“The best soup you’ll ever make” – THAT is a bold claim. But I’ve been alive 27 years, and I have considered myself a “soup person” for as long as I can remember. I can solidly say that this is hands-down the greatest soup I have ever had.

There is something about being sick and cooped up inside that makes me a little stir crazy. I have strep and generally feel yuck. I don’t feel like getting out of bed, let alone cooking a meal. But it’s just as important to eat high quality food when you are sick – if not more so!

I am following Whole30 and was only 3 days in when I started feeling blah. But I definitely did not want to have to start over just because of a few sick-day comfort food cravings. When I’m sick (specifically sore throat sick), I generally want Lipton boxed soup, lemon gatorade and popsicles. That’s it. Not exactly Whole30 compliant.

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner, and I happened upon this recipe that looked like a nice starting point. I made a few adjustments. It yielded a really delicious soup with a lot of layers to it. It was creamy, just the right consistency, sweet, savory, and with just the right amount of kick. As I made it, it fit Paleo and Whole30 rules. You could easily adapt it for a vegetarian or vegan diet. I loved it so much that I’m planning to make it again today. It would be absolutely perfect for a cooler day, or for getting a dense amount of nutrients in your body if you are on the mend like me. It is higher on the fat side but you could make several adjustments to negate that.

If you are not a fan of spice, you might want to skip or alter the chorizo and the cayenne pepper. Give this a try (maybe make your own tweaks like I did!) and let me know how you like it!

Kitchen items:

• • Medium stock pot
  • Food processor or high-powered blender (my instructions will be for a Vitamix)

Ingredients:

• • 1 apple, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes (I used honeycrisp)
  • 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1 inch cubes (I bought pre cut because life is short)
  • Salt, pepper and cinnamon to sprinkle over the roasted items
  • 4 oz. chorizo (Could use ground turkey with some spices if you’re looking to cut out some of the fat)
  • 1 gold onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves pressed garlic
  • 1 tsp ginger (I used dried, but you could use shaved fresh ginger as well)
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • Pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Pinch nutmeg
  • 1 can coconut milk (I used a 13.5 ounce can of lite coco milk because I thought this soup had enough fat as it stands.)
  • 1-3 cups chicken broth (I only used one cup, but I like a thicker consistency soup. One cup yields soup about the consistency of applesauce.)
  • Optional – 2 scoops collagen peptides
  • Optional – 1 ripe avocado
  • Optional – Cilantro and pumpkin seeds to garnish

Recipe:

1. 1. Preheat oven to 425. Spread apple and squash on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cinnamon (easy on the cinnamon). Roast for 20-25 minutes or until squash are soft and a little golden on the outside. You’ll need to cook for quite a bit longer if you’re using a whole squash as opposed to pre-cut. Around 45 minutes. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
   2. Heat a greased stock pot over medium. Add chorizo and onion. Brown for about 4 minutes, then add ginger and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
   3. Stir in salt, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut milk and broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
   4. While soup is simmering and squash are roasting, cut your avocado (if you are using one. This part is optional. If you’re watching your fats, you can exclude this. I don’t eat much while I’m sick so I wanted to get as many nutrients as I possibly could. Plus it made the soup so much creamier. Win.)
   5. When squash mixture is done, pour half your roastings into the Vitamix. Add half the stock-pot soup mixture, half the avocado and one scoop of collagen peptides as well.
   6. Pulse the mixture on setting one, about 10 times. Then turn on all the way at setting one, progressing every 10 seconds until you get to setting 6. Pour the blended mixture into a serving or storage bowl. If you don’t have a Vitamix, no problem. Do whatever you need to to get the soup well-assimilated – AKA – nice and smooth.
   7. Repeat step 6 with the other half of the ingredients.
   8. Portion soup into bowls. Garnish with fresh cilantro and a few shelled, unsalted pumpkin seeds.

This yields 4 servings. Nutrition facts if made as written: 227 calories / 15g fat (5.4 saturated), 18g carbs, 11.3g protein.