My family and I have been warming ourselves up recently with this ‘Hearty Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup.’ The red chilli flakes in the recipe are optional – I left them out of my daughter’s portions but my husband, Glenn, and I got an extra fiery hit from them! This nourishing ‘Winter Warmer’ soup is full of nutritious whole foods that are brimming with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre. It is a soup that does not require big slabs of bread on the side to dip in as it is just so filling, satisfying and tasty in it’s own right. Here is the recipe if your taste buds are tantalised and you’re looking for a great, nourishing addition to your own menu this winter.
Ingredients:
- 1 large butternut squash,
- 2 onions,
- 12 celery stalks,
- 10 (yes 10!) garlic cloves,
- 6 sweet potatoes,
- 6 cups vegetable stock,
- 4 dried bay leaves,
- 3tbsp cumin seeds,
- 1 tsp (or more to taste) chilli flakes,
- 1tsp ground cloves,
- apple cider vinegar (to taste.)
Recipe:
- Roast the butternut squash for 40 mins until tender. Cool then remove the seeds (discard) and scoop out flesh (set aside.)
- Heat 1tbsp water and saute the onion, garlic, celery for 10 mins.
- Add sweet potato and stock to pan and bring to low boil.
- Add bay leaves, cumin seeds, chilli flakes and cloves. Simmer 10 mins.
- Stir in roasted squash and simmer until all veg tender (15 mins)
- Enjoy unblended and chunky or blend if preferred, add the apple cider vinegar and enjoy!
The Sweet Potato has an incredibly high Vitamin A content for eye and immune health and the delicious mixture of complex carbohydrates, including Butternut Squash, will result in a reduced blood glucose rise and sustained energy levels!
But I have a question for you to consider…
What are you doing to nourish yourself OFF the plate as well?
Black Combe in Cumbria is where I headed to for my nourishment this week. I had gratefully accepted a ‘Well Being Day’ from the school where I also work and was given the day off for it. Although it wouldn’t be everyone’s idea of a Well Being Day ‘well spent,’ a walk up Black Combe is what I chose to do and it served me well. It’s a walk my late Dad and I used to talk about doing together. We did many, many wonderful walks together but never did get around to this one.
Glenn and I battled the wind and rain all the way to the top, putting one foot in front of the other, unable to see much of what lay ahead of us due to the low lying cloud that the weather forecast had promised would lift! Half way up I did question why I hadn’t booked myself in for a spa day, as another of my colleagues had done, BUT for me the joy and the benefits I received from moving my body, from the invigorating climb that got my blood pumping, from the fresh air in my lungs, from being surrounded by nature and not another soul in sight apart from the sheep and birds, from the only consistent sound of the wind and rain……all far outweighed any benefits of relaxation and pampering I would have gotten in the spa and these kind would last much longer too!
After a quick, soggy picnic at the summit, even Sansa the dog was pleased to be on the way back down and there was a brief lull in the weather, which allowed us a bright, glittering glimpse of the stunning sea view momentarily before the cloud returned .
Afterwards I felt tired from the strenuous climb and, as I dried off and rested at home, I was aware of a state of deep relaxation throughout my entire nervous system as well. I have learnt in recent years that the more my nervous system is regulated and in the favourable Parasympathetic state of ‘rest and digest’ the better I can control my blood sugar levels and the more relaxed and resilient to stress I am. Once I understood this connection and did all I could to support the health of my nervous system, this was one of the KEY TURNING POINTS on my own journey to better health and, crucially, optimising my diabetes management.
So, I invite you to think about what you will do this week to regulate your own nervous system, to reduce stress and that anxious feeling of ‘fight or flight’ that we all so commonly feel? How will you shift out of that ‘Sympathetic’ state and prioritise what will transition you into the ‘Parasympathetic’ state that your body will thrive in? It doesn’t have to be anything expensive like a spa day. It could be a walk in nature, a bath with essential oils and a good book, lunch and a laugh with friends, an early night, some meditation…but whatever it is, why not plan when you will do it. Write it in your diary or mark it on your calendar as a priority because it is just as important, if not more so, than whatever else is on there!