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. :)

Here's to all the breakfast sandwich lovers!!!!

Okay, I realize that I just told you about my dinner a few hours ago - but I really can't wait until later this evening to tell you about breakfast! I absolutely love breakfast sandwiches. We don't usually get breakfast out; whenever we go on a road trip, though, getting a breakfast sandwich (preferably something McNasty) is one of the highlights. Is that sad? I don't think that's sad.

My glorious waffle egg sandwich.

A month or so I was cruising the aisles of Target and made one of the best impulse-buys of all time. The Hamilton Beach 25475A Breakfast Sandwich Maker (which is cheaper on Amazon than at Target) has been my breakfast go-to almost every morning since.

Here's how it works - the sandwich maker has a few different layers. You add in half of your bread/muffin and the cheese; then add egg and salt or other seasonings in the next layer and top with the rest of the bread/muffin. It cooks it all together and is ready in about 5 minutes!

At first I started with standard breakfast sandwiches (one of my favorites is the egg-white breakfast sandwich from Tim Hortons). I just used an english muffin, egg, cheddar and some salt and pepper to re-create. It was super tasty, but pretty basic. I started imagining all the possibilities...

Egg sandwich on Ezekiel muffins with spicy cheese

Variations

Hubby's double fried egg experiment

• I bought a spicy shredded cheese from the grocery. Basically once that happened, I haven't gone back to a normal cheddar since. I LOVE spicy cheese.
• Using *special edition* english muffins. I tried the apple and my husband tried pumpkin - both were very good!!!
• Yesterday and the day before, I used Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin english muffins (with said spicy cheese), egg, and salt. That was tasty, but my husband wasn't a fan. He claimed too many flavors. We'll just agree to disagree. I thought it was great. 
• This morning, I attempted my ultimate sandwich...I wasn't sure this was going to work because of the size of the waffles, but it totally did. Two blueberry waffles; 1 egg with salt; 1 slice of colby jack cheese. I could eat this sammie EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Omgosh. I may even try to incorporate syrup somehow. It was SO good and I didn't feel that fast food breakfast guilt. Eggo makes a similar frozen breakfast sandwich, but they are like $6 for 4 sandwiches and not as good. I bought them one time and got one - our oldest daughter got the other three over a couple day time period. 
• Also this morning, my husband used the sandwich maker to create a double fried? egg. It came out beautifully. He's so sensible. 

So, those are just a few of things you can do with this amazing device. Now, can I get my own informercial? 

Did you *really* think I was going to quit eating meat?

Well, I totally did. It's been one month since I the last time I had meat and I'm feeling really good about it. Liberated, even. Here are five fun things that have happened since adopting a vegetarian lifestyle:

1. I don't have to freak out about the possibility of consuming raw or undercooked meat at each meal. Yuck, right? That's one of the big things that grosses me out about meat. I've had food poisoning before and I can't say I ever want it again. I know one can still get food poisoning from other non-meat items, but at least I've knocked a few possibilities off the docket, right?

Garlic Zucchini, Feta Omelet and Fresh Cherries

2. The very first week of my "vegetarian lifestyle," one of those steak solicitors started up the drive way. Now, if filet mignon grosses me out, buying steaks from a door-to-door guy with a clipboard and a box of meat chillin' in his truck is definitely not on the agenda. Thankfully, my hubs was able to pull the herbivore card real quick and go, "sorry, my wife is a vegetarian." Steak dude took his clipboard ran for the hills. 

Quinoa Tacos - You won't even miss the meat!

3. I'm not tempted to stop at a fast food place. Yeah, it does hurt my heart a little that Chick-Fil-A sammies are off the list, but it's for the best! Being a vegetarian means no Big Macs, no nuggets, no Whoppers, no General Tso's chicken, no pepperoni pizza and no wild wings. It feels good to have boundaries! I don't need those things any way!

Quinoa Salad - Just like an Italian Salad without the Greens

4. I'm consuming much more of what's better for me. More veggies; more salads; more plain yogurt; more nuts; more fruit; more Sriracha popcorn; more quinoa; more healthy oils; more water and more Shakeology. I'm coming up with creative ways to use these healthy foods and to make the most of them - make them delicious and amazing. Eating healthy does NOT have to be boring if you just give it a little thought. I feel much more balanced than before...if that speaks to you in any way. 

Shakeology - Every. Single. Day. Msg me with questions!

5. This might be too much information, but I feel like my food is digesting really well. Something happens when you get to be about thirty (so my friends say) and you can't just throw back any old cookie, doughnut or onion ring without consequence. No, no...there are TUMS to be taken, my friends. There is tea to be consumed. There are foods to be avoided. I don't know why it happens, but I feel like taking extra special care of my digestive system these days, because I don't have extra time to feel disgusting as a result of my food choices. Do you?

Loaded Sweet Potato - Quinoa, black beans, Sriracha, cheese, etc.

I'm not pushing you (or anyone, honestly) into vegetarianism, but for me....it's been great! I didn't eat that much meat to begin with, so giving it up was really very easy. There hasn't been one time I've felt deprived without it, honestly, and it's helped me clean up my diet even more. Questions? Ask me! 

Everybody has that friend...

That's totally my hand; not a kid's. 

Who is an awesome gardener and brings over delicious garden fresh produce all season long. Right? If you don't have a friend like that, you totally need to find one. Yesterday we were blessed with three ginormous zucchini. I kid you not. These zucchinis were bigger than our newborn babies. 

I love zucchini and I've made quite a few zucchini recipes over the years (remember the zoats I posted about not long ago? How about the zucchini brownies?), but today I was on a quest for something new. I gave Pinterest a whirl for a little bit, but when dinner time came around, I ended up modifying another tried and true recipe that our family loves.

I present to you, Garden Style Fried Rice

This recipe was super flavorful and really the only effort included is sauteeing some veggies and scrambling some eggs. Anyone can make this amazing, flavorful dish. I'll cut to the chase and tell you how.

1.) Cook your (brown) rice (2c uncooked). You guys know white rice is over the foul line, right? Also? If you don't have a rice maker, please get a rice maker. You can even get the el cheapo rice maker at Target. It will make your task of achieving perfect brown rice, easier; promise!

2.) When your rice is nearing the finish line, warm up some oil in your favorite skillet (I used grapeseed). Slice, sauté and season your veggies over med-low heat . I used chopped carrots; sliced onion; and sliced zucchini (when using carrots, add them in way before everything else as they take the longest to cook). Season to taste with: sea salt, cayenne, minced onions (I don't know why I seasoned onion with onion, I just did. Sue me.).

3.) When your veggies are getting nice and tender, crack and whisk some eggs in a bowl, I used four for my hungry hungry hippos. Besides, there's never enough egg in fried rice. Amen? Then, when you're ready, scramble those suckers up in another (non-stick - this is no time to make a mess) pan.

4.) When your rice dinger goes off, add the rice (gently, now) to the veggies. Still gently, incorporate all, then add egg. After that, I gave it all another once over with the salt, soy sauce (about 1/4 cup - don't saturate the rice) and added some tumeric for color, flavor and lots of interest. I LOVE tumeric. It gives the dish that "I'm not really eating brown rice" feel.

Serve and enjoy!!! I really did have to stop myself from eating more of this. I enjoyed every second and I hope you to, too. :) 

This meal is kid and husband approved.

There are just some things...

Mmmmm....salad.

That I refuse to stop eating. I've had this conversation with folks several times in real life, and friends have told me it's re-assuring, so here's the blog version.

Friend: "Sooooo, you don't eat processed foods or refined carbs, right? Now you don't eat meat either? What DO you eat (weirdo)?"

Me: "I eat a clean, un-processed, plant-based diet most of the time. BUT, here's the deal. There are just some foods I'm not willing to give up. If I did, I may never survive this clean eating lifestyle. I love clean foods, don't get me wrong. I love fruit, vegetables, unsweetened tea, Shakeology, brown rice and all that business. BUT...I also love not-so-healthy things, and eating them in moderation isn't wrong, as long as I get right back on track with the next meal."

Here' a list of some of those things on my list: 

Cherry Coke. It's been my favorite for as long as I can remember. It's extra good when it's made behind a bar with a fountain coke and some grenadine. You think? I think. I have maybe one a month, or less and I don't get a refill. Definitely not going to inhibit my clean eating lifestyle at that rate.

Pizza. For a variety of reasons, it would basically be sacrilegious for me to stop eating pizza. I love it. It loves me. I will eat any kind of pizza from the gourmet variety shown below to sick-nasty freezer pizza. I love it all. I even LOVVVVVE cauliflower crust pizza, which is clean! If I had to pick one meal to eat for the rest of my life, it would probably be pizza. Again, I usually only eat it on special occasions - birthdays, anniversaries or other parties.

Cherry Cordial Ice Cream from UDF. I'll be honest, when I started clean eating almost two years ago, I stopped eating dairy regularly. It wasn't intentional, it just sort of happened. Now, when I eat ice cream, it makes my stomach hurt. Sooooo....I reserve my ice cream indulgences for Homemade Brand (aka UDF) Cherry Cordial. Seriously - best ever - worth the hurt. Been my favorite for many o' years. Yes, my favorite ice cream comes from a gas station. S-U-E  M-E.

Oh, also? If you're going to do this, go get ice cream OUT. Yes, it's more expensive this way, but guess what...there's not a chance that you're going to take a box of ice cream to bed with you and be really super sorry the next morning when you wake up with a spoon glued to your face and an empty ice cream box on your bedside table. Just saying.

Donuts. If you've known me for more than thirty seconds, you know that I've never met a donut I didn't like. My favorite? I know you want to know. Boston cream aka bavarian cream aka long john, etc. I just can't even. I remember getting donuts with my dad so many times growing up. My husband and I used to go for donuts on Friday and Saturday nights, in college, and today I go on donut dates with two of my friends and all the kids. It doesn't happen often at all and I try to reserve these indulgences for special occasions; but, no, I won't turn down a donut. Ever. Don't even try to tell me they cause XY or Z. I'll keep eating them. Donut diva for life! 

Coffee. Yeah. If we go on vacation, the Keurig comes, too. Guess what guys, I have four kids. Having a cup of coffee is like my own personal Happy Hour. I even use that toxic candy flavored liquid creamer (but only a tablespoon). That's right, no shame. Try to pry this Starbucks cup out of my hot little hand, I dare ya'.

So, there you have it. Even hardcore foodies like me can survive the clean eating life. I've managed to lose 40+ pounds while still eating this crap every now and then. I try not to take "breaks" (unless I'm incredibly off the tracks and that's a topic for another post) and I don't take whole days off - just one "treat" meal one time a week.

So, go for it! Have that donut and then get back to your veggies.