Super Lunch - Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup, Gluten-Free Carrot Muffin, Garbanzo Bean and Red Quinoa Salad.

I was starting to feel bloated from all the decadent eating we were doing during the holidays. It was great while it lasted, but now it's time to listen to my body and eat healthier.

I looked into the fridge and pantry and found quite a variety of veggies. Simplicity has been missing from my diet lately, so naturally I decided to make the ultimate Triple S - Super Soup and Salad! ...with gluten free super carrot muffins!

Red quinoa was an inspiration for making the salad. I never like eating quinoa by itself. I like it mixed with things. I also had some lovely aged English cheddar cheese to add a little kick. So I started to chop and throw everything in the bowl and ended up putting most of the things from the fridge into the salad. I'll know soon when I write down the recipe how many things I added in it. This salad goes against one of my beliefs - less is better - but it turned out great and tasted really good. (The funny bonus was that the salad tasted like it had some crab meat in it.)

As for the soup, I made butternut squash and sweet potato soup. I had never bought butternut squash before. It's a lot like Japanese pumpkin aka. kabocha. I'm a big fan of kabocha and always somehow felt bad to use butternut squash, like I was cheating kabocha. I made a big pot of butternut squash and sweet potato soup. The soup was a smash hit with the family and they ate it right up.

In addition, I also prepared some carrot muffins to go with it. I made them gluten free this time by using some of the most unique flour from Culinary Collective. Lima bean and Maca flours. I thought this is great with some cinnamon honey that was highly recommended by my husband's aunt, Tante Berit as the cure for all kinds of annoying illness.

After making this super lunch, it really hit me that simple clean meals make me happier than anything else at the end of the day (even though I admit that there was nothing simple about the salad with so many different things in it).

RECIPES

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup (makes one big pot):
1 medium butternut squash
3 large sweet potatoes
3 large carrots
1 large red onion
3 stokes of celery
3 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, paprika (1/2 tsp each)
5-7 cups of chicken soup stock
olive oil
salt and pepper

Peal butternut squash, sweet potato and carrots. Cut them into big chunks as well as celery and onion. Put all the ingredients in a big pot and add salt, pepper and other spices. Cook it for at least 30-45 min.

Put the soup in the blender and mix it until liquidy. Put it back in the pot and simmer it more if preferred.

Pesto Topping:
hand full of basil
1/4 cups of pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic
1/3 cups of oil
salt and pepper
shredded Parmesan cheese

Add everything except the cheese in the blender and add cheese.


Garbanzo Bean and Red Quinoa:
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 cup of cooked red quinoa
1 1/2 cup of chicken soup stock
1 can of yellow corn
1 pear diced
1 large tomato diced
1 avocado diced
2 boiled eggs diced
1 small red bell pepper diced
1/2 cup of chopped red onion
1 cup of cooked and chopped broccoli
shredded aged sharp cheddar cheese
spiced feta cheese

Dressing:
1/4 cup of champagne vinegar
1/2 orange juiced
1 lemon juiced
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of dejion mustard
salt and pepper

Cook quinoa in chicken soup stock. Let it cool. Open cans of beans and corn and drain the water. Rinse garbanzo beans with water. Dice all the other vegetables. Mix all the dressing ingredients and make dressing. Mix everything together in a big salad bowl and pour the dressing over. Add cheddar and feta cheeses and mix the salad lightly.


Carrot Muffin:

Dry;
1/2 cup of Lima Bean flour
1/4 cup of Maca flour
1/2 cup of Tapioca flour
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
1 tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg (1 tsp each)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Wet;
1 egg
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of shredded carrots

Preheat the oven at 360F. Mix wet, then mix dry stuff and mix them all together. Bake it for 35-45 minutes.


Cinnamon Honey:
Mix cinnamon power with honey. That's it!