Apple, Butternut Squash + Kale Soup with Turkey
This soup was A-mazing – and a complete last-minute twist on dinner! We had a butternut squash on hand, so I decided that should be the centerpiece for dinner. It was decided we’d thaw 2 turkey cutlets to go along and that kale would be a fun green to sautée with the squash. End of discussion.
But once we started prepping for dinner, it seemed to be lacking direction. We needed sauces or something to tie the ingredients together. It was at this point the husband said “Why not make it a soup?” Duh! So the production geared up for soup.
It must have been the bottle of Pinot Noir we opened that led to dissention from the original plan (I had a 5 oz glass)
We sauteed the squash with 2 chopped carrots and 2 stalks of celery and added a box of Pacific Creamy Roasted Carrot soup (see the REAL FOOD tab for more info) as the base (which is the best trick for soup I know!). After simmering for a while, we pureed the mixture with our stick blender and added a small chopped apple and the turkey, which we had cubed and sauteed in a little olive oil on the side. Seasonings included cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder, red pepper flakes and…cocoa powder (just a tiny bit).
Then came the secret ingredient:
Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whiskey! We added it on a whim. I’m not sure if we could taste it, but we could certainly smell it.
(NOTE: Yes, I did have to pause him and say “Wait! Don’t pour it until I have my camera!)
Lastly, we topped the soup with the kale, closed the lid, and let it steam for another 15 minutes or so. Made 4 servings at 325 kcal each. And the bowl was HUGE!
Again, I can’t have soup without just a few Kashis…
Soup (327) + Kashis (87) + Wine (117) = 531 kcal.
Dessert
See’s chocolate.
FYI, I REALLY really wanted another one but I’m stuffed from the soup and knew deep down it was just a mouth craving. And if the box hadn’t been up on top of the fridge again where I’d have to get a ladder to reach it, I might have. Just a way I monitor myself – have the chocolates out of reach (and I guess it helps to have someone tall to put them there!)
Costco
What a fun store! I took my grocery comparison chart and found that almost everything was cheaper than Harris Teeter, EarthFare, Trader Joe’s and Target (a few things were the same price). I think we did a really good job getting only things we really needed (there were lots of things I picked up but put back on the shelf..)
Here’s what we got:
- Bear Naked Trail Mix (new and really good with chocolate chips!)
- 16 cans of chunk light tuna
- A 5-pack of pink salmon
- 25-pack of Kashi granola bars (sadly they didn’t have the crackers)
- HUGE thing of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats (This huge box beat ALL the stores in price per oz)
- Diced tomatoes in a convenient can dispenser! (We use these like water..)
- Huge box of Kashi Heart to Heart (43 oz – beat all other stores, even sales)
- Bag of raw almonds
- Tub of mixed nuts
I took the trail mix and portioned it into little bags to take to Winthrop. I’m still getting back to this whole “eating on the move” thing and I think nuts/dried fruit/trail mix are perfect for tiding hunger when you didn’t have time to eat a whole lunch or need something super portable, long-lasting, and room temperature approved. Each bag is about 140 kcal worth.
OMG you should have seen him jump up and down when we saw this. I told him I didn’t want that bag in our pantry, but he convinced me after explaining how cost effective it was and how each loaf of bread he makes is only about 25 cents to make and this would reduce it even more…yadda yadda. So we came home with a 50-lb bag of bread flour. (And he’s wearing a calf-length wool coat, but it looks like he’s floating in a black box or something!)
Snacks
This afternoon in Costco I passed by a number of snacks that I knew I wouldn’t appreciate. But I did try this granola bar – Mrs. May’s Trio Bars. It was good, but I wasn’t ready to make a purchase commitment of 25 bars yet 🙂
We went to the grocery store after Costo for some vegetables and sampled 3 wines for about 1.5 oz (Sorry my finger nail looks so disgusting – manicure needed!)
And when I got home I had a serving of the trail mix plus some more mixed nuts. It was kind of a nut-heavy afternoon.
Snack calories totaled about 275 by my estimate.
So that was that!!
Tomorrow
I’ve got no major day plans, but we’ve got dinner reservations with Maran (from the blog!) tomorrow night. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARAN!!
Hopefully we can make it to the gym tomorrow before the snow hits. As you know, the South (rightfully!) shuts down at the first mention of anything white.
Stacey says
Hi,
I'm new to the blog and it's great! I do have some quesitons about your store price comparison chart. I've been meaning to do this but I never know where to start or how I want to set it up. Can you tell me how you did yours and all of that information?
Thanks!!
Brianne says
Hey Kath, it looks like you got a lot of good stuff at Costco- I love that store! It is just too easy to spend money though- I do a lot of picking up and putting down.. I constatly ask "do I *really* need this??" lol. I just wondered if you are worried about mercury? You eat a lot of tuna so that is why I ask. Since I got pregnant I stopped and now that I am breastfeeding I also aviod it. I think I will continue to based on some studies I have read.
Here is a link to a calculator that calculates how much tuna one can safely eat based on wieght. Kind of interesting!
http://www.ewg.org/tunacalculator
Lindsay says
Kath, two questions:
First, I want to thank you for providing this blog!
1. You eat alot of butternut squash. What is so great about it? Is it lower calories than a baked potato? I am thinking of HG's butternut squash fries.
2. How did you choose calorieking? All the calorie calculators seem to give different values, do you check multiple ones or just trust calorieking?
Enjoy your weekend!
Erica says
Both of you are young, but seem to know so much about cooking. How would you recommend for someone to go about learning to cook soup (it seems so hard)
Patricia says
The trail mix looks so good!
Oh… I finally found the whipped cottage cheese, I love the texture!
Have a great long weekend!
Eliza says
thanks a bunch for the advice.
p.s i love your blog and appreciate your fast responses!!
Ala says
haha this is random, but my thumb nail looks exactly like yours does right now- I have a sore, broken cuticle and I desperately need a manicure! ouch! Must be the winter weather. ;p Just wanted to let you know you are not alone! haha
PS- I love that bag of almonds from costco
NATI says
i bought those oats from costco… about 4 months ago and i still have so much! haha. But you inspired me to make some for tomorrow morning…. YUMMMMMMM!!! and i know u take food with u to school so i wanted to share an interesting find i came across today. Its tupperware shaped just like a sandwich so its SMALL and compact! i also bought an insulated 10 oz container that can hold soup or fruit or something…. and the best part is that it came with a fork/ spoon…… a fork on one side and flip it around and its a spoon! i thought it was super neat. and i got it at walmart for super super super cheap…. Just an idea :O)
– also… i love trail mix but cant eat nuts due to the high fat content (I dont have a gallbladder and cant process nut fats that well….) i can do a few almonds but thats it…. any suggestions on things i can put into a nut free trail mix????
VeggieGirl says
that HAS to be the largest bag of bread flour I have EVER seen in my life, haha – what a find!!
have a lovely time celebrating Maran's birthday!!
the husband says
BREAD FOR BEV
I hope you find this in the mix of comments!
Jeffrey Hamelman's Rustic Bread
These are his measurements – I halved them.
For the pre-ferment:
16 oz (3 5/8C) bread flour
9.6oz (1.25C) water
.3oz (.5T) salt
1/8t instant yeast
-Disperse yeast in water, add flour and slowly mix until it comes together. It will be very stiff and floury, but keep gently mixing until it forms a dry dough. Let sit, covered, for 12-16 hours until ripe (it will be very slightly puffed and smell HEAVENLY).
FINAL DOUGH
9.6oz (2.25C) bread flour
3.2oz (7/8C) whole-rye flour
3.2oz (7/8C) whole-wheat flour
12.5oz(1.5C) water
.3oz (.5T) salt
.5t instant yeast
25oz preferment (all of it)
1) Add all ingredients to mixing bowl except pre-ferment. Mix until dough comes together, then mix on first speed for 3 minutes, adding chunks of preferment as it mixes. Turn to second speed and mix for another 3 minutes. The dough should be pretty wet, but still have some nice gluten development. Basically, you wouldn't want to touch this bread without a copious amount of flour on your hand.
2) Ferment for 2.5 hours, folding at the 50-minute and 140-minute mark (you'll need lots of flour on the counter to make sure the dough doesn't stick. when you fold, incorporating a light dusting of flour is okay, but you don't want big chunks because it will ruin the texture of the bread's interior)
3) After fermentation, divide into 1.5lb loaves, preshape each into a light ball, and cover for 10-20 minutes). Shape as desired, and cover.
4) Final rise is 1-1.5 hours (maybe longer if your home is cold – ideal temp for bread rise is 75*)
5) Preheat to 450*and slash loaves. Right before putting in oven, toss 1oz of water in the oven for steam, then immediately bake. 1.5lb loaves will take about 35-38 mins. Allow a medium-dark color to appear before removing.
The most important thing to know is that this dough will be incredibly wet and you'll be thinking, "There's no way that's going to turn into bread," but as you fold and incorporate tiny amounts of flour, you'll see how it becomes easier to handle. It should still be fairly wet when you put it in, hence the high temp and long bake. Good luck!
And note to someone who asked about whole-wheat pizza crust – I don't have a recipe yet, I've never tried it, but when I do I'll post it right up!
the husband says
Oops sorry, Hamelman's recipe is for 2 loaves, each weighing 1.5lbs.
Kath says
Brianne,
Thanks so much for the tuna calculator!! I don't really worry about it because I usually only have tuna salad once a week for lunch, and I alternate between canned tuna and salmon. So I probably have 3-6 oz every other week on average. The calculator says I can "have" 10.9 oz per week. I always read that albacore was the one to really avoid and I don't eat that. Very good to know though, and I am aware of the pregnancy warnings. Thanks for sharing!
Lindsay,
What's so great about butternut squash?! It's REALLY GOOD!!! I love the sweet nutty taste and the texture. It's not really a low-calorie vegetable, but it is lower per ounce than sweet potatoes. But both are very healthy for you, so you should try it out!
I chose CalorieKing for the user-friendly food diary. I used the Self Diet Club for a while as well as Shape Magazines food diary and found both to be extremely time consuming. There are a bunch of really small picky reasons why I think CK's is the most user friendly like that you can drag and drop foods into your diary and save meals and recipes. And the database is one of the biggest out there.
Erica,
We've been interested in cooking since we graduated from college and had our first kitchen together. My best advice is to get a few health recipe cookbooks and just practice, practice, practice. You'll eventually learn that lots of recipes follow patterns and you'll be able to create them using your own ingredients. Good luck and have fun!
Patricia,
Yay for finding it!
Erica,
Sorry I didn't reply by email – I didn't see your email until after I responded! Hope the info was useful.
Ala,
I have the horrible habit of picking at my thumbs when I'm nervous and I've been nervous this week with all my school stuff. I have GOT to stop!!!
Nati,
Hmmm…I would put in dry cereals, dried fruit, and a few chocolate chips! Check the ingredients lists for lots of the trail mixes out there and just leave out the nuts. Sorry to hear you can't eat them, gallbladder stuff is tough.
Kath
bev says
Thanks fo much for the receipe …. when I try it I will send a photo .
Kelsey says
I love that your grocery store has wine samples. I wish I lived in your neighborhood!
Ika says
Hi Kath,
I know this is an old old post. I found your blog a couple of months ago and started reading it since I’m trying to lose weight and changing my eating habit into a healthier one. I became very curious reading Nati’s comment about gallbladder. I had a surgery to remove my gallbladder two years ago since it was infected and gave me a lot of pain. After the surgery I eat as if everything’s normal and didn’t get any bad reaction on the body. But I do notice slow increase in weight, it’s like I’ve never been this heavy my whole life. I’ve asked the doctor and searched information on the internet about the effect of gallbladder removal but none sounded right to me. Then I read this comment that Nati can’t eat nuts b/c of the no-gallbladder thing? Kath, you said this gallbladder thing is tough? Could u please give me some information on this? Thanks!
PS. Hi from Indonesia! 🙂
KathEats says
Hey Ika, Thanks for reading!
Unfortunately I can’t make any health/medical recommendations over the internet. Perhaps see another doctor for a second opinion?
Best,
K