Nourish Your Body From The Inside Out

Keep warm and nourish your body from the inside out by Angela Simpson of Eat Spin Run Repeat.

If you live in a place where the snow drifts are taller than you are and it takes 5 minutes just to bundle up in layers before going outside, you’re not alone. This has been one brutal winter, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve been eating a whole lot of warm, cozy soups and stews to keep warm.

This Velvet Butternut Squash and Apple soup is packed with seasonal produce that will help you hit your daily veggie quota, as well as warming spices like ginger, curry powder, cumin, and chili powder. The recipe has received rave reviews from my friends and family (one friend even won a cooking contest at work with it!) and I hope you enjoy it too!

Velvet Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients (makes about 9 cups)

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 butternut squash (about 3 lbs including skin and seeds)
• 3 apples
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, chopped
• 1 tbsp yellow curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• black pepper, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds to garnish (optional)

Instructions

• Peel the butternut squash and remove all seeds with a large spoon. Chop it into 1-inch pieces.
• Peel the onion and chop it up into chunks. Don’t worry about getting the pieces to be small because you’re going to end up pureeing them later so it won’t matter!
• Chop the apples and remove the cores.
• In a very large pot, heat the garlic, onions, and squash with about 1/4 of the vegetable stock over medium heat. (Alternatively, you can add about 1 tbsp of olive oil, but this recipe can easily be kept oil-free.) Stir constantly for 2 minutes.
• Add all spices, ginger root, and apple pieces. Continue stirring for 5 more minutes, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the pot and coating the squash, onions, and apple pieces in spices.
• Add the stock and bay leaves. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover the pot with a lid. Let it simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove the pot from heat and allow the contents to cool slightly. Working in batches, transfer them to a blender. Puree each batch until smooth, then pour into a pot or directly into serving bowls.
• If the soup has cooled down significantly, reheat the puree in a pot. Otherwise, ladle directly into bowls and garnish with a mixture of seeds (pumpkin, hemp, roasted squash seeds, etc) and black pepper.

Angela is an avid runner, fitness instructor, foodie, healthy living blogger, and owner of her business, Spin 360 Health Coaching. Having been overweight, unhappy and insecure as a teenager, Angela took control, changed her unhealthy habits, and adopted a clean eating lifestyle that she continues to maintain today. Her goal is to support, inspire, and motivate others to improve their health and be their best. You can learn more about her on her blog, Eat-Spin-Run-Repeat.com.

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