Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

So if you were kind enough to read my very long post about penne w/ sun-dried tomato chicken, you know I recently ran the Chicago Marathon. In a very, very cruel twist of fate, despite the ridiculous number of miles I was running each week, I actually gained 5 pounds. What the @$!&???????? Maybe it’s muscle. Sure, let’s go with that. But most likely it’s the ice cream binges I justified because I was running so darn much. Or the Snicker’s bars. Or the donuts at work. Or the post-long run pancakes. Or the….you get the idea. I’m usually a pretty healthy eater and I try to stick to the 80/20 philosophy when it comes to food. 80% healthy, 20% indulgent and always an eye on portion control. Except ice cream. I’m not so good at portion control with ice cream. Anyway, over the course of the 16-week training program I allowed myself to indulge a wee bit more (ok fine, a lot more) than 20% and I learned the hard way that it’s a whole lot easier to put calories in than it is to burn them off.

So now I’m back to my normal 80/20 eating habits (more like 90/10 till those 5 lbs disappear) and when I want something warm, comforting and healthy I often turn to soup. This time of year I use butternut squash any chance I get and it’s particularly tasty when paired with tart Granny Smith apples. Serve this with a dollop of plain greek yogurt and a chunk of crusty whole-grain bread.

Butternut Squash Soup

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ yellow onion, diced
¼ teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 butternut squash, peeled and seeded
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a Dutch oven or large pot heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and ginger and cook until soft but not brown, about 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium if the onion and ginger start to brown.
Add the butternut squash, apple, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cook another 5-10 minutes or until squash starts to soften.
Add chicken broth, bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes, or until squash is completely tender.
Let the mixture cool slightly and carefully puree in an upright blender. You might have to do this step in batches to avoid overcrowding the blender.
Top with a dollop of sour cream of plain greek yogurt.