It’s mid-October and keeping up with the abundance of our gardens can be a challenge (or your neighbor’s garden who wants to give you more zucchini than you know what to do with). As we transition into this new season it is also time for more soups and warming spices – salads make way. Spices offer so many health benefits I am always looking for ways to integrate a variety of them into what I eat daily.
Another thing about me, I am big on recipe substitutions, as there is a wide variety of what each of us needs to use to prepare food that is anti-inflammatory for us. I will make note of multiple options to use in recipes for ingredients that can be problematic for some (I have probably tried every variation I mention).
Here are a couple of my favorite fall soup recipes which also freeze well for an easy meal all winter long, and brownies to help use up that zucchini!
*Note: if you are freezing food in plastic containers or bags, always cool the food to fridge temperature before putting in plastic. Higher temperature and more fat content in the food are two factors that contribute to the amount leaching from the plastic into the food.
Pumpkin Mushroom Soup
- ½ lb of mushrooms
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 3 garlic cloves minced (or 1 tsp garlic granules, use less based on taste preference)
- ¼ tsp ground ginger OR ½ tsp fresh grated ginger (optional)
- 2 TBSP’s grass-fed butter (substitute coconut or avocado oil, or tallow for dairy free)
- 2 TBSP’s organic all-purpose flour (the soup will turn out perfectly fine if you use no flour, or substitute a gluten free thickener if desired)
- 1 tsp – 1 TBSP organic curry powder depending on taste preference (my favorite is from OM foods)
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups blended pumpkin (butternut squash works just as well, canned pumpkin would work but I don’t know why you would want to do that)
- 1 can of full fat coconut milk or 1 cup of half and half (use more or less depending on preference and higher or lower fat content based on preference – anything works here and you can also completely leave it out)
- 1 TBSP of Maple Syrup (honey works too)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
Saute mushrooms and onion in the oil in a large saucepan until tender.
Stir in the flour (optional), garlic, ginger and curry powder until blended and fragrant.
Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for approximately 2 minutes or until thickened.
Add pumpkin, “milk,” honey, salt, pepper and nutmeg and heat through.
I often double or triple this recipe, but I usually don’t use the full amount of broth to keep the soup a bit thicker. When you cook a whole pumpkin it will go a long way, so I blend the whole thing, make extra soup to freeze, save some for things like pancakes and muffins, and put some in the freezer for easy future use if needed.
Tomato Soup
(This recipe is adapted from the Spend with Pennies recipe blog)
This is great recipe for keeping up with tomatoes when they are ripening faster than you can can them. If you currently eat tomato soup from a can this is a great way to switch to something way more nutritious (and delicious). This soup freezes well and is great for a winter Sunday afternoon lunch.
- 3 lbs fresh ripe tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ onion roughly diced
- ½ red bell pepper roughly diced
- 2 TBSP’s olive or avocado oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 TBSPs of fresh herbs (basil/parsley/oregano) (Optional – delicious if you have, and still good if you don’t)
- Fresh basil and parsley for garnish (optional)
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese (optional garnish – do not use for dairy free)
- ½ cup coconut cream (for dairy free) or heavy cream
Preheat Oven to 450°
Wash and cut tomatoes (half or quarter depending on size)
Place tomatoes, garlic, onion, bell pepper, olive oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs on a large pan.
Roast for 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Turn oven to broil and broil 3-4 minutes or until some of the tomatoes have some char on them.
Bring chicken broth to a boil, add everything from the pan (tomatoes, etc.), and fresh herbs. Using a hand blender, blend mixture until smooth and creamy. Add heavy cream if using. *A regular blender works as well if you don’t have a hand blender, you will likely just have to blend it in batches.
Top with parmesan cheese if using.
Zucchini Brownies
- ½ cup almond butter (peanut or sunflower butter also work
- ¼ cup maple syrup (or honey)
- ½ cup of coconut oil (melted)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa/cacao powder
- ¾ cup gluten free oatmeal – blended in food processor (I use my coffee grinder) to consistency of flour.
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups shredded zucchini
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips (I use Lily’s Stevia sweetened chips so the brownies have zero sugar in them)
Preheat oven to 350° and line a 8x8 (9x9, 7x11 whatever you have) with parchment paper or oil.
In a large bowl mix together eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and coconut oil.
In a separate bowl stir together oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
Add dry ingredients to wet, stir until combined.
Add zucchini and almond butter and stir until combined.
Add chocolate chips and mix in.
Pour batter into prepared dish and bake for 20 minutes. Check with a toothpick. Depending on your pan they can sometimes take quite a bit longer (up to 30 or 40 minutes), continue checking until toothpick is clean.
Enjoy!
Freezing 1 ½ cup packages of grated zucchini is a perfect way to deal with extra zucchini and be ready to whip a batch of these brownies all winter long.
*Note: while these brownies are free of inflammatory ingredients, they offer a lot in the way of sustenance (meaning they have a lot of calories, as a lot of healthier baking does).