As promised, I said I was going to post the Butternut Squash soup recipe that I have been making for weeks now and storing in canning jars. I love this soup and have been making several different kinds from this recipe. I lived off this stuff when I was down and out with the zombie plague. This is the best soup ever and is definitely a classic comfort food! It’s perfect for the season! I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do!

This recipe is from the Eat Clean Cookbook. 

Ingredients

• 1/3 C + 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 large butternut squash
• 1 sweet onion, cut into large chunks
• 1 bulb garlic
• 2 C chicken stock
• 2 T fresh squeezed lime juice
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• ground nutmeg (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a large roasting pan by pouring the oil into it, letting it coat the bottom. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds and string. Place squash in roasting pan, cut side down. Prick the skins with a sharp knife. Place onion around the squash. Using a sharp knife, cut the top of the garlic bulb off and drizzle with 1/2 tsp oil. Place in the pan with the other vegetables. Bake for 45-60 minutes until tender. Remove and let stand.

2. Scrape baked squash into a large stock pot. Add the roasted onion, leeks, and garlic cloves. Add chicken stock and lime juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Using a hand blender, puree the soup until it is evenly smooth. Ladle into soup bowls and add salt, pepper, and ginger to taste.

Number of Servings: 6

Note: You can add just about any other vegetables that you prefer into this. I have added bell pepper and leek. (carrots would be a great addition too) I have also substituted other squash into this. I have made Acorn Squash and Spagetti Squash soup all from this recipe. It’s definitely a fail-proof classic!

If you eat a lot of fruit, particularly bananas, and buy it in bulk like I do, sometimes there is the occasion that the bananas on the bottom of the bunch tend to turn ripe more quickly than the rest of the bunch. Most folks are not fans of overly ripe bananas and either toss those out or make banana nut bread from them.  

However, for those of us who are watching our calories and carb intake, most of the time banana nut bread is out of the question. Too much butter, sugar and calories to set us off course!  However this Banana Nut spread recipe is the solution to using overly ripe bananas,  eating clean and adding natural macro sources, while keeping the calorie count low. 

Banana Nut Spread

Serving Size: 2 tbs.   Serves: 16    Total Calories per serving: 65

Calories from Fat 27. Total Fat 4g. Cholesterol 0. Sodium 0. Total Carbohydrates 5g. Dietary Fiber 2g. Sugars 2g. Protein 2g. Vitamin A 0. Vitamin C 2%. Calcium 2%. Iron 2%. 

*healthy fat source from almonds and natural sugars from banana + honey

Ingredients:

• 2 or more ripe bananas
• 1 cup of almonds - unsalted
• 1 tbs honey 

(diabetics can substitute for sugar-free ‘honey’ and vegans can substitute for agave)

Directions:

Place almonds in food processor and blend until the almonds are finely chopped.

Place bananas in food processor with almonds.

And blend both until well mixed and creamy.

Add a tablespoon of honey for sweetness as this mixture is more nutty than sweet prior to adding the honey. If you prefer a more nutty flavour vs sweet, then skip the honey.

Blend mixture again. Once the spread is mixed well, scoop out and store in a air-tight container and store in the refrigerator.

The mixture will be a lighter honey colour upon preparation, but will eventually turn a darker brown colour. This is natural as the bananas, like apples and most fruit, naturally darken. This blend gets sweeter with age. 

Enjoy this spread on apples, celery, other fruit or slather it on low calorie, multi-grain sprouted breads ie. Ezekiel + Genesis bread, Tofuyan 100cal mini bagels, etc. Also pairs great with Laughing Cow 35 calorie Swiss Cheese. Or even blend this into a protein smoothie instead of peanut butter. There are so many options!

I hope you love this banana nut spread as much as I do!