Curried Butternut Squash Soup – Meatless Monday Recipe of the Week
By Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD, CSO, LDN; Reboot Nutritionist
Warm up your Meatless Monday with this hearty soup! It’s packed with fall’s bountiful phytonutrients and is rich in potassium, beta-carotene and fiber. Turmeric, a yellow spice with an earthy flavor, contains potent anti-inflammatory, immune supportive and cancer fighting compounds. Combining it with black pepper helps increase the bioavailability, or our body’s ability to absorb these wellness promoting gems, by up to 1,000 times!
Using a crock pot can help make it quick and easy to create a healthy weeknight dinner with plenty of leftovers you can freeze. Prep the night before, add your ingredients in the morning and come home to a delicious meal that’s ready to eat!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 butternut squash
- 2 organic green apples
- 1 cup (185 g) dried white beans or 1 BPA free canned
- 1 cup (200 g) dried lentils
- 2 organic potatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 onion
- 4 cups (1000 ml) juice pulp veggie broth, thai infused pulp broth or organic vegetable broth=
- 4 cups (1000 ml) water (or 2 cups coconut milk + 2 cups water)
- 1/4 tsp sea or Himalayan salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp yellow curry powder
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 cup (185 g)quinoa or brown rice
4 cups (1000 ml) water (or 2 cups broth + 2 cups water)
Directions
- Soak dry beans overnight in crock pot. Rinse and drain.
- Add lentils and soaked beans to crock pot. (I used a combination of green and red lentils.) If using canned beans, add along with the vegetables after draining and rinsing.
- Wash and peel apples and potatoes. Core apple and discard seeds. (Leave peels on for extra fiber, electrolytes, minerals and antioxidants). Cut into cubes.
- Wash and peel butternut squash. Cut squash into chunks.
- Add broth, apple, potato, garlic, onion, squash, coconut oil, spices (except parsley, save for garnish).
- Turn on crock pot and set to low for 10 hours.
- Cook quinoa or rice on stovetop or in rice cooker (2 cups rice with 4 cups water or 2 cups broth and 2 cups water).
- After the soup has cooked, blend in batches then return to crock pot and mix with unblended soup.
- Serve over quinoa or brown rice.
- Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
Calories: 240
Fat: 4.5 g
Trans Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 170 mg
Carbohydrates: 43 g
Fiber: 11 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 8 g