You can taste the delicious nutrition in this extraordinary butternut squash soup.  Stacey loves to add cauliflower to thicken her soups and the lentils give a great boost of protein.  It’s loaded with the two major immune boosting vitamins C and A and is also an excellent source of iron.  This super satisfying soup can be served throughout the week and is great frozen, too! It’s light on salt, so you may need an extra pinch to serve.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion Spanish, chopped
½ head of cauliflower (about 4 cups)
1 ¼ cups split pink lentils (masoor dal)
1 butternut squash, chopped in cubes (about 3 lbs; peeling is optional)
1 apple (Fuji preferred)
1 teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon sea salt
6 cups water
1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender and translucent, 7–10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in cauliflower, lentils, squash and apple and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add turmeric and sea salt and stir thoroughly.
3. Add water and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes or until squash and cauliflower are fork tender.
4. Pour about one-third of soup into blender; cover, with center part of cover removed to let steam escape, and blend until pureed. (Or, use an immersion blender and puree in saucepan).
5. Pour soup into large bowl and repeat with remaining mixture.
6. To serve, ladle soup into 12 soup bowls and top with parsley divided evenly among bowls.

Makes 12 servings (1 cup per serving).

Nutrition Facts per serving: 130 calories; 2g fat (0g sat fat, 1g mono, 1g poly, 0g trans fats); 0mg cholesterol; 26g carbohydrate  (5g fiber, 5g sugar); 6g protein; 55mg sodium; 210% Daily Value (DV) vitamin A; 70% DV vitamin C; 8% DV calcium; 15% DV iron.

– Stacey Antine, MS, RDN, author, Appetite for Life, founder, HealthBarn USA, director, HealthBarn Foundation, and recognized as top 10 dietitians nationally by Today’s Dietitian magazine for her work with HealthBarn USA.