Butternut squash soup

Hello readers!!!

Our very first winter in Boston has been quite bumpy with all the snow and blizzards every week. Well today is one of those days, so I figured why not cook something that complements the freezing temperature and gusty winds. The recipe I am about to share with you is quite simple, delicious and most importantly healthy! Introducing the Butternut Squash Soup. After many alterations to the recipe, I feel pretty good about this one.

Apologies for not posting any raw butternut squash pictures to help you with step no. 2. Honestly I started making the recipe before I decided to blog about it. Shows I should posts more frequently to keep up!

Ingredients:
1 Butternut squash
2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups of water or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon of chili powder
Chopped parsley
Olive oil

The star ingredients:

3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 to 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Himalayan salt

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cut the squash vertically, scrape out the seeds and peal the skin off. Chop the butternut squash into medium sized square cubes.

3. Place them in to a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the squash cubes just enough to lightly coat them.

4. Bake squash cubes until very soft, about 50 minutes at 375 degrees F.

5. Meanwhile, on medium high heat up a tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet. Add the grated garlic, chili powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook the mixture just about a minute till the garlic gets slightly golden brown.

6. After the squash is well baked, puree it in a blender. Add the vegetable broth in batches. Then add in the garlic mixture and give it a good blend.

7. At this point the soup is ready! Pour the soup in a pot and let it simmer for a couple of minutes till its nice and hot.

8. Garnish the soup with some chopped parsley.

Enjoy!

Eggless Chocolate Pudding

Eggless Chocolate Pudding 

Hello readers...  It's been a long time since I blogged.  Well what can I say, summer is here and I am having a blast except today arghh! So taking this glorious opportunity to blog!!! yay! 

So the recipe I'm about to share with you all is probably the easiest pudding I've ever made. Sticking to a strict diet and avoiding sweets is not my cup of tea.  As mentioned in my previous blog, I've made my peace by altering the recipes I love with healthier ingredients.  A friend of mine suggested to use silken tofu instead of heavy cream and eggs.  I tweaked the recipe based on my taste.  Great thing about dark chocolate is that it can be paired with pretty much any ingredient in your pantry; for instance fruits, salt, cayenne pepper, honey and nuts.  My favorite is orange and chocolate combination - It's divine! I hope you guys enjoy this recipe and don't forget to share your comments on it. Thanks! 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sweeten chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coffee powder
2 tablespoon un-sweeten cocoa powder
4 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 lbs Silken tofu
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon orange zest

Steps:

1. On a medium heat mix chocolate chips, cocoa, coffee and milk. To prevent the chocolate from lumpy texture, turn off the stove once the chocolate is semi-melted. Gently keep stirring the mixture till it becomes smooth. Let the mixture cool down to room temperature.

 2.  Place silken tofu and honey in a bowl and whip till it becomes completely smooth. Gently incorporate the chocolate mixture while whisking.

 3. Garnish with orange zest and chill well.

Enjoy :-)

Banana Chocolate Oat Bar

Banana chocolate oat bar - 04/30/2014

Lately I've been trying healthy substitutes for cakes, cookies, chocolates and ice-cream (leaving aside that one thing I cannot give up - 'nutella right out of the jar'). But I hope you guys enjoy this recipe. There are variations of it, I have tried to make it gluten-free.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:
1 & 1/4 cup of 5 min oats
1/4 cup of almond flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of flax seeds (optional)
1/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (you can also add nuts if you like)
1 Banana


Wet ingredients:
1 teaspoon approx of vanilla extract
1 egg
1 & 1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup of applesauce
Honey for sweetness (per taste)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl except for banana.

3. In a separate bowl whisk all wet ingredients together. Make sure the egg is mixed well with the flour.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix them well together.

5. Take a baking dish and grease it with olive oil. Pour the mixture in to the baking dish and spread it out evenly.

6. Cut the banana in to round pieces and spread it at a distance on top of the mixture.

7. Bake it for about 20 mins or till it gets golden brown.

8. Wait it's not done yet. The hardest part is to let it cool for 30 mins before you can sneak a taste ;)

Enjoy! :)