Roasted Butternut Squash Soup — erinlamb

Man the lighting is killing me these days…. winter is not my friend for cooking because I obviously love taking a million pictures of my food and the light is running out so quick these days!

This is a favourite for a cold day or when you need a little comfort! It is also the perfect meal while on an elimination diet… it’s always nice to find a new good recipe to give you some variety on your elimination diet!

We love to eat this soup with Sunworks Farms chicken sausages added to the soup at the end for a source of protein to help with balanced blood sugar (glucose) – which is CRUCIAL for a good gut! When we focus on balancing our blood sugar we will naturally feed the good bacteria in our gut. This soup is packed with fibre – something our gut bacteria love! The more fibre we include in our diet, the more steady our glucose levels will be. With out adding a source of protein or healthy fat to your meals, your blood sugar levels will typically spike and drop. Not only is keeping our blood sugar levels balanced important for our gut bacteria but also our stress hormones. If you aren’t keeping your glucose levels steady, you are increasing cortisol (stress hormone) levels. When you glucose is low, your cortisol will increase causing your digestion to sloooooow down. When our bodies experience stress, it automatically shuts off our digestion removing us from the rest and digest state. Keeping our glucose levels balanced helps keep us in rest and digest mode for optimal digestion.

What protein will you add to your soup?

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash

• 3 carrots

• 3 stalks of celery

• 1 large onion

• 5 cloves of garlic

• 1 tsp dried sage

• 1/2 tsp thyme

• 1 tsp rosemary

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne red pepper powder (more if you want a kick)

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/4 c olive oil

• 4 cups vegetable stock

• chicken sausage (optional)