Going “Whole Foods, Plant Based” isn’t very difficult to do when you can cook at home. Going out to eat has its set of challenges though… who knew literally every dish on almost every menu had cheese in it?! Anyway, with yesterday being my birthday, we spent a lot of time eating out over the past week. That was my request to Andy, not to have to cook, and he followed through! Saturday morning we went to the Tomball Farmer’s Market, then we went and tried a new local brewery in Tomball, and went on to a picnic hosted by Andy’s work. At the picnic, B’s lunch consisted of a Capri Sun and a red snow cone (balance, right?).
After the picnic excitement, we came home for naptime then went back out for dinner with friends at a local food truck park. I had a stuffed pineapple and Andy a falafel pita! We had so much fun and B stomped in all of the puddles! Sunday after church, we went to another food truck park and we both ordered black bean tacos. Sunday dinner I made a delicious Sweet Potato & Kale Chili. Yesterday was the day of eating out, and also my birthday. Andy surprised me with flowers when I woke up, and a sweet card that said to meet him at on of my favorite spots for lunch, Piada. We then went back to True Food Kitchen for dinner, and both agreed we like how easy it is to know what you’re getting there! Their menu has items clearly marked as “Veg” for vegetarian or “V” for vegan.
Anyway, in the midst of all the eating out, I made this delicious Dairy-Free Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. I HIGHLY recommend making this and serving it with some crusty French bread!
Dairy Free Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups of butternut squash, cubed
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 cups vegetable broth (bonus points if its homemade!)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Toss butternut squash in a bit of oil (I usually use avocado), sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 20-30 minutes until soft and caramelized
- Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, sauté onion in a splash of oil until translucent
- Add carrots, broth, and spices and bring to a boil
- Add roasted squash
- Simmer 15-20 until carrots are fork tender
- Add almond milk and simmer an additional 10 minutes
- Remove 2/3 of the soup to a blender (I used my Blendtec) and puree until smooth
- Add pureed soup back to pot
- Serve with Quick Soak Cashew Cream (I added a splash of Sriracha when blending the cashews and it added a great spicy flavor) and pumpkin seeds
