Recipe: Curried Fall Squash Soup

Fall is in the air and OMG do I love all the fall produce at the market right now. More than any other season, fall feels like it really has a flavor and feeling when it comes to food. Autumn is the perfect season to nourish your body and get ready to renew and rebuild during the winter months. Today, I wanted to share one of my favorite simple fall recipes. 

This recipe is super fertility friendly. It's gentle, warming nature makes it a great meal for your luteal phase (after ovulation), and a garnish with pumpkin seeds gives you some extra zinc that will naturally fortify the immune system and also give your fella a little natural boost in the sperm production department.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is really easy and super versatile. Don't have butternut squash? You can substitute with sweet potatoes, cooking pumpkin, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, or mix and match. This recipe is super creamy, healthy, delicious and really easy to prepare. Plus it makes a decent amount, so you'll have plenty of healthy left overs for lunches that will make the whole office jealous. 

This soup requires an immersion blender to achieve its nice smooth, creamy consistency. If you don't already have one, they are cheap and save a ton of hassle when making soups. You can used a normal blender, but we don't recommend it. 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 pounds butternut, acorn, or spaghetti squash. If you're not into squash you can also use sweet potatoes.
• 2 TBSP olive, coconut, or avocado oil, plus a little extra for roasting squash
• 2 medium onions, peeled and diced
• 2 TBSP curry powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 6 cups low sodium veggie broth
• 1 can (~14oz) light coconut milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bunch parsley, cilantro, or green onions (for garnish)
• Roasted pumpkin seeds (for garnish)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
2. Cut squash in half and remove seeds and stringy bits. Brush cut side of squash lightly with oil and roast cut side up for approximately an hour or until soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling (approx. one hour). If you're using sweet potatoes, you can wrap them in foil and roast whole. 
3. Once squash is cool enough to handle, start preparing the soup. Warm 2 TBSPs oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add onions and caramelize, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat so that they lightly brown but do not burn.
4. When onions are nicely caramelized, add curry powder and cook, stirring constantly for 60-90 seconds or until fragrant. 
5. Add stock, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze. Used a spoon to scoop squash away from skin and adding the meat of the squash to the soup. Bring to a simmer and cook 10-15 minutes until well combined and squash and onions are completely tender.
6. Remove from heat and add coconut milk. CAREFULLY blend with an immersion blender to achieve a smooth consistency. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use your regular blender but be extremely careful and hold the top securely in place. SOUP WILL BE HOT!
7. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with pumpkin seeds and chopped herbs of your choice. Serve and enjoy, and don't forget to let us know what you think in the comments.

We love ourselves a good healthy recipe here at Conceivable because we know that healthy eating is the foundation of a happy, healthy reproductive system. That's why our users get 12 weeks of recipes, shopping lists, and meal plans to help keep them in tip-top reproductive shape. To learn more about how the Conceivable Program can help get your fertility in tip-top shape, check out the link below.