Broccoli Squash Soup

This recipe comes from a family friend in Nashville and it is one of my favorites. It is flavorful, delicious and so healthy. It single-handedly made me like squash soup. Now I can’t get enough!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium diced yellow onion
• 1 large bay leaf
• 2 medium crushed garlic cloves
• 3 cups chopped broccoli
• 2 cups diced squash (I use frozen butternut squash)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 ½  cups vegetable stock or miso broth
• 2 cups Original Rice Dream rice milk
• ½  tsp basil
• ½  tsp thyme
• ½  tsp marjoram

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent.
2. Add chopped broccoli, squash, bay leaf, salt and stock to saucepan.
3. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until broccoli is tender.
4. While soup is simmering, chop basil, thyme and marjoram. Set aside.
5. After 15 minutes, remove bay leaf and discard.
6. Using a food processor or blender, puree soup mixture until smooth and creamy.
7. Return soup to saucepan and whisk in rice milk, basil, thyme and marjoram.
8. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
9. Gently stir and serve immediately. Enjoy!

P.S. If you follow a more strict plant-based diet you can leave out the oil 🙂

P.P.S. A few people have inquired about my statement above regarding oil. So here’s the scoop: The reason oils aren’t used in a strict plant-based diet is because of the high fat content and low nutritional content. The high fat content isn’t good for long-term health because it contributes to the break down of endothelium cells, which line our arteries. This damage can lead the formation of plaque “bubbles” which, when they develop a tear or burst, cause the vast majority of heart attacks. (FYI-These bubbles contain the “sticky” plaque that doesn’t show up on imaging scans.) So when a person has heart disease, and a doctor puts them on a plant-based diet, they require them to cut out oils in their diet 100% because the nutritional benefits are minimal while the possible negative side effects are high.

As you can see, I still use oil in some of my recipes. I use much less than I used to. For example, I often sauté veggies in nothing but the veggies themselves…vegetables have such high water content that they can easily sauté in their own juices.

Here is a link to information from Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn specifically about a plant-based diet as it relates to heart health: heartattackproof.com

Feel free to reach out if you have more questions!