Roast pumpkin and sweet potato soup

You know how we’re meant to eat rainbow foods, well here’s the orange dose. I love soups because they are easy– hard to stuff up and it’s a good way to use up any veggies you’ve got. Simple is best – so there’s not a list of a million ingredients.

Why it’s good for you

Sweet potato and pumpkin are good sources of beta carotene - a precursor to Vitamin A. Vitamin A is super important for healthy glowing skin, good vision and thyroid hormone production. We all need Vitamin A, but in particular, diabetics, people who drink too much alcohol and those with thyroid disorders can really benefit. It’s a fat soluble vitamin, which means fat is needed in order for the vitamin to get into our cells – another reason to get those good fats in our diet….olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds and avocado. About 50% of the Vitamin A in foods is lost through cooking, which means that we need to make sure we get lots in.

Plus these veggies are antioxidants – which may play a preventative role in cancer, stroke and heart disease.

Miso is a fermented soy bean paste, containing good bacteria for digestion and can reduce acidity in the body. Super salty, it’s great to use a small amount in soups and dressings.

This soup can be frozen. I’m really getting into using glass containers for freezing at the moment – no nasty plastic chemicals like BPA. Just make sure to leave a bit of room at the top of the container for expansion to avoid any explosions in the freezer.

Makes 5-6 serves

What you need:

• 1 onion (thinly sliced)
• 2 Tbs olive oil/coconut oil
• 3 cups pumpkin cut into chunks
• 2 sweet potatoes cut into chunks
• Any other veggies you have lurking in the fridge that need to be used up.
• 1tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp chilli powder
• 1 Tbs brown rice miso (the dark one)
• 1- 1.5L chicken stock (homemade if you have) or water

What you do:

1.    Place pumpkin and sweet potato pieces on a baking tray and drizzle with 1 Tbs olive oil. Bake for 40mins at 180 degrees celcius and set aside
2.    On the stove top in a large pot, add 1tbs olive oil or coconut oil and fry onions until nearly clear (about 5mins) then add cumin and chilli powder
3.    Add roasted vegetables and stock to pot and bring to the boil
4.    Lower heat to a simmer for 20mins
5.    Add some water if you want a thinner soup
6.    Add miso at the end and stir through
7.    Blend with a stick blender until smooth
8.    Serve with a sprig of parsley