Carrot Butternut Ginger Soup

Think carrot ginger + butternut squash soup combined!  I love soups because they’re the best way to sneak in extra veggies and reap all of the nutrients they have to offer!  I like to top this soup with nitrate/nitrite free bacon crumbles or the “chickpea croutons” from my kale caesar recipe.

What you need:

• 1 average sized butternut squash
• ~1 T avocado oil-divided
• 1 small onion-diced
• 3 cloves garlic-minced
• fresh ginger root, roughly 1 inch piece minced (can use more if you love ginger)
• 6 organic carrots-peeled
• 4 cups of vegetable stock or filtered water
• sea salt to taste
• optional: 1/2 cup full fat canned coconut milk (I like Trader Joes Organic)

How you do it:

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Cut butternut squash in half the long way, scoop out the seeds and drizzle the flesh with roughly 1/2 T avocado oil
3. Place the squash flesh side up on a baking sheet and bake for 50-60 minutes or until fork tender
4. While cooking the squash, chop carrots into bite sized pieces
5. Coat the bottom of a large saucepan with the remainder of the avocado oil (can also use ghee if you prefer)
6. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and saute on low for 2-3 minutes, add minced ginger
7. Add chopped carrots and butternut squash to the pot (scoop out squash in chunks once cooled and discard skins)
8. Add vegetable stock to just cover the veggies, bring to boiling and then simmer ~15 minutes (until carrots are cooked through)
9. Shut off heat and cool soup a bit then use an immersion blender to puree soup completely
10. Add salt to taste
11. Optional: Add 1/2 cup coconut milk to increase richness; add toppings of choice