Healing Food: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

This is one of my family’s favorite soups. It’s easy to make and every bite is packed with protein, vitamins and minerals that are soothing to the digestive system. It’s the perfect soup to eat when recovering from an illness or surgery.

I serve it blended and creamy, not chunky. It’s a meal in itself or a filling side dish.

Butternut Squash Soup
1 large organic butternut squash (Costco has pre-packaged cubes)
1 sweet onion
2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
Handful of baby carrots, sliced or ribboned
1 box of organic chicken bone broth
1 can of organic full-fat coconut milk
1/8th teaspoon ground nutmeg
Sea salt and pepper
Organic extra virgin olive oil.

Have all of your ingredients? Let’s do this!

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (I use a toaster oven)
2. Place the squash cubes and carrots in a large bowl and toss to coat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.
3. Line baking dish or rimmed tray with parchment paper. Spread the squash and carrots evenly across the tray. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are soft.
4. Coat bottom of large soup pot with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and place on medium heat.
5. Slice onion and add to soup pot. Saute onion until soft and season with salt and pepper.
6. At medium heat, add garlic to onions and stir until the garlic is light brown.
7. Dump in your tray of roasted squash and carrots.
8. Add about 2 cups of the bone broth, stir everything, and bring to simmer (medium-high heat).
9. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Add more broth if the vegetables are not coated.
10. Remove pot from heat and blend the soup in the pot using an immersion blender or transfer the (Caution: Hot!) soup to a heavy-duty blender (Vitamix, Ninja, etc).
11. Once blended and smooth, bring the soup pot back to simmering heat.
12. Add a pinch of ground nutmeg (about 1/8th teaspoon) to the soup and stir it in.
13. Slowly stir in coconut milk to your desired soup consistency. We like our soups to be more hearty, less watery, so I typically add about 1/4 cup of coconut milk or less.
14. Turn off the heat, take a taste and season with more sea salt and pepper if needed.

That’s it! You’ve made a delicious, healthy soup that nourishes the Lungs, Kidneys, and Stomach! It keeps in the refrigerator for about 3 days in an airtight container.

Another tip: To make an easy one-pot dinner, add chunks of rotisserie chicken to the finished soup.