Today was probably one of the worst weather days I can remember in a long time.  It was freezing, it was sleeting and raining all day.  It actually was a perfect day to make soup and add some recipes to my winter cooking repertoire.  I received this recipe from nutrition counselor, Sarah Davis.  Sarah specializes in nutrition for adolescents and teens and, on many occasions, I have checked in with her for before and after school smoothies and snacks and quick weekday dinner ideas.  Since I have been on my soup kick, I asked Sarah for some of her easy, yummy, yet healthy recipes, to share with you.  The first thing she thought I had to try was her “Best Butternut Squash Soup”.   I have been receiving requests for a butternut squash soup, especially one that can be served to a crowd on Thanksgiving.  So, this sounded perfect.  I actually made this one today and it was sooooo easy and really delicious.  I think you will love it as much as we did.  If you would like more information about Sarah and her company Body Balance 365, click HERE or contact her directly at sarah@bodybalance365.com.  Bon Appetit!

We are gearing up for an “Autumn chill in the air” which will bring us a blustery week.  Maybe even some snow showers by the end of the week!!!   Here we go New Yorkers…..I think this calls for some comic relief!!!  This weeks’ book choice is Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love and Writing by Jennifer Weiner.  Jennifer also wrote the story, In Her Shoes, which was made into the movie with Cameron Diaz!!!  The book description goes like this:

Jennifer Weiner is many things: a bestselling author, a Twitter phenomenon, and an “unlikely feminist enforcer” (The New Yorker).
She’s also a mom, a daughter and a sister, a former rower and current
clumsy yogini, a wife, a friend, and a reality-TV devotee. In her first
essay collection, she takes the raw stuff of her life and spins it into a
collection of tales of modern-day womanhood as uproariously funny and
moving as the best of Nora Ephron and Tina Fey. Born in Louisiana,
raised in Connecticut, educated at Princeton, Jennifer spent years
feeling like an outsider (“a Lane Bryant outtake in an Abercrombie &
Fitch world”) before finding her people in newsrooms, and her voice as a
novelist, activist, and New York Times columnist.

Hilarious and moving, Hungry Heart
is about yearning and fulfillment, loss and love, and a woman who
searched for her place in the world, and found it as a storyteller.

To order this book, click HERE

I am totally on a soup kick these days.  I really want to perfect a few recipes so that I can make them all winter.  Soup is so good for you.  Its healthy, hearty and keeps the colds away.  I found this recipe on the blog Pure Joy Home.  I posted Liz’s chicken soup recipe last week.  She says this is a fall staple for her family.  She likes to serve it with a big piece of bread and a her favorite red.  I will be trying this, this weekend for sure.  Bon Appetit. 

Ingredients

1 lb sausage
1 1/3 cup dry red lentils, rinsed
1 small yellow onion chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 can whole peeled tomatoes pureed with a hand blender
1 bag of Kale
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the sausage in a Dutch oven over medium-high, stirring often,
   until the meat crumbles and begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the
   onion and cook until the onion softens and the sausage is
   browned all over, about 4 more minutes.
2. Add the stock, stirring and scraping 
 to loosen any browned bits
   from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add the lentils, tomatoes, salt, and
   pepper and bring to 
 a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until
   the lentils have softened, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Stir in the kale and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 1 minute.