The perfect remedy for a rainy day
When the calendar turns to November and the temperatures drops all I want to do is stay inside with a warm cup of tea under some blankets reading a book. I definitely don’t want to go outside in the wet and rainy (and possibly snowy) weather to go to work. Brrr. I have found that having a warm, tasty dinner prepared helps me get through those dark and dreary days. In the fall and winter I turn on my crockpot before I leave the house so that I have a tasty and warm meal waiting for me when I get home. And nothing helps beat the cold temperatures than a good soup. My favourite soup for this time of year is a butternut squash soup. It is full of brightly coloured vegetables and warming spices which makes it the perfect pick-me-up on a cold day.
Eating a variety of colour foods on a regular basis will give you all the antioxidants your body needs!
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This recipe is one of my go to recipes every winter. It is super simple and easy to make in a crockpot or a dutch oven. I usually cook it in a crockpot because I can prepare it in the morning (or the night before) and turn it on low when I leave to go to work. When I come home the soup will be done and the house will smell like soup! If I am in a rush I will put it in the dutch oven for a couple hours instead. This recipe would work well in an Instapot, however, I have not tried it. If you do, let me know how it turns out!
Another reason why I love this soup is because it is so versatile. One time I will put carrots in with a sweet potato, the next time I will put celery and carrots in. I love how much you can play around with the ingredient while still getting a tasty soup that is full of vitamins and antioxidants.
I hope you and your family enjoy this soup as much as I do!
Butternut squash soup
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 6-8 hours in a crockpot or 3 hours in a dutch oven
Servings: 6
Ingredients
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- 1 medium butternut squash (you can opt for fresh or frozen)
- 2 medium sized carrots
- 2-3 stalks of celery
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 golden delicious apple (you can use whichever apple variety you like, but I recommend a sweeter apple because the sweet taste compliments the cayenne pepper)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic (or to taste)
- A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- A pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- ¼-½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ ground nutmeg
- 1 L vegetable stock
- Optional: thyme, and/or rosemary (to taste)
- Garnishes: smoked paprika, green onion, black pepper
Instructions
- Peel the butternut squash, apple, carrots, onion, and garlic
- Roughly dice the butternut squash, apple, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic
- Combine all of the ingredients (minus the coconut milk) in your pot. I added enough vegetable stock to just cover all of the ingredients. Cook on low for 6-8 hours in your crockpot or for 3 hours in your dutch oven.
- Blend the ingredients until smooth. This is easiest with an immersion blender, but a traditional blender will work just fine.
- Taste. Add more of the spices and garnishes too taste
- To add protein: cook 2 chicken breasts separately, shred them and add them to the finished soup.
- To make it creamier: add coconut milk (from a can) or a heavy cream to the finished soup
- Enjoy!
![](https://i0.wp.com/meaghandatema.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMG_9041-1.jpg?fit=800%2C880&ssl=1)
Yours in health,
![grimsby naturopath](https://i0.wp.com/meaghandatema.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Dr.-Meaghan-sign-off-1.png?fit=300%2C109&ssl=1)