Thank you to everyone who left such positive and helpful comments on my post last Thursday. I truly appreciate it, and I promise to keep you updated on how things go. I have also updated my “About Me” page, so check it out!
Happy Sunday, all! Is there anything better than a lazy Sunday morning? I think not! My plans for today are pretty simple: some blogging, cooking, food prepping, TV watching, and resting. Oh, and eating. We cannot forget the eating part. I am thinking that today is going to start off with a homemade acai bowl (even though it is freezing outside), a warm blanket, and a whole lot of rest. Perfection, my friends. Perfection.
But enough about me and my lazy day, let’s talk food. Today I am sharing with you my dinner meal plan for the coming week and a tasty soup recipe to help warm things up. I’ll probably feel like a hot bowl of soup after my acai bowl!
Weekly Meal Plan for the Week of January 12, 2015
Monday: Tuna and Broccoli Quinoa Patties + veggies
Tuesday: Creamy Curried Kale and Chickpeas over cauliflower rice
Wednesday: Mexican Chickpea Tostadas
Thursday: Green Chile Black Bean Burgers + Alexia french fries
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Des Moines with Jeremy
Sunday: Leftovers
Now that you have taken a peek into my weekly eats, let’s get to that soup recipe!
I am going to go ahead and state the obvious. This soup looks pretty, well… meh. But I do not share recipes here on CEVG that I do not enjoy myself, so you are going to have to trust me on this one!
This soup is:
Warm
Comforting
Creamy
Veggie-packed
Simple
Flavorful
Healthy
and Scrumptious! <– does anyone else love that word?
Squash, Potato, and Kale Soup
Vegan
Slightly adapted from Kelly’s recipe for Butternut Squash Gravy
Serves 4
Ingredients
6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (I bought mine pre-cut from Trader Joe’s)
1 large Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups vegetable broth + more if thinner soup is desired
2 bay leaves
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 TB Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or low-sodium soy sauce
3 cups kale, roughly chopped + more if desired
Directions
1. Combine squash, potatoes, broth, bay leaves, spices, and liquid aminos in a large pot or dutch oven.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. The squash and potatoes should pierce easily with a fork.
3. Add kale to the soup and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, or until wilted.
4. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your desired texture. Add additional vegetable broth, if necessary, to thin the soup. I pureed the soup until smooth and added in additional kale for texture. You can certainly leave the soup completely smooth.
*If you do not have an immersion blender, the final step can be accomplished using a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix, Ninja, or Blendtec).
Back in junior high I learned not to judge a book by its cover (though I am still drawn towards the bright and pretty covers). I hope you learned the same thing. This one may not be pretty, but please don’t judge it. Just make it and eat it!
What is on your weekly meal plan? Share the links with me in the comments!
Comments on this entry are closed.
So I totally haven’t made any soup this season…no will I be able to now :O
No soup yet?!? Oh my goodness, you need to!!!
I’m just curious why if you’re trying to gain weight that you would have “cauliflower” rice and not real rice? Not a criticism, as I love your blog and food approach, but just wondering.
To clarify, I am not trying to gain weight. I have already successfully gained all of the weight that I needed to and am back to a healthy weight. Therefore, that is not really on my mind. I also just really LOVE cauliflower “rice.” It is a favorite of mine!
Thanks for the reply! I misunderstood, and wasn’t judging at all. I see so many HLBs claim they want to gain weight but then sub in everything except the real food. That is SO not you, which is why I was confused. I love your approach. Thanks again!
Hey no problem, Jen. Easy to do! Thanks for your support 🙂
How are you convincing yourself to eat acai bowls when it’s sososo freezing cold outside?! (I ask because I’d love to do the same, but can’t manage to convince myself because of aforementioned cold. ;_; )
I’m all for anything that tastes good and only recently started attempting to make my food pictures look more presentable, so definitely no judgement coming from here! <3 I can't wait to try it out! 😀
I always prep myself with slippers, sweats, a sweatshirt, and blankets! Oh, and my heater! 😉
yum! looks good! I’ve pinned for later!
Thanks so much, Lea! I hope you enjoy the warmth and comfort 🙂
YUM! That soup sounds delicious, I’m totally going to try it! Thanks for sharing! All of your meals on your plan sound great actually! 🙂
Thanks, Heather! Hopefully you found some inspiration and will be eating good this week, too!
Sometimes the ugliest-looking food is the best and I speak from lots of experience 😉 . The soup sounds good and I finally got kale again after two weeks of none available so yes to including it.
I hope your day went as relaxing as planned!
Ahh, that would be awful to go to the store wanting kale and have it be gone. Luckily it is majorly in season here right now so it has also been on sale!
I made a quick version of this today using premade low sodium BN squash soup, steamed zucchini and spinach with curry powder.
Oh yum! That sounds awesome, Monica. I love your idea to add zucchini and curry powder!
I have recently discovered Kale and I can bet that the soup is delicious!
Ahh, yay! I love kale! It is definitely amazing in soups 🙂
Mmm yummy soup! Josh is trying to make cauliflower tortillas tonight! I’m excited!
Oh yum!! I have made “tortillas” using other veggies, but not cauliflower yet. I bet they will be delicious!
Sounds like you have a nice meal plan for the week. I’m making some portabella “steaks” with veggies tomorrow and then sweet potato and black bean enchiladas on Tues. We are leaving this week since I have a half marathon in Florida, so my list of meals is pretty short 😉
Oooo, sweet potato and black bean enchiladas sound fabulous! What recipe are you using?
This time I just winged it- but I LOVE this recipe from SkinnyTaste (modified slightly for our family)- http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/11/butternut-squash-and-black-bean.html
Yum this looks delicious I love a good soup it’s so comforting! Thank you xo C
Soup is definitely one of the most comforting foods, in my opinion. Let me know if you try it!
Those green chili black bleak burgers sound delicious. I love how colorful & that you can freeze them!
Don’t they sound awesome? I’m excited to make them!
I love that just a few more ingredients turns tasty veggie gravy into totally amazing soup!
Totally amazing soup that also looks really unpretty. Your gravy certainly looks MUCH better! 😉
Your dinner meal plan looks really delicious. I need to start doing that. We just wing it, way too much!
Planning ahead works REALLY well for me. It makes keeping week night dinners fairly healthy a lot easier, and it prevents me from buying extra groceries at the store that will end up being wasted. You should definitely give it a try!