Amazing Butternut Squash Soup!

I don't know if it's possible to tell you how easy, delicious and healthy this soup is, but I'm going to try. Other than salt, pepper and water there are only 8 ingredients involved in making this soup and they are are so stinkin' good for you. Let me share with you the star ingredients involved in this recipe:

Butternut Squash

Sweet Potato

Carrots 

Apple

Onion

Amazing right? When most people think of soups made solely with vegetable (and in this case a fruit!) they think of bland and watery. Let me tell you that that is the opposite of how I'd describe this soup. It's thick, full of flavor and filling. Your mouth can't decide if it's sweet or savory and keeps begging for another bite. 

I haven't made many soups in my day, but the more I try out different recipes and experiment withe them, they are becoming less intimidating. I love that I can make a big ol' batch and freeze some for a quick meal later in the week. Soups are also so versatile. You can easily switch up the spices and veggies of one recipe and come out with a new soup that is completely different, yet delicious. 

Yep, I think I'm on a soup kick. 

Can I also just share with you that the night I made this soup I had five guys in my cave of an apartment trying to get a humongous executive desk out of our guest bedroom, through our teeny, tiny hall and out the back door? It was craziness but they did it! And it also just shows how easy this soup is to make, because the chaos around me wasn't a problem at all. 

Butternut Squash Soup

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash (about 20 oz.), cut in half and seeded.
• 1 sweet potato
• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 5-6 cups water (depending on how thick you like your soups)
• 2-3 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• Pepper to taste
• Optional: pepitas for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Poke holes in your sweet potato and place it along with the cut and seeded butternut squash on a baking tray. Place them in the oven for about an hour until they are soft and can be easily pierced with a fork.
3. While they are roasting, sauté the carrots, onion and garlic in a large sauce pan over medium heat until the onions are soft. 
4. Add in the apple chunks, vegetable broth and water, reduce the heat to low and let it sit until your squash and potato are done roasting.
5. Once the squash and potato are done, remove them from the oven and when they are cool enough to handle peel off the skin of the potato and roughly chop it up. Then scoop out the flesh of the squash and place everything in the pot with the carrots and apple.
6. Bring the soup to a boil and then let everything simmer for about 30 minutes.
7. Using an immersion blender (or by carefully pouring sections into a blender like I did), blend everything until smooth. Let the soup cook until it's as thick as you like. Add in more water if you want it a little thinner. You can't go wrong!
8. Now for the salt. I know it sounds like a lot, but it really makes the soup. Start by adding 2 teaspoons and add more if you desire. I used about three teaspoons. Also add in the garam masala and fresh ground pepper to taste. Stir until thoroughly combined.
9. Serve warm with some fresh bread and a salad or just enjoy it solo!

Notes: If you like a sweeter soup you can leave out the garam masala, but I think it really adds so much depth to the soup.

Adapted from High Infatuation.

Start by roasting the squash and potato in a 400 degree oven for about an hour.

While the squash and potato are roasting, sauté the carrots, onion and garlic until the onion is soft.

Then add in the apple, vegetable broth and water and let it sit. 

Once the squash and potato are fork tender, remove the skin of the sweet potato.

Place the flesh of the squash and the potato into the pot with the carrot and apple mixture. 

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let everything cook for 30 minutes.

Blend with an immersion blender and then add in the spices.

Top with pepitas and enjoy!

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Rungry

Since my half-marathon on Saturday (Yay, first one! Recap here), I've been "rungry." I figured I would be really hungry the day after the race, but I didn't think the constant hunger would last so long. Now that I'm planning to keep training and run a marathon, I can only imagine how much more hungry I'll become! Any advice for a first-time marathoner? Since I have a history of injury when I increase my mileage, I'm going to take it slow and try to cross-train a couple times a week. Oh, and try out some yoga and pilates.

I was able to stay home yesterday so I'm going to share yesterday's eats and some food prep for the week. One of the reasons I started this blog was to document my experiences as a new vegan cook. It's been so cool to see how far I've come in my cooking skills and how many new ingredients I've tried for the first time. And yesterday marked a big event...vegan cheese! I always hoped I'd become good enough at the vegan cooking basics so I could start branching out to things like dairy-free cheese and faux meat and yesterday it happened! Even if you aren't vegan, this cheese recipe from Vedged Out is amazing. I'm excited to see what Brett thinks when he get's home from his work trip and tries it out.

So without further ado...

Breakfast:

Overnight buckwheat groats, oats and chia seed parfait with strawberries

I soaked 1/4 cup buckwheat groats in water overnight

In a separate mason jar I soaked 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, 1/4 cup oats, 2/3 cup almond milk, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and 1/2 smashed banana

In the morning I rinsed the groats in a strainer and mixed them in with the chia/oat mixture and layered it with strawberries.

Morning snack:

1/2 of a homemade lara bar

Lunch:

A whole wheat tortilla with a small sweet potato, black beans, sauteed bok choy and tomato

Afternoon Snacks and Meal Prep:

I made this Cheesy Vegan Spaghetti Squash and Broccoli Casserole and ate some for a snack

It was my first time using spaghetti squash and I'm hooked!

Vegan Cheese!

I made this recipe from Vedgedout and I will definitely be making it again

I had some of it with some pretzels

Dinner:

I ate some baby carrots before heading out to my work Christmas party.

I didn't take any pictures there, but I had salad and a vegan dish of puff pastry dough filled with rice and veggies. It was delicious!

And that's it! Check out some other eats and get new recipe ideas over at Jenn's website: PeasandCrayons. Have a great rest of your week!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Sweet Potato and Apple Oatmeal

I woke up at 5 A.M. this morning so I could eat, digest, stretch and go for an 8-mile run. Now that my runs are getting longer, I've decided to prep a little more instead of waking up, heading straight out the door and having to deal with sleepy legs. I left around 6:30 while it was still dark. I actually think the darkness made me a bit dizzy because it kept me from having good depth perception. As the morning wore on though, I started to feel better and picked up my pace even. It was a great run overall and I was definitely in need of a good second breakfast afterwards to keep me full the rest of the morning.

This oatmeal was just what I needed. It's sweet, subtly savory and oh-so-filling. And, might I add, delicious.

I had bought a couple of sweet potatoes and a big bag of apples a few days before leaving town with high hopes that my husband and I would eat them all before leaving. Wrong. It was the day before we were supposed to leave and it looked like we hadn't made a dent in the bag of apples and I still had one sweet potato left. So I started looking up recipes that I could use both in and found a recipe for these oats. I tweaked a few things and was very pleased with the result. The sweet potato gives these oats a beautiful fall color too. I hope you try this combination!

Sweet Potato and Apple Oatmeal

(Makes 1 serving)

 Ingredients:

· 1 cup water

· 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

· 1/2 small apple, chopped small

· 1 small sweet potato, cooked and mashed*

· 1 teaspoon brown sugar

· 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

· Splash of vanilla extract

· Optional: ground flaxseed, chopped nuts, almond milk

*I usually clean my sweet potato, poke holes in it with a fork and cook it in the microwave for four minutes. Then I cut it in half, scoop out the flesh and mash it.

Directions:

1. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add the oats, chopped apple and, if using, ground flaxseed. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir well and let cook for about 3 minutes.

2. Add in the mashed sweet potato, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract and mix until the sweet potato is well incorporated. Let cook about 2 more minutes or until it reaches your desired consistency.

3. Pour oats into a bowl and top with nuts and almond milk.

4. Eat your fill!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

African Peanut and Potato Stew

I recently went to my first all vegan restaurant in Chicago while Brett and I were on a work trip. It was called Native Foods and everything we had was sooooo delicious. I took one of the menus home to try and recreate some of their menu options.

One of the specials they had the night we ate there was a peanut soup. I searched a little on-line and found one that seemed easy to make and didn't use a lot of ingredients - two things that are still high priorities for me, begin so new to this whole vegan thing. It made a ton of stew, but Brett and I ate it all over the course of the week and it even started to taste richer the longer it was in the fridge. I think letting it sit allowed the peanut butter flavor to become more intense. Unless you're allergic to peanut butter, you should really try this recipe out! It's great in the fact that you can switch up a lot of the ingredients to use whatever you have in your pantry/fridge.

African Peanut and potato Stew

(Makes 6 servings)

 Ingredients:

· 1 medium onion, finely minced

· 3 cloves garlic, minced

· 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

· 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

· 14.5 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes*

· 1/4 + 2 tablespoons peanut butter

· 2 cups vegetable broth (or water)

· 1 lb. sweet potato (about 2 small or one large), peeled and chopped

· 1 can kidney beans

· 1 1/2 frozen peas

· 2 cups spinach (or other hearty, leafy greens)

· Salt and pepper to taste

*  If you are using diced tomatoes, pour them into a blender and give them a quick blend before you use them in this recipe.

Directions:

1. Using a little water or cooking spray in a sauce pan,  sauté the onion over medium heat until they start to get translucent.

2. Add the garlic and chili and continue to cook until soft.  Stir occasionally so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the blended tomatoes and peanut butter and stir until smooth.

4. Stir in the broth and add in the sweet potatoes. Give everything a good stir and then cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are cooked and soft, but not mushy, about 15 minutes.

5. After the sweet potatoes have cooked, add in the beans, peas and greens and let the stew cook a few more minutes until the greens wilt.

6. Season to taste with salt and pepper and if you want your stew a little hotter add some more crushed red pepper flakes.

7. Eat right away or store in the fridge for a few days.

Notes: Slightly adapted from www.vegangela.com.

Chop up your sweet potatoes and mince your onion and ginger before you get started.

Start by sauteing your onion first and then add the red pepper flakes, garlic and ginger.

Stir in the tomatoes and peanut butter until smooth.

Then add in the broth and sweet potatoes and let the potatoes cook until soft.

Add in the bean, peas and greens and cook until the greens are wilted.

How beautiful does that look!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

"Sitting on a curb" Massaman Curry

The first time I had massaman curry was sitting on a curb with my now husband Brett. We had just begun dating and were craving Thai food after playing volleyball with some friends. We ended up getting our food to-go and sat outside the restaurant on the curb and scarfed down some delicious curry. I was hooked. I was also determined to learn how to make it myself. So I found a recipe that didn't look too intimidating and went for it. The result was deliciousness and since then I've made it a few more times. This past time I made some healthy substitutes and loved it just as much. Don't be overwhelmed by the list of ingredients. If you have a good amount of spices in your cupboard, you'll be in good shape. My husband and I eat it over brown rice and sometimes with some roti from our local Indian market. Yum!

Massaman Curry
(Serves 6, with rice)

• I block extra fim tofu, pressed and cut into cubes
• 1-2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 14 oz can coconut milk (I used lite coconut milk)
• 1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/3 cup onion, sliced
• 1/4 tsp. ginger root, minced
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup good-tasting chicken broth, or stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. cumin 
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/8 tsp. cardamon (or two green cardamon pods)
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 Tbsp.  brown sugar

Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Swirl the oil in the pan and saute the onion, ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper for 1-2 minutes.

Add the chicken broth plus the following: bay leaves, turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, white pepper, cardamon, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir with each addition and bring to a light boil.

Add the coconut milk and potatoes. Stir and bring back up to a boil. Reduce heat to low, or just until you get a good simmer.

In a separate skillet, fry the cubed tofu in olive oil or Pam until light brown.

Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken and potatoes are tender. Add red pepper and Tofu during last 10-15 minutes of cooking time. I cover with a lid for the first 30 minutes and then remove the lid to let it thicken a little for the last 10 minutes. 

Remove the bay leaves and cardamon pods. Serve on top of rice. Enjoy!