the magic happen:

• Peel and cube the butternut squash.
• Chop onion, carrots and celery (finely)
• Heat up olive oil and butter in a dutch oven or deep pan, add and sweat the onions adding a pinch of salt to release moisture.
• Add celery and carrots, sprinkle in pepper and garlic and sweat for approximately 5 minutes.
• Add cubed butternut squash, mix in and saute for about 3 minutes.
• Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
• Add thyme bundle, ginger and fresh ground nutmeg.
• Stir well, cover and lower heat.  (Med to Low)
• Cook for approximately 20-30 minutes.
• Check and adjust seasonings as needed and cook until the squash is fork tender. (very tender)
• Turn off heat and using an emulsion blender, puree the soup until everything is creamy.  Note: if you do not have an emulsion blender transfer to blender or food processor to puree.
• Add coconut milk and stir well.
• Serve and top with your favorite greens and a dollop of plain unsweetened greek yogurt to make it pretty and add zing!

From my G’licious corner to yours enjoy, share, and be merry!

Oh, and it’s low in cals, you can have seconds!

Nutrition Information Per Serving:  Serving size 1 cup (yields approximately 10 servings)

Calories: 71.3

Fat: 2.9 g

Carbohydrates: 9.8g

Sugar: 2.9g

Protein: 2.2g