Soup is a fabulous lunch time option, warming, comforting and easily portable. This lentil & butternut squash soup is quick, easy and freezes well.
Butternut squash is loaded with a variety of nutrients, including essential vitamins, minerals and fibre, along with a good boost of antioxidants and phytonutrients. Squash's are very high in beta-carotene, which is great source of vitamin A, essential for immune and eye health. Red lentils provide additional fibre, iron, B-vitamins and magnesium and also protein, ensuring a more filling soup and also stabilises our blood sugar levels.
This soup is naturally gluten and dairy free.
Soup is a great warming and nutritious lunch or meal, either at home or can be made portable by heating and carry in a portable thermos flask for a warming packed lunch. I like to freeze spare portions for future lunches or simply batch cook and freeze into individual portions to ensure you have a quick, healthy, nutritious lunch in busy times.
When times get busy and I simple do not have time to stand at the stove, I have also used a slow cooked or soup maker to do the cooking for me, meaning preparation time is just minutes as the vegetables can be roughly chopped and then blitzed later. It may not mean the flavours are not so deep but a great time saving hack!
Butternut Squash & Red Lentil Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Butternut Squash, deseeded and roughly chopped into 1 inch cubes.
2 cloves garlic
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 cup red lentils
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin powder
1 tsp dried ground coriander
2 tsp curry paste
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp turmeric powder
freshly ground pepper and sea salt to taste
1 Litre of fresh vegetable/chicken stock or alternatively 1 litre of water with good quality stock cube
Optional - fresh coriander or chilli to serve, to taste.
Method
In a heavy based pan - sweat off the onions and garlic in the extra virgin olive oil.
Once translucent and starting to brown, add in the spices, turmeric and curry paste and cook for a further 2 minutes
Add the butternut squash, tomato puree and lentil and stir.
Add in the stock or liquid, stir well and bring to a simmer and add a lid
Continue to simmer with an occasional stir for 25 minutes until the butternut squash and lentil are cooked through.
Take of the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes, then blitz with a stick blender and serve.
Alternately when cooking for quickness in a soup maker or slow cooker if you do not have time to fry off the onions and spices, place all the ingredients straight in and place hot stock/liquid and cook until vegetables/lentils are cooked through. Blitz and serve.
This recipe can also be made with pumpkin or other squash.
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Naturopathic Nutrition's holistic approach to health & wellness recognises the interconnection between diet, nutrition, lifestyle & overall wellbeing to support the body's natural healing processes & provide necessary nutrients to help you optimise your health, & feel your best!
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