Simple and Delicious Butternut Squash Soup

I know it's not everyone's favorite food, but I LOVE SQUASH. It's delicious roasted; in lasagna; and especially amazing in soup!

It's been a while since we've had butternut squash soup - probably a good two years! I was so excited to see that my mom put together a fresh batch to share with us this past weekend. I had a bowl at her house and two bowls the next day; it didn't take long for me to realize the squash I purchased earlier in the week to roast was going to have to be soup instead.

My mom sent me the recipe she used from All Recipes; it was a GREAT version and I would totally have made it just like she did - except - I needed it to be less fuss.  I am not against fussy recipes, but today I probably could have taken a nap if I just blinked long enough. So tired.

I needed to make the soup plus another dinner for the rest of our family. So, here's what I did. It was an amazing and tasty alternative. I can't wait to finish off the leftovers tomorrow. Even my non-soup-eating husband enjoyed a serving of this recipe.

Here's the scoop (or would that be ladle?).

What you need:

• Butternut squash. I used 2lbs, pre-cut, from Costco. 
• 1 rib of celery, diced
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1-2 handfuls of baby carrots.
• Sea salt and pepper to taste. Heavy on the pepper, if you please!
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1-1.5 cups of water

What you do: 

• In a skillet, sauté the celery and onion (seasoned with s&p) until translucent. 
• In a sauce pot, coat the squash and carrots with EVOO, salt, pepper and start sauteeing.
• Once all veggies are tender,  combine in sauce pot and add water. 
• After everything is broken down and flavors have combined, drain off any water that seems excessive (there may be none) and transfer soup to a blender to smooth out. 
• I used my Blend Tec 570 on a slow speed so I could watch the consistency as I went along.
• Transfer back to stock pot and serve or cool slightly and store for later. 

Also? Here's what I had for dessert. It's like a faux ice cream sundae. Ice cream cone, fruit and a few chocolate chips with a sugar cone on the side. It has many of the flavors you want, with less guilt. 

So, that's it for today! Hope you are brave enough to try this tasty soup. If you like potato soup, chances are you'll like this, too.

Good luck and comment with questions if you have any. :)

We fixed the glitch, with a fabulous green smoothie.

We fixed the glitch. 

One of my favorite lines from office space. My husband and I quote that movie all the time.



In this post, I'm not referring to a glitch in the payroll system; I'm referring to a glitch in our kids' diets. You see, half of them (sometimes 75% of them) aren't down with the veggies. They get pushed to the side, covered up or tossed on an unsuspecting sibling's plate.

The other day, as I was taking a leisurely stroll through Costco with only two children in tow, I saw that the Zico coconut water was $4 off. I've tried coconut water before, and honestly, not impressed. However, I have heard how glorious it is in smoothies and wanted to give it a fair assessment. So, as you do at Costco, you make a commitment when you buy one of their ginormous bargains.

I was really happy to see that one serving of coconut water has as much potassium as a banana. I have super restless legs during pregnancy (annoying) and supposedly, potassium helps alleviate that. Win win. I ran some test projects through our Blend Tec and was VERY HAPPY that three of our children (one wouldn't try) LOVED the result. So, here it is...

(This makes a few decent servings)

• 1.5 c Zico coconut water
• 2 bananas
• 1-2 cups frozen pineapple
• 2-3 cups raw organic spinach
• 1/2 cup raw oats (optional)

Combine all and blend until totally smooth! 

I like smoothies with oats, but some people may not prefer that flavor or consistency. To me, that makes it a meal as opposed to a snack.

I have been making green smoothies for about four years now, but nothing has set them off as much as adding coconut water! Also? Our eight, four and two years olds approve and ask for more! That makes this mama's whole foods heart happy! I love it and it will be a staple on our shopping list from now on.