We had an absolutely beautiful week! I need to pinch myself to remember that it’s not even May. The fact that we had amazing weather made my busy stressful workweek much better. I’m also bummed to say that my iritis is flaring again. I was about 2 weeks away from coming off my eye drops and ended up with another flare. I went 3 years from my first case of iritis before I experienced another and now I am onto my third in just 7 months. What the heck is going on? Overall, my AS symptoms have been in check and I have been feeling great so I am a little surprised at why I keep having a re-occurrence. I am taking a hard look at my diet and am going to be making a few tweaks to see what helps. I started with a 3 day water fast. I know water fasting is controversial but I have read so much about water fasting during an autoimmune disease flare. Fasting allows the entire digestive system to rest so that the body can focus on healing itself. There are people out there with many different diseases that swear it helped them, so I figured I would give it a shot. Its only 3 days right? I am happy to say that I am on day three today so tomorrow I will be adding back some simple, easy to digest foods like green juices and smoothies. During my fast I have been diligent about dry body brushing as well as oil pulling to ensure I am ridding myself of any released toxins. I will let you guys know next week if I feel like it made a difference. Getting this far has not been as hard as I thought it would.
Now onto the recipe. This one is a version of my favorite pureed cauliflower soup but with the addition of butternut squash. This Butternut Squash Cauliflower Soup can be garnished with simple fresh Italian parsley and a bit of olive oil. Or, for more flavor add a dash of your favorite herb into the blender when you puree. So fast and easy to make and so delicious. If you are a lover of cauliflower soup you may also want to check out a few of my other recipes. Purple Cauliflower Soup With Garlic Sage Olive Oil and Smoked Cauliflower Soup With Brussel Sprouts + Bacon Enjoy!
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 6 cups filtered water
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp sea salt plus more to taste
- 1 Tbsp ghee or use olive oil to make vegan, dairy free and AIP
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups butternut squash
- Garnish: Italian parsley and a drizzle of olive oil
- Optional: 1 Tbsp of your favorite herb
- Wash and chop cauliflower and set aside. You can use fresh or frozen butternut squash. I prefer frozen because it's easier. If using fresh peel and chop and set aside.
- Chop onion and garlic cloves. Since everything will be blended its not important to chop in super small pieces.
- Add onion and garlic to a large soup pot with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Saute until translucent and just beginning to brown.
- Add chopped cauliflower and butternut squash to a pot along with filtered water.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 20-30 min uncovered until the cauliflower and butternut squash are very soft.
- Let sit at least 10 min to cool before blending.
- Add half the cauliflower, butternut squash mixture and some of the liquid to a blender along with ghee or olive oil and sea salt.
- Blend until smooth. Pour in a bowl.
- Add the rest of the cauliflower, butternut squash mixture and liquid to the blender along with optional herb. Blend until smooth and pour in bowl.
- I like to blend in two parts to ensure I don't burn myself. I also like to hold a folded towel on top of my blender lid. This ensures no hot liquid leaks out while blending.
- Combine both parts of the soup by stirring well and add additional salt to taste.
- Top with olive oil and Italian parsley.