[Food Series] Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

Our family just recently started receiving our produce through a community supported agriculture (CSA) delivery service. Everything is locally grown, seasonal, organic and delivered to our doorstep. When I open my front door, once a week, and our box of goodies is sitting there, it's almost like I won the lottery and can't wait to open it up to see what we've won! This week was a ton of butternut squash, so I decided to make soup! This is a seriously healthy, nutritious and hearty meal, perfect for a cozy, winter family dinner. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 lbs Butternut Squash
1 tablespoon ground Ginger
3 Bay Leaves
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 15oz can of low sodium organic garbanzo beans
4 cups water
Pepper
1 tablespoon Pine Nuts
1 Avocado

This recipe is seriously easy!! First peel and remove the seeds from the butternut squash, then cut into one inch cubes. Throw everything (except for the pine nuts and avocado) into a soup pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and let it simmer. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread out the pine nuts on a lined baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 3 minutes, making sure to watch them closely so they don't scorch. Thinly slice the avocado. When the butternut squash is easily mashable with a fork (approximately 20-30 minutes), use a hand held immersion blender to puree the soup, directly in the pot. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with avocado slices and pine nuts and devour! I served this up with leeks in olive oil. Heavenly.

5 Healthy and Hearty Trail Meals For Toddlers Guest Post for Go Explore Nature

Two things I'm most passionate about in my life are introducing my daughter to nutritious and delicious foods and allowing her to explore, discover and learn from the wonders that Mother Nature has to offer, so when Debi invited me to do a Guest Post on hiking meals for kids I was honored and excited!

Packing lunches on-the-go are pretty commonplace in our household and I have gotten fairly good at keeping the fridge stocked with quick and healthy choices. When doing my weekly shopping I focus on buying a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to ensure our diet is full of vitamin and mineral goodness!

Another trick I learned and implemented early on in motherhood is to intentionally cook extra at dinner time, so there is a nutritious and filling meal already made for lunch the next day! I cook a LOT as it is and doing this saves me time and pot-washing. Win-Win-Win!

One more simple idea I call upon quite frequently are make-ahead meals and am constantly adding new make-ahead meals to my cooking arsenal, Make a bunch ahead and enjoy throughout the week without having to lift a finger! It doesn't get much sweeter.

Here are some of my favorite go-to trail meals! I hope you enjoy!

[Wheat Berry Salad]

I used to be terrified of a wheat berry! Weren't they weird and unusual and hard to cook? As a matter of fact, that couldn't be farther from the truth! 

Just soak 2 cups of wheat berries in water overnight in the fridge, then boil them in 4 cups of your favorite stock, 4 cups of cold water and 2 bay leaves for about an hour. That's it! Rinse and drain them and add whatever tickles your fancy, instant Wheat Berry Salad. I love to add cucumbers, berries and garbanzo beans with a splash of olive oil and lemon.

Want to find out what the other 4 healthy toddler trail meals are? Read the full article at Go Explore Nature!