Roasted Sweet Potato & Kale Soup + Winner!!!

Hi! Welcome to the start of a new week! Did you have a good weekend?

We had to attend a funeral on Saturday. A friend lost his long-fought battle with cancer, so it was a sad day saying goodbye and supporting our friends.

I went to a Total Body Conditioning class at the gym yesterday morning and then I was pretty much down for the count for the rest of the day. We just needed some quiet time.

Luckily, I did manage to find time to put together my soup recipe that everyone's been asking for since I posted about it last Wednesday. Sometimes I forget how therapeutic blogging can be ---- it makes me so happy to be able to share my recipes and love for food with you all <3

This is a creamy comforting soup for the soul. I had it at a restaurant one day for lunch and I knew instantly that I needed to recreate it. I had some serious success with this one if I do say so myself.

Roasted Sweet Potato w/ Kale Soup

Serves 3

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled & diced

2 tsp coconut oil, melted

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 - 3/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

3 c vegetable broth

2 c coconut milk

3 c chopped kale (do not use stems)

Pre-heat the oven to 425.

In a large bowl, combine the diced sweet potatoes, coconut oil, sea salt,  chili powder and cumin. Spread the seasoned potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Roast the potatoes (now here is where I encounter a tiny problem as I forgot to write down the roasting time ~ woops!). I believe it will take 25 - 35 minutes to roast. You want the potatoes to be cooked through and starting to brown - see my pic below for reference. Make sure you flip the potatoes after approximately 15 minutes of roasting.

Once the potatoes are roasted, add them together with the vegetable broth into your blender. Of course, you can make the soup as creamy or as chunky as you like. Pour the sweet potato mixture into a large saucepan and start to heat it over medium-high heat. Whisk in the coconut milk and the kale.

Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Taste and adjust your seasonings to your taste. I added a pinch of sea salt, chili powder and a pinch of black pepper to my bowl.

This is what the taters should look like when they're roasted to perfection.

I just recently found this coconut milk at our local Bulk Store.

60 calories in a cup.

LOVE <3

Top with a pinch of unsweetened shredded coconut and serve while piping hot!

I have one word.

YUM :)


....and now for what you've been waiting for all week...

the winner of my Pure Bar Giveaway is.....

MEREDITH FROM DARE YOU TO!!!

Meredith said....

Ooh definitely Apple Cinnamon and Chocolate Brownie. I LOVE the photo you took--shows how REAL FOODS are the ingredients, just like the website shows.

Yahoo my sweet!!! I will send you an email later today to get your mailing details.

Now have a fabulous day everyone.

Let's start this week on the right foot!

Andrea

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for....Zucchini?!?!?!!

Happy Sunday!

Are you having a fabulous weekend? This has been a fairly uneventful weekend for me, which has been really nice. We've been super busy lately and the end of the summer is jam packed with a wedding, arrivals of LOTS of babies, milestone birthdays, year end team parties and family visits.  Sometimes it's nice to spend a day bumming around home and chillaxing a bit.

Derek's away for most of the day and I woke up with an urge to get my booty into the kitchen. Well, first I hit the gym and then I stopped by my favourite veggie stand (I'm pretty sure the gal working the stand was really happy to help this sweaty, red-faced

babe :-) ....and then I got my booty into the kitchen.

One of my best deals at the veggie stand was 3 zucchinis for $1. You can't get a much better deal than that! You've probably noticed that I tend to use zucchini alot around here, but I have yet to share my most favourite way to eat it......I'm talkin' about some seriously amazing zucchini bread!

Zucchini Bread
Adapted from allrecipes
Makes 1 loaf

This is the best zucchini bread recipe I have ever made. I've made a few minor changes to make it more healthy and it is the most moist, mouthwatering bread of all time!!!! Tastes best when served warm smothered in Earth Balance. This bread freezes really well.

1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 chia eggs (or regular eggs)
1/2 c coconut oil
2/3 c white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 heaping c grated zucchini
1/2 c chopped walnuts, optional (I didn't have any this time, but usually I do include them)

Grease an 8" x 4" loaf pan. Preheat oven to 325.

Sift flours, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a medium sized bowl.

Mix chia egg, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Note: I found the batter to be a little drier when I made my healthy substitutions, so I added a little under a 1/4c of water. Feel free to add a splash of water, if necessary.

Looks different when using chia --- but it's so healthy!!!

Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes on the middle rack. You'll know it's done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool on the rack.

I dare you to try and eat just one slice!!! The first bite is pure heaven. I might have had two three slices as soon as it came out of the loaf pan. Don't judge :-)  

What is your favourite way to eat zucchini?
Do you like to make your own breads and muffins? Fave recipe - please share or link it up!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Andrea