How's your week going? Time is passing as quickly this week as the heaps of leaves are being blown down and gathering on the lawns!

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of giving two performances for the Worcester City Council in the Museum & Art Gallery as part of their WWI 100 years commemoration events. It was also Jonathan's Birthday, so by the time I got home that evening, I was happily tired but still needed to make a healthy tea for the teenagers.

What do you do when you're tired and hungry, the shops are closed, it's cold and you don't feel like doing much?

I thought you might want a little hack I learned from my Mum. She is The Queen at knocking up a healthy meal from scratch in less than 30 minutes.

My Mum has always grown squash (her favourite is delicata) so it was something we would have in the house from harvest til March every year. I don't grow my own but I buy in a box of mixed squash from the local organic farmer so I always keep some in the house too.

I buy coconut milk by the six-pack so I ALWAYS have tins in the house. You just can't go wrong with it because it can be used for savoury OR sweet for quick nutrition and it stores for ages!

So here's what I did on Sunday and just for you, I've decided to call it:

Remembrance Day Soup

What you need:

A blender/liquidiser/nutribullet
1 tin coconut milk
2-3 small delicata squash or 1 large butternut squash
1 cube or heaped dessert spoon of your favourite stock or bouillon

How you do it:

Cut the squash in half, remove the pips, and pop into a baking tray in a 180°C oven for 25-30 minutes. Drizzle with a bit of oil if you want to but they bake dry perfectly fine. (I only use avocado oil for baking/frying as it has the highest smoking temperature of any oil - including coconut.)
While the squash is baking, empty the coconut milk tin & stock cube into your blender jug and then refill it with hot water or chaga tea (if you have it sitting in the kitchen slow cooker waiting for you like I do) and tip into the blender as well. (Put this all in a pot if you are using a hand blender.)
When the squash has cooled enough to peel, peel it and put the flesh into the blender jug. Blend until super smooth. Taste and add salt if necessary. Heat and serve!

TIP: I bake extra and keep cooked squash in a covered container in the fridge most of the time because it can add a quick, good, low-carb "meaty" element to any plate!

3 Squash Facts:

One of the oldest cultivated foods on earth - Mesopotamian records track squash back 10k years!
The healthy fat in the coconut helps your body to "upload" all those carotenoids (orange/yellow colours) from the squash. The beta-carotene packs in so much vitamin A that a portion of squash a day could keep the optometrist at bay - helping with eye and bone health.
Squash is packed with vitamins and minerals which boost your immune system AND may aid in lowering asthma irritations as well as helpful in diabetes management.

You CAN eat squash raw, in juices (we add butternut squash to our 12pm amber juice) and spiralised for salads, wilted with a delicious healthy fat dressing.

Please do make this and send me photos, tell me how you got on with it.

Don't forget, we're still taking bookings for Thanksgiving dinner next Thursday and a juice detox at the end of the month (25-30).