fall

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash is one of my favourite fall/winter vegetables. Served sweet or savoury, it never disappoints, plus it’s a nutritional powerhouse!

Here’s a run down of its top nutrient facts and all the reasons we should eat more squash this season (as if you even needed a reason). 🙂

  • high in potassium. preventing high blood pressure and heart disease
  • high in fiber, supporting a healthy digestive tract
  • high in vitamin A (457% of your daily allowance), supporting eye health
  • high in maganese, helping maintain healthy bones
  • high in vitamin C, boosting immune function
  • high in antioxidants, reducing inflammation

Here’s a sweet and savoury soup that will delight your tastebuds.

Butternut Squash Soup (yields 6-8 servings)

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 1-2 tbsp curry powder (to taste)
  • 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 500-900 ml of vegetable or chicken broth
  • ½ cup pure apple juice
  • 4 cups, butternut squash, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup pear, peeled and chopped
  • ÂĽ tsp himalayan sea salt
  • ground black pepper to taste
  1. Peel and chop butternut squash, drizzle with coconut oil and roast for 45 minutes.
  2. Melt coconut oil in saucepan. Add onions, carrots and celery. Cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes.
  3. Sprinkle curry powder over vegetables and cook for 3 minutes.
  4. Add ginger, broth, apple juice, pears and roasted squash.
  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
  6. Let it cool slightly and purée.
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste.Butternut Squash Soup

Savour each bite! xx

Roasted Tomato Soup

A handful of simple ingredients makes for a healthy soup loaded with flavour. This tomato soup is one that you can’t really screw up. I’ve made it time and time again and it always turns out deliciously good! However, I felt my mother was a tad uncertain when I started to wing a recipe in the midst of our organized soup marathon. But to her delight and at no real surprise, I did great and to quote  “this is the best tomato soup I’ve ever had”.

Here’s the dish and don’t be too worried about the measurements, you can’t really go wrong when combining these ingredients. The real trick here is roasting cherry tomatoes until they get a bit carmelized but be careful not to burn them.

Roasted Tomato Soup (yields 6-8 servings)

  • 6 pints of cherry tomatoes
  • 2-4 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1-2 cooking onions
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • handful of basil
  • handful of parsley
  • 28 oz. can of peeled san marzano tomatoes (plum work well too!)
  • 900 ml vegetable broth
  • himalayan sea salt and pepper to taste

Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasted Tomato Soup

  1. Drizzle cherry tomatoes with olive oil and roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes.
  2. While tomatoes are roasting, heat olive oil on low and sauté onion + garlic until soft.
  3. Add basil and/or parsley to onion and garlic.
  4. Add in can of tomatoes.
  5. Once tomatoes are roasted add to pot + vegetable broth.
  6. Season with S&P and purée.
  7. Feel free to add additional broth if needed.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Happy Fall! xx

Roasted Cauliflower & Leek Soup

It’s that time of year again when I like to stock pile my freezer full of warm cozy soups! It has become tradition that each year, my mom and I plan a weekend full of Fall things and soup making is always top of the list.

We made our lists, hit up the local market, made an action plan, cranked the tunes and got our cook on! Our organization and quick kitchen artistry  was so on point. Seriously, our soup game was so strong that we cranked out a selection of 7 soups for the season. I’ll be sure to share you these recipes over the next couple weeks.

Today I am dishing on one of my favourites – Roasted Cauliflower & Leek. YUM!!

Roasted Cauliflower & Leek Soup (yields 6-8 servings)

  •  whole cauliflower cut in 2-inch florets
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp earth balance butter (or unsalted butter/margarine of choice)
  • 2-3 leeks (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 900 ml package of vegetable broth (don’t be afraid to add more if needed)
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp himalayan sea salt (to taste)
  • 1 tsp ground pepper (to taste)

Roasted Cauliflower

  1. Place cauliflower on parchment lined baking sheet; drizzle with oil. Roast in oven at 425 F, turning occasionally, until very deep golden on all sides, about 45 minutes to an hour. The darker you roast it the richer the taste will be. Just do not burn!
  2. In soup pot, melt butter over medium heat; cook leeks and garlic, stirring, until leeks are softened, about 8-10 minutes.
  3. Add in dijon and mix.
  4. Add in vegetable broth + roasted cauliflower. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
  5. Use hand blender to puree the cauliflower and leek mixture. Blend until smooth. Add more broth if needed.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Let simmer for 5 minutes and serve.

Roasted Cauliflower & LeeksRoasted Cauliflower & Leek Soupxx!

Orange is the New Black

I love a good cup of java and all the cute coffee shops and feelings that come with each cup! This really is one of life’s simple joys. And as the Fall season sets in, I love to indulge in a good ol’ Pumpkin Spice Latte. Lately though, I have been reluctant to regularly indulge in the PSL we all know and love and find that often I am choosing this option more so for the convenience aspect and here’s why….  Homemade PSL’s!

These are so much better than and pumpkin syrup just does not compare. You control the sweetness, the spice and know exactly what goes into each cup. Plus, the $5+ spent on each cup is much more welcomed in my pocket!

So this Thanksgiving weekend, cuddle up on the couch with this homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte and enjoy yourself and all the things we have to be thankful for: 🙂

Pumpkin Spice Latte (yields 2 cups)

  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 4 tbsp pumpkin purĂ©e
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp of maple syrup (you can add this in as you go to suit your sweet tooth)
  • 1/8 tsp salt (optional)
  • 4 oz brewed espresso or strong coffee
  • 2 cups almond milk (or milk of choice)

PSL Ingredients

  1. Mix spices with vanilla and maple syrup to create a paste.
  2. Heat milk on low, add in pumpkin puree, and spice mixture. Whisk until smooth. (don’t be afraid to add more sweetness or spice if you prefer)
  3. Brew Espresso.
  4. Pour Espresso and top with pumpkin spice milk mixture.
  5. If you are feeling fancy, top with whip or frothy milk.


Sip & Enjoy. xx

All Things Pumpkin Spice

It’s October! Which means we’ve entered the blitz of pumpkin everything and there are no complaints here.

As new products hit the shelves, I am easily intrigued by all the new variations of Fall. Pumpkin has literally taken over the grocery aisles and I’m suddenly set for all things Fall. I’ll be perfectly honest when I say that I love me some good ol’ pumpkin spice – the famous PSL, tasty pumpkin ales (or not so tasty lol), and every type of pumpkin dessert imaginable. I do my best in keeping up with the pumpkins. 🙂 And best yet, I have been experimenting at home, which usually brings an even better version of the things we love without the fake pumpkin flavour and extra sugar!

You’ll see in past some of my pumpkin go-to’s (energy balls, raw pie, and savoury risotto). And this weekend I am sharing the ultimate pumpkin spice smoothie and latte!

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie (yields 4 cups)

  • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 3 pitted medjool dates
  • 1 frozen ripe banana
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1.5-2 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1.5 tsp pure vanilla

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie Ingredients

  1. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the milk, oats, and chia seeds. Place in fridge for 1 hour or overnight.
  2.  Add soaked oat mixture to blender along with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
  3. Add ice to make it more refreshing and top it with your favourite whip to make it extra fancy and sweet!

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

The PSS works great for breaky or dessert and is a quick way to satisfy that pumpkin craving!

Pumpkin On! xx