We are at the tail end of the Winter Squash season but if you can find a butternut squash you need to make this soup. I was in Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods the other day and both still have butternut squash in stock. My daughter Katy made this recipe first and she said I needed to make it. She was right as it is filling and fabulous. I had to tweak it a little with the addition of about 4 cups of chopped kale to up the nutrition a tad and help us get in some of our daily greens. We just might be fighting over who gets that last bowl of deliciousness.
The recipe called for kidney beans but we also used a can of black beans. Like most soups its even better the second day making it one of those perfect leftover meals. You all know how much I love leftovers – those easy heat and eat meals make me happy!
Butternut Squash and Bean Chili
- 1 large onion, cut into medium dice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) petite-diced tomatoes
- 4 cups bite-size diced butternut squash
- 2 cans (15 to 16 ounces each) kidney beans, drained or black beans, pinto beans or a combination of you favorites
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 1 can (13.5 ounces) light coconut milk
- 4 cups chopped organic kale
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallion, white and green part – optional
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro – optional
Spray a dutch oven with non stick spray and heat it over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes – add a little water if needed to keep them from sticking. Add garlic, chili powder, paprika, and thyme; sauté until fragrant, about a minute. Add tomatoes; stew to reduce slightly, a couple of minutes longer. Add squash, kidney beans, broth, kale and coconut milk; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until squash are tender and flavors blend, about 30 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in scallions and cilantro if using; let stand to blend flavors, a few minutes longer. Serve, garnishing with extra scallions and cilantro if desired. Since I added kale we skipped the cilantro and green onions.
Yield: approximately 12 cups (I forgot to write it down but I think it was about 12 cups. You can always measure out how many cups you get or divide the finished soup into 6 bowls
Serves: 6
Serving Size: Approx 2 cups
Recipe adapted from Butternut Squash and Kidney Bean Chili from Three Many Cooks blog.
*Estimated Nutritional Information
Per Serving; Calories 242, Fat 5g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 768.3mg, Potassium 282.4mg, Carbohydrates 40.6g, Fiber 9.8g, Protein 10g, WWPP 6
*The nutritional information and WW PP values posted on Nutmeg Notebook are my best estimates based on the brands of products I use and the software programs used to calculate them. If you rely heavily on the nutritional information and WWPP values I encourage you to double check the values given, using the brands of products you use. If you find big differences feel free to email me or leave me a comment letting me know.
Nutmeg Notes
Going Green!
As many of you guessed we are moving towards a more plant based diet. Yes, even my meat loving hubby Tom is on board and loving this new way of eating. About a year ago I saw Dr Joel Fuhrman on the Dr Oz show. I read the Eat To Live book and although I was intrigued with what I read we were in the midst of planning Katy’s wedding. The timing wasn’t right to be making big changes to our food plan. Then of course after the wedding I was dealing with my foot issues, surgery and recovery. Again not a good time to switch up the food plan. It was however the perfect time to read books about healthy eating. Then one day not too long ago my daughter texted me and said I needed to turn on the Dr Oz show and listen to Dr Fuhrman talk about his Super Immunity book and food plan. The timing was right!
Why?
The past few years I have been on a quest to clean up our “diet” or food plan. We started eating more organic produce, organic dairy and organic animal products. So why make any more changes? Even with a healthy food plan my LDL cholesterol levels have been creeping up the past two years do to genetics. I haven’t felt really healthy since well before I had surgery. Sleepless nights, chronic pain and fatigue have taken a toll on my body and my spirit. The weight gained while being laid up for 7 months has been slow to come off. My doctor agreed to hold off on prescribing statin drugs and let me try more dietary changes to see if I can lower my cholesterol naturally and I hope to prove to him that I can do just that! I do believe that we are what we eat and that food can be used as medicine.
What is it?
“Flexitarian” is used to describe a diet or a person who eats a “mostly” vegetarian diet, occasionally including meat or animal products. Dr Fuhrman coined his food plan as a nutritarian diet which is a plant based high nutrient dense diet. The food plan includes lots of vegetables with an emphasis on green vegetables, beans, onions, mushrooms, nuts,seeds and whole grains. The less processed and more natural the food we choose the higher nutritional value it contains. Ninety percent of our new food plan comes from the previous list of healthy foods and that leaves room for 10 percent to come from animal products if we choose to do so. Animal products include all types of meat, dairy, fish and eggs. Healthy fats like nuts, seeds and avocados are favored over oil – yes even olive oil is used sparingly because it is calorie dense with little nutritional value.
Animal products are used sparingly
Instead of building a meal around “meat”, animal products can be used as a topping or a garnish to enhance the dish. I won’t lie, it kind of makes your brain do a flip when it comes to meal planning in the beginning. It’s a good time to be fearless in the kitchen and try some new recipes and be open to a new food plan. Almost everything I have made has been amazing! Oh there have been a couple things that won’t get an encore but the good stuff has been really good. Amazing soups, vegetarian bean burgers, lentil loaf, delicious salads, green smoothies, oatmeal berry bars and stuffed peppers have delighted our taste buds. I honestly don’t miss the meat. Hubby Tom is doing great and enjoys his 10 percent of animal products. One day after eating a lunch that included some chicken he requested a vegetarian meal for dinner – I nearly fell off my chair!
Results
We have been eating this way for just over 3 weeks. We have both dropped some weight – 5.6 pounds for me and around 8 pounds for hubby Tom. We are sleeping better and seem to have more energy. That would be a success in my book!
Learn More
If you are curious about a vegetarian, flexitarian or nutritarian diet and the benefits they offer I encourage you to read some of the books shown above. There is so much scientific research to support eating a plant heavy diet. There is a ton of information on the internet about eating a plant based diet. You can read more about the Super Immunity Diet on the Dr Oz site here. Visit the Forks Over Knives website or watch the video on Netflix. The Engine 2 Diet is also a plant based food plan and offers many recipes on their web site. If you are a Weight Watcher follower there is even a group of Vegetarian’s who are eating a nutrient dense diet while counting points. Check out their posts on the WW Message Boards under Vegetarians.
I am not a medical professional, jut a blogger sharing her adventure as she strives to become as healthy as she can be through lifestyle changes. I encourage you to discuss any dietary changes with your personal physician and get their consent.
Future Posts?
I have wrestled with how or if I should even continue blogging. I know that many of you may stop following the blog as my new food plan may not appeal to your sense of taste. That will make me sad as I have made so many friends through the blog. For those of you who are curious about how this all works out I have decided to continue blogging about my adventures into the plant world! I will be posting some delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes with a sprinkling of recipes that include animal products. We served a wonderful chicken dish on Easter Sunday along side an amazing salad with a nut based home made salad dressing. Dessert was a moist and delicious yet healthy chocolate cake that was rich in nutrients and enjoyed by all. You are going to love these recipes!
I hope you will enjoy my new culinary adventures and garner some healthy food and nutrition tips that you can incorporate into your own food plan. There will be future posts about the nutritarian food plan as I share what I am learning about how what we eat is directly related to our health.
To your health!
Tami
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question.
Would you like to know more about the flexitarian / nutritarian food plan?
I am glad that you found an eating plan that seems to work for you and your husband. I am definitely not at the place where I want to try a more plant based diet…..but I respect your decision. I hope you will not take your “meat” recipes off your website…..as I really do enjoy making them. And glad to hear you will still occasionally post some.
While I love your recipes….I do genuinely enjoy reading about your life and wish you the very best!
Thank you Kim! I intend to leave all the recipes on the blog just as they are. I will still make some of the meat dishes from time to time when we entertain. We are not giving up animal products but rather we are cutting back on them and eating a more plant centered diet. I am delighted to know that you will continue to visit the blog! Have a great weekend!
I am an omnivore, but I read all kinds of eating style blogs. As long as they aren’t preachy about it.
John eats less meat than I do, which is why we cook together so he can do whatever he wants if he doesn’t want meat and I happen to be making a dish with that.
I know that one style of eating isn’t right for everyone – we all have to choose something that we can live with long term. Hubby Tom eats way more meat than I care to have but we can still eat pretty much the same meals – he just supplements with a little more meat. I think it’s going to work out well for us. Sounds like you and John have figured out how to make it work! Have a great weekend Lori!
Having friends all over the meal-preference map (vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, flexitarian, etc.), I’ve gotten used to folks moving between one way of eating to another (and sometimes back again. LOL) I eat more plant-based meals these days due to budget, but I doubt I’ll ever completely convert to any other way of eating. The good thing about that is that almost *any* recipe will fit into my plan. 🙂
Thank you for your support Cammy! With the price of meat going up its a perfect time to eat beans, rice and veggies! Have a great weekend!
I love your site and am so glad to see you going green! I too am trying to follow Dr. Fuhrman’s food plan and am looking for more recipes for this lifestyle. Please please continue blogging with your great recipes, product and food reviews and everyday chats. Good luck with green eating!
Hi Di! Another “green buddy”! Thank you for letting me know you are also following Dr Fuhrman’s food plan, good to know that someone will be doing this with me. You might enjoy the cookbook “Unprocessed” as it is full of recipes created by chef AJ who has been following a plant based diet for years. I have many recipes bookmarked to try. Feel free to share tips, websites or recipes with me as well. Happy Healthy Eating!
I saw him too and my husband had read the book. He’d gone vegetarian in the past year and would like to go closer to vegan. I’m trying to bridge the gap between our eating plans and am willing to edge closer and closer to vegetarian with him as long as it doesn’t mean lots of pasta! So I for one would LOVE if you continue with recipes on this new plan:)
Hi Karen! First of all it’s so nice to see you leave a comment. I miss you and your blog! I am amazed at how many people are leaning towards a more plant based diet. I would highly recommend the “Eat For Health” book by Dr Fuhrman as well as his Nutritarian Handbook- it is small enough to tuck into your purse and refer to at the grocery store. Eat For Health is broken into three different phases of going green so you can choose the level that best fits your health and weight situation as well as how “green” you want to go. We don’t eat any pasta, in fact we eat very little grains – that is our choice. Mostly Eziekel bread, whole wheat pita, brown rice or Quinoa if we have a grain selection. I am eating very little animal products – only one serving of chicken or fish once a week and that’s it – no eggs, no dairy for me right now. Once I get back to my goal weight I might add a little more back in and see how I do with it.
I am super excited that I have so many people who are doing this with me! Plus just knowing that someone is going to enjoy the recipes, tips and conversation about a plant based diet makes me feel better about posting on the topic. I am so happy! 🙂
Together we will all learn what works and what doesn’t. Feel free to share any tips, hints and recipes that your hubby has already discovered – I am so in the infant stage with this! Have a great weekend. 🙂
I’m thrilled you are making this change. I have begun the same process in the last six weeks and wil be following your progress closely. I am currently introducing this concept to my family very slowly. They respect my choice and are receptive to some of the changes. I have given up meat, while they continue to eat it less frequently.
I look forward to reading the books you have suggested and enjoying your tasty recipes…so please don’t quit blogging!!
Oh Marilyn I understand about taking it slowly with the family. Not everyone will be thrilled with the changes and it takes time for our taste buds to adapt as well. I am beyond delighted to know that you are also going more plant based with your food plan. Together I know we will all figure it out and be healthier as well. I am super excited to know that so many of us are doing the same thing. Seriously I am nearly jumping up and down in my chair with excitement! I guess I didn’t expect such a good response to my food plan changes nor did I anticipate that so many of you were also doing heading towards a more plant based diet. Thank you for sharing with me. It’s so great to know we are doing this together. Feel free to share any tips, hints or recipes that you have found – sounds like you are about 3 weeks ahead of me! Have a fantastic weekend!
I would like to share a recipe!! I found it on the Slender Kitchen blog. It’s called Hippie Hash. I am obsessed!! I’ve made it three times in six weeks. It’s easy to adjust for taste in vegetables and spice level. My family likes it, also. Hope you enjoy it!
Marilyn thank you so much for sharing about that recipe. Great to know your family liked it too! With your recommendation I have to try it! Thank you! 🙂
How exciting! I can’t wait to hear more and see the recipes you try. Don’t even THINK about discontinuing the blog. For me, it isn’t just about the recipes you post or the food you eat. You’ve become my friend and I’d certainly hate to lose that.
Thank you for the support Sharon! I feel like you are a friend as well and I would miss my blogging friends if I stopped posting. I just had no idea now people would respond to the news of me going to a more plant based diet. I thought I might lose the majority of my readers. It’s great to know that you enjoy more than just the recipes. I am excited to share what I am learning and the new recipes I am cooking. The food is outstanding and so healthy not to mention filling! Have a wonderful weekend!
I love that you are finding what works for you & weight loss is an added benefit along with feeling great & sleeping better! 🙂
I have tummy probs with lots of the vegan & vegetarian foods & don’t really want to be on Beano all the time. 😉 BUT I love reading different things so I will be reading!
Another issue for me is I don’t like to cook & spend a lot of time in the kitchen & with meal planning & cooking & prepping so this is another area that kinda is not right for me.. but maybe you will help show EASY stuff! 🙂
Very happy for you!
How is the foot?
I appreciate that you don’t like to cook but you still follow my blog Jody! 🙂 Making salads with pre-washed produce that is cut up and ready to go is pretty simple and I love the convenience of it! I am making my own salad dressings but only have to do that about every 4 days so that’s not bad. I will for sure be showing some simple recipes that can be made with out too much fuss.
The foot has been dealing me fits for a couple of weeks – not sure what’s going on but hope it passes!
Hello,Tami,
I am pretty new to the eating plans that you speak of but I consider you to be one of the most credible and responsible food writers in blogdom! I look forward to each one of your posts and greatly value your perspective in this amazing labryinth of food and healthy eating. Looking forward to hearing more about your experiences with more vegies and plant protein and less meat–
Linda
Thank you for the compliment Linda that was very kind of you. I am just sharing what I am learning and hope then that others will do their own research and decide for themselves if they should make any dietary changes. Knowledge is power! Thank you for your support and I look forward to hearing more from you in the future! 🙂
I have been a weight watcher fan for many years… Recently I have realized that the low fat food they preach about is not good for your body… I’ve lately been following “thank your body” , “holistic squid”, “100 days of real food” etc. I want the toxins out of my body!
I have heard of the 100 days of real food blog but not the others. Sounds like you are making some good changes to your diet Carrie. Wishing you much success with this and if you have any hints, tips or recipes to share feel free to do so. 🙂 We will all learn how to navigate this new eating plan together!
I just read Super Immunity and definitely like the idea of focusing on nutrient-dense foods. We have been cutting back on the amount of animal products we eat over the past years. At this point, we still eat more animal products than Dr. Fuhrman recommends, but the focus of every meal is greens. I have also been reading some books about the benefits of certain animal products, so at this point, I am doing more of a mixture of different meal plans, and it works for us.
I’m looking forward to your meatless recipes and updates of how your new way of eating is going! I always look forward to your posts!
I like your approach to your families food plan Andrea. I have seen your weekly menu selections and think you are doing a wonderful job of balancing the nutrition for your family. In Dr Fuhrman’s Eat For Health book he outlines 3 different levels of a plant based diet and each one uses a different weekly amount of animal products. I think it is a more user friendly program than what he outlines in his other books and more people will be willing to try a more plant based diet that isn’t so rigid!
Thank you for your support! I always appreciate your thoughtful comments. 🙂
I’m looking forward to reading about your transition to a more plant-based diet. That’s an idea I’ve had for some time, but haven’t made the leap for various reasons. Here’s another book that you may find helpful as you make the transition: The Plant -Powered Diet by Sharon Palmer. The author is a Registered Dietician, and so the book is both science -based and practical, with advice on how to structure a plant-based meal. Very useful!
Hi Elaine, thank you for the book recommendation. I will look into that one. Figuring out what to serve when you go plant based is a learning curve for sure.
You better not stop blogging! How else will I know what to cook? 🙂
I don’t think you need me to help you decide what to cook – you are doing a fine job of that! 🙂
Tami, good for you. Change is never easy and some people will never understand. It’s raining here in South Florida so took time and watched Forks Oveer Knives. WOW!! The older I get I am slowly changing my eating habits. It sounds like by changing my diet my health will improve greatly. Sounds win win!! Very interesting. Please continue your blog and share your journey! Will keep you posted on how I am doing!!
Margie – so glad you got to watch the video. It is life changing to say the least. Changing isn’t easy when you have been conditioned to eat a certain way most of your life but that doesn’t mean we can’t change. Funny how as you said as we get older we are changing our eating habits and taking more of an interest in how it will affect our health. I look forward to your updates on how your new food plan is going too. Feel free to share any hints, tips or recipes that you find useful. 🙂
Good luck on your adventure Tami! so far, the weight loss is impressive!! I am looking forward to following your plan. I won’t be adapting it for myself, but I hope to be able to take away some good tips and recipes to incorporate into my own family’s diet. 🙂
Hi Renee! I think everyone can benefit from some new healthy plant based recipes even if they are just side dishes and not the main meal it helps to balance things out nutritionally speaking. I am delighted with the weight loss since I was barely able to get my weight to budge prior to going green! It’s great to know you will still be reading and following along. 🙂
Good luck Tami, I hope this meal plan works for you! I look forward to hearing about it as well! I love butternut squash, and actually have one on my counter I wasn’t sure what to do with!
I am so sad that the season for winter squash is coming to an end! I love all kinds of squash and could eat it everyday!
Good!
I’ve been eating vegan with seafood for a long time.
I am so excited about this food plan Dr J!
even with my jokes about my LOOOVE OF THE BEEF JERKY I am most plant based too outside of that.
GOOD LUCK
We all have our favorite little “treats” we just can’t give up!
I will continue to follow along, as I am always curious when people try new food plans. I come here for your writing and personality first, then the recipes – it will just be different!
That being said, my SIL would love that butternut squash chili – thanks to you and Katy for sharing it! 😀
That chili sounds amazing. I’m such a fan of butternut squash.
Good luck with the new food plan. Sounds interesting actually. I’d love to see how you work it into your life.
I’m excited to see the new plan and am glad you aren’t stopping blogging!! 🙂 Have a great day Tami!
Thanks Roz!
Made this for a potluck tonight. Since I eat plant strong, I made a huge pot so I’d be sure to have something to eat. By the time I got to it there was only 1 little scoop left, but boy was it outstanding!!! I’ll be making this again soon. Instead of the beans suggested, I used the Sprouted Bean Trio which includes lentils, adzuki and mung beans – I get a huge bag at Costco. Also added some finely shredded collards. Just delicious – best blend of seasoning. Thank you so much!
Susan
Susan I am so glad you liked this soup and so did all the people you served it to! I have used the sprouted bean trio from Costco and it’s delicious. Thank you for coming back and letting me know you liked it! 🙂 Happy Cooking!
Definitely looks healthy, and I like squash so this suits me plus I’m on a project of making my mom eat healthier so gotta try new recipes for her too.