Troy decided to watch “What the Health?” again this weekend and it got me thinking about our diet. I was actually cooking while he was watching it but my ears were perked the whole time. I’ve been preparing vegan food in our house for almost 2 years now. The first year we ate a lot of the fake processed Tofurky meats, in an effort to replace what we’d removed. It was a good stepping stone for us. This last year has been a lot of trial and error, and some wins of course! The point is that we all have to start somewhere.

✨ The meals should be varied. The same dishes, prepared in the same way, should not appear on the table meal after meal and day after day. The meals are eaten with greater relish, and the system is better nourished, when the food is varied.✨ Ministry of Healing

I’ll be the first to admit that I could eat the same thing almost everyday and never tire. The hubs on the other hand, gets tired of something if he’s had it twice in two weeks. Because I have allowed myself to get into the “same stuff all the time” rut, and also slid into an “eat something sugary every day” habit at the same time, I decided it was time for a change.

Hello, Binder Full of Goodness!

I made up this binder way before I became vegan. I clipped recipes from the newspaper, restaurant magazines, recipes friends have shared, and even printed some off from the internet. After digging through and eliminating all the pot roasts, I mean how many recipes did I really need for that? I narrowed it down to the recipes I could make vegan, a big ol’ thank you to the experience I’ve gained in the last two years!

I wanted to share with you one of the recipes I tried this weekend. Too good not to share, I tweaked it a bit but wish I could give credit to whoever created the original!

Aztec Squash Soup

• 1 ½ pounds Butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
• 1 large sweet potato peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ¾ cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 6 cups (or more) vegetable broth, divided ( I shared a picture of my favorite vegan broth below.)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed, drained
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro plus sprigs for garnish
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon minced seeded serrano chile (or more if you like spicy)
• Salt and pepper
• Plain yogurt, avocado, guacamole (optional toppings)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray. Sprinkle cut halves of squash with salt and pepper. On one baking sheet arrange, cut side down, on prepared sheet. Roast squash until tender, about 1 ½ hours. At the same time, roast sweet potatoes on the other baking sheet until tender. Turn squash cut side up and cool. Scoop squash out into medium bowl. Place sweet potatoes into a separate bowl.
2. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until pale golden, about 10 minutes. Mix in celery and garlic. Add 1 cup of broth. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add squash, 5 cups of broth, and cumin. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes to blend flavors.
3. Working in batches, puree squash soup in blender until smooth. When finished pureeing all batches, return all soup to pot. Thin squash soup to desired consistency with more vegetable broth. Add sweet potatoes, black beans, corn, and red bell pepper, ¼ cup fresh cilantro, thyme, and Serrano chile. Cover soup and simmer 10 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each with one of the optional toppings and sprig of cilantro.
5. Enjoy!

Yum, Yum, Yum

I enjoyed this soup the first time, and as left overs the second time I ate it. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it when I take out the portion I froze for a later day too. Above I mentioned I’d share with you my favorite vegan broth, but I actually have two.  The one on the left is probably my most favorite but I wanted to share a tip that I got for the other one. I used McKay’s for today’s recipe but it also works out really well as a topping for popcorn with a little bit of nutritional yeast. So good! Please be sure to subscribe to get notified when I share new recipes!