Butternut Squash Soup with Yogurt

More soup? Yeah, it's seriously that cold out! This recipe even includes curry powder for double warming power. It's a really simple recipe based on Ellie Krieger's Curried Butternut Squash Soup; I've left out the honey, but add two tablespoons as the original recipe suggests if you like.

Butternut squash in its natural state can be difficult to work with, but Trader Joe's sells cubed butternut squash pieces in the fresh vegetable section and they work really well in this recipe. It's a little more expensive (mainly because whole squashes are so cheap!) but you'll probably save yourself 20 minutes of chopping and seeding.

This also freezes really well! I got about six meals from one batch, and immediately froze most of it in individual servings. You can even freeze it directly in a canning jar or other leak-proof container and just grab one in the morning and let it defrost at your desk.

I rounded out the meal with a container of plain 2% yogurt stirred right into the soup (use way more than Krieger's recommended 4 teaspoons if you want to make a real meal out of it) and a handful of Trader Joe's sesame melba toasts. And if this looks good but you don't have time to make the recipe, well, Trader Joe's sells organic butternut squash soup in a box that's pretty good, too ;-)

Grocery list

• Cubed butternut squash 1 lb. (or about 1 whole squash)
• Onion - 1 medium
• Plain yogurt - 1 container
  
• Melba toast, bread or crackers (great to keep at work)

 Pantry

• Curry powder - 1 tbsp. (or more, depending how spicy yours is. I used Rajah hot curry powder.)
• Vegetable stock or water - 6 cups
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Oil - 1 tbsp.
• Salt - about 1/2 tsp. (depending how salty your stock is) 
• Canola oil - 1 tbsp.

Directions

Roughly chop the onion and smash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife (no need to chop). In the bottom of a large stockpot or dutch oven, heat the canola oil and cook the onion and garlic until they soften, about 7 minutes. Add the stock, squash and curry powder (you may want to add the salt at the end once you see how it tastes. Cover and simmer on medium for 1 hour. The squash should squish easily when it's ready. Let cool about 20 minutes before and then blend it together - an immersion blender works best, but you can also do it in a blender or food processor in batches.

Separate it into individual containers and you're set for a week!

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
To bring: canning jar or other leak-proof container

Simple Pea Soup

Are you freezing your tail off yet? I think mine chipped off and shattered in pieces across a busy intersection somewhere around early December. Of course when it's freezing out, all you probably want for lunch is a hot bowl of comforting soup, but the last thing you want to do is make a mad dash through the cold to Hale & Hearty to get it. Problem solved, my friends. Hands on time for this soup is actually around 10-15 minutes, and it's mostly chopping. It needs to simmer for about an hour, but you don't have to be around for that!

One of my favorite shortcuts is to use a tablespoon of Better than Bouillon instead of stock or MSG-containing regular bouillon. It's basically a concentrated paste version of the same things you'd find in stock-in-a-box anyway, and no heavy boxes to lug home and store. I'm already assuming you're not going to make your own stock - even I find that a pain!

(Just as a caution, some of Better than Bouillon's products contain autolyzed yeast extract, which is related to MSG, so I tend to go for their organic and kosher lines. I also ignore their suggestion for 1.5 tablespoons of base per quart of water - way too salty!)

Grocery list

• Dried peas - 16 oz. bag
• Carrots - 1 large (or a handful of baby sized)
• Onion - 1 small
• Sausage - I used one link of Trader Joe's all-natural chicken andouille sausage, diced. (Veggie sausage or traditional diced ham would also be good.)
• Stock - 1 tbsp. of Better than Bouillon Organic Beef Base plus 6 cups of water, or 6 cups of the stock of your choice

 Pantry

• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Oil - 2 tbsp.
• Salt (optional)
• Pepper

Directions

Dice the onions and sausage and mince the garlic. Sautee everything together in a large pot or dutch oven for 10-15 minutes until the onions are translucent and some of the fat has rendered out of the sausage (dice the carrots while you're waiting.) Add 6 cups of water and a tablespoon of Better than Bouillon (or 6 cups of stock), the entire bag of peas and your diced carrots. Stir to combine, crack as much pepper as you want into it, and cover. Turn the heat to low and simmer for an hour. Check it when the time is up - the peas should be mostly mushed together and not taste mealy. Add more salt and pepper if desired.

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: about 5 servings
To bring: canning jar or other leak-proof container

Winter Salad Inspiration

Some winters I'll go weeks without eating an actual salad. Without ripe tomatoes around, it's easy to become uninspired! But I do believe that a fresh-looking and tasting salad is still possible, even without much planning. The best part about this salad is that everything (including the lettuce) had been hanging around in my kitchen for over a week! The only fresh ingredients are the lettuce, carrots and green onions. Items like chickpeas and almonds are great pantry staples that store forever and easily punch up a salad, plus they both add protein! I store the rest of the chickpeas in their canning liquid in a container in the fridge.

Grocery list

• Lettuce (bagged, of course)
• Carrots
• Green onions
• Cheese (not used here)

 Pantry

• Nuts
• Beans
• Dressing

Directions

This is less of a recipe than it is just general salad inspiration. I'd love to hear other ideas of pantry items to easily mix into fabulous winter salads...Craisins, anyone?

Yield: 1 salad
To bring: plastic container

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Questions about the cooking method? Please let me know in the comments!

[Leftover] Turkey Chili

I always feel silly writing recipes for chili. Everyone pretty much has their own method, and it's so easy, anyway! But in case you've got a huge container of leftover turkey haunting your fridge, and can't stand the thought of one more turkey sandwich, I present my favorite post-Thanksgiving recipe. Fill five canning jars with the results and your lunch is set for a week! Apologies for the less than stellar picture, but it's not much prettier even when you can see the chili clearly!

Grocery list

• Kidney beans - 4 cans or 20 oz. cooked dried beans
• Jalapeno peppers - 4 medium
• Onions - 2 medium
• Crushed tomatoes - 16 oz.
• Tomato sauce - 12 oz.

 Pantry

• Leftover turkey - about 3 cups chopped (I'm assuming you have this on hand! If not, I think a pound of browned ground turkey would work well.)
• Garlic - 4 cloves
• Olive oil
• Seasonings: Salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, paprika, anything else you like

Directions

Dice the onions and jalapenos and mince the garlic. Saute them in a bit of olive oil over medium heat until the onions are transparent but not browned. Stir occasionally and cover in between stirrings so the jalapeno vapors don't get to you! In a slow cooker or large stockpot on medium heat, combine the turkey, beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and sauteed vegetables. Season to taste (I used about a teaspoon of each spice listed) and cook for about 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the turkey has broken down a bit and everything is well blended.

Yield: 6-8 servings
To bring: canning jar!

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Questions about the cooking method? Please let me know in the comments!

Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich

Just how delicious this lunch is in relation to its extremely low prep time is surprising - you could seriously slap this puppy together in two minutes before you run out of the house, and have a super tasty lunch to look forward to all morning! Roasted red peppers are a great item to keep around for last minute sandwiches. They keep well in the jar they're packaged in, but still have most of the nutrition of fresh red peppers.

The way I've made it, this has about two servings of cheese. If you want to cut back and just use one serving, bulk it up with some leafy greens - I think arugula would be great!

Grocery list

• Bread (baguette or sub roll) - about 6 inches.
• Cheese (brie, mozzarella, etc.) - 2 ounces
• Roasted red peppers - 2 whole peppers, or several strips (I used Whole Foods 365 Organic brand)
• Optional - pesto, mustard, basil leaves, arugula

Directions

Slice the peppers in half so they'll lay flat (if they've been packaged whole). I'd also suggest patting them dry with a paper towel if you're not going to eat this right away. It really only needs the peppers and cheese, but if you happen to have some basil or pesto on hand...well, just be careful not to eat the whole thing right there on the spot!

Yield: 1 serving
To bring: sandwich bag

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Questions about the cooking method? Please let me know in the comments! 

Grab 'n Go: Cottage Cheese, Crackers, Cookie, Apple, Coconut Water

Friends! Readers! I've been absent, I know. But I have a really good reason. Possibly the best reason there could be. I done got me a job! I'm working with Spoons Across America, a non-profit that aims to teach kids about cooking and healthy eating (which is basically my one true jam - yay!) And I'm primarily working on their social media content, which hasn't left a lot of time for generating content here. But I'll figure out a balance, don't you worry! Meantime, check out their website, blog and follow us on Twitter!

Speaking of time, I'm also excited that working in an office again will allow me to personally relate to the "no time the night before" dilemma that you guys selected as the number one reason (55%) that it's hard to bring a healthy lunch in my poll a few weeks back. Since I can't magically add time to your evenings, I decided to create a new feature, "Grab 'n Go" in which I, with all my professional studying-to-one-day-be-a-real-dietitian knowledge, balance out a lunch consisting of ingredients that you can literally just drop into a paper bag on your way out the door (or, say, five paper bags you stash in your fridge on Sunday night).

The main trouble with grab and go items is that, other certain fruits and maybe yogurt, most packaged items are highly processed and don't pass my healthy food sniff test. And in my experience, they don't always satisfy the "real food" craving that tends to pop up when lunch rolls around. But I'm going to do my best to scout out products that will work - if you have any suggestions, definitely let me know!

For today's meal, I selected:

Grocery list

• Breakstone's cottage cheese cup ($3.69 for 4)
• Ian's organic wheat crackers ($4.99 for 6)
• Country Choice organic oatmeal cranberry cookie ($4.99 for 8)
• Apple ($0.50)
• Zico coconut water (my new obsession) ($1.79)

I thought it would be interesting to check out some nutritional and financial stats. In total, the meal has:

• Calories - 415
• Fat - 7 grams
• Sodium - 675 mg
• Carbs - 74 grams
• Fiber - 9 grams
• Sugar - 42 grams
• Protein - 14 grams
• Cost - $4.66

Not too shabby. The sugar content seems high, but keep in mind that the apple packs about 13 grams of fruit sugar, and you'd be drinking more than 42 grams of added sugar if you downed a regular soda with your meal anyway. The main reason I've been so obsessed with coconut water recently is that it only has 14 grams of sugar, which is way less than other fruit juices. Plus, at least psychologically, the electrolytes provide a great mid afternoon boost without all the sodium of a sports drink. Sodium is also bound to be an issue when eating mostly packaged foods, but 675 mg in this meal is around a fourth of the recommended max of 2400 mg (for a 2000 calorie diet), so I think that's pretty good too.

I think $4.66 is definitely a good deal considering most lunches out cost around $8-10 (in my experience) but you're definitely also paying for the convenience of pre-packaged products. Clearly you could cut down the total cost by packaging the crackers and cottage cheese yourself, but I guess that would kind of defeat the purpose of grab and go!

Yield: 1 lunch
To bring: paper bag

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Questions about the cooking method? Please let me know in the comments!

DIY Yogurt Cup

Ok, I'm officially obsessed with this. And I've been obsessed ever since I came across the idea on The Kitchn - why hadn't I thought of it before?! Using a canning jar to store your lunch is just plain brilliant - it's pretty much leak proof, first of all, but it's also just so darn cute and pretty.

"But where oh where do I get a canning jar?" you ask? I picked up a few at The Brooklyn Kitchen for just over a dollar each, but canning supplies are all over the place these days. Many Whole Foods stock them, and I've also seen the jars at dollar stores. Any jar will do if you really can't find one, just make sure you're confident in its ability not to leak.

I also love this because so many yogurt cups are loaded with sugar, and here you get to control the precise sugar content. Don't feel limited to jam - fruit and honey are also options! It's also a great way to save money and buy larger containers of yogurt instead of smaller (non-recyclable) cups. I love the idea of dolling out yogurt and jam into five jars on a Sunday night, then topping them off with nuts or granola stashed at your desk when you plan to eat them!

I'm wondering what else would be good to bring in a canning jar...right now I'm thinking oatmeal, maybe soup. So much better for the microwave than plastic, and not much heavier. Any other suggestions?

Grocery list

• Plain yogurt (I used Stoneyfield Farm's organic reduced-fat version)
• Small canning jar (I'm assuming you'll have to buy this...)
• Optional: fruit, honey, etc.

 Pantry

• Jam or preserves (a low-sugar version would be great)
• Nuts or granola
  

Directions

Spoon the jam into the bottom of the jar. About two tablespoons works for me, but use whatever you like. Top with about a cup of yogurt. For the jar pictured, I actually put everything together more than 24 hours before eating it, and the walnuts I used weren't soggy at all. But, if you plan to use granola or store the cups for a few days, it might be better to add the topping when you're ready to eat it.

Yield: 1 serving
To bring: canning jar!

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Questions about the cooking method? Please let me know in the comments! 

Avocado Toast

I know what you're thinking - what a pretty picture! Many thanks to Ferris of Dove + Sparrow wedding photography for teaching me how to actually use my camera! To think, all this time I was trying to shoot with fluorescent lights. And who knew aluminum foil had uses outside of the kitchen? Stop by her newly designed site to see some great photography (and yes, stalk pictures of my wedding!)

On to the gloriously photographed food at hand...although, avocados are fairly glorious no matter how bad the photo is. I love that they come in their own packaging - as long as it's not too mushy, you can just throw one in your bag, or even have a few ripening on your desk (stick them in a paper bag to speed things along.) I topped this with a squeeze of fresh lemon (you can pack a few slices in a plastic bag, they're also great for drinks) and chili flakes, which are a great desk pantry staple. My last office always had some floating around due to massive pizza orders! There's some cilantro on there too, which you could pack in with the lemon, but it's optional.

And yes, I cut the avocado open with a plastic knife and spooned it out with a plastic spoon, just to see if it could be done! It's no trouble at all as long as the fruit is ripe.

Grocery list

• Avocado - 1 medium (I find they're most affordable packaged as bags of four in many stores)
• Bread (or crackers like melba toast) - 1 slice
• Lemon or lime - juice of 1 wedge (or a few squirts of bottled)
• Cilantro (optional)

 Pantry

• Salt - to taste
• Red pepper flakes - to taste

Directions

Toast the bread and slice it. Granted, you have to have a toaster in your office for this lunch to work properly. If you don't have one, avocados are perfectly good on untoasted bread, or there's always melba toast! Cut open the avocado and spoon out each half onto the slices. Mush it together and top with salt, chili flakes, lemon juice and whatever else you like. I think za'tar would be another great option. Any other suggestions?

Yield: 1 toast
To bring: plastic bags

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Questions about the cooking method? Please let me know in the comments!