Plyo Legs and Pumpkin Soup

While we haven’t had snow here, it’s been cold nonetheless. Although, if it’s going to be this cold, some snow might be nice. Anyway, I was very glad that my workout was an at-home workout this evening. I made it through STS Disc 35, Plyo Legs. It consisted of alternating between weighted exercise like squats or static lunges and plyo exercises like lateral jumps over a step or plyo jacks. Legs are sufficiently fried thank you Cathe.

After the workout, I really didn’t want anything too heavy or too labor intensive. And with it being cold, I’ve wanted cold-weather dinners like soup and chili. I had some leftover roasted butternut squash from my Butternut Squash and Black Bean Quesadillas. I also had a can of pumpkin puree. So, what do you get? A pumpkin soup of course.

Here’s how it went:

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• Olive oil (just enough to sauté onions
• 2-3 carrots, chopped 
  
• 1/2 white onion diced
• 1 cup roasted butternut squash (cubed)
• Minced garlic to taste
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 32 oz boxes low-sodium vegetable broth* (approx. 48 oz.)
• Spices to taste: salt, pepper, nutmeg, parsley, red pepper, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon 

Directions:
In large pot, sauté onions with drizzle of olive oil and garlic until onions are translucent. Add butternut squash, pumpkin, cannellini beans, broth, and spices. Let simmer approximately 30 minutes or until carrots are softened.

Transfer soup into a large bowl. In small batches, puree until smooth in blender or food processor and transferring back into pot. Once all of the soup has been pureed, simmer on low for approximately 15 minutes. Remember to retaste and reseason if needed.

I had some leftover homemade ciabatta bread as well. So I toasted that up and served on the side with a small salad of leaf lettuce, fresh spinach, and baby Roma tomatoes.

* Note: you may need to add additional broth if soup becomes too thick. Another option would be to add a splash of milk or soy milk.