A delicious vegetarian soup that features roasted butternut squash. This was adapted from a recipe that was in an issue of Bon Appetit Magazine.

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 Butternut Squash (1 1/2 pounds) halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 6 cups (plus more if needed) vegetable broth, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus sprigs for garnish
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon minced seeded serrano chile (optional)
• Course sea salt
• Plain nonfat yogurt

Preheat oven to 400. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Sprinkle halves of squash with salt and pepper. Arrange, cut side down, on prepared sheet. Roast squash until tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn squash cut side up and cool. Scoop squash out into a medium bowl.

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until pale golden, about 10 minutes. Mix in the celery and garlic. Add 1 cup of the broth. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add squash, 5 cups broth, and cumin. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Being very careful, take a hand blender and work it through the soup until smooth. Thin squash soup to a desired consistency with more vegetable broth. Add the red bell pepper, cilantro, thyme and serrano chile. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Season soup to taste with coarse salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish each with a dollop of yogurt and sprig of cilantro.

This is a very tasty dish with lots of health benefits from the salmon, tomatoes and chard. It is based on a recipe from Ellie Krieger on Food Network. If you have extra sauce leftover, it’s great to use over veggies, eggs or pasta.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium diced tomatoes
• 1 (12-ounce) can low-sodium tomato sauce
• 1 (7-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 cups (loosely packed) Swiss chard, washed well, tough center stems removed, coarsely chopped
• 4 (approx. 6 oz. each) skinless salmon fillets
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, red peppers, cumin, coriander and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat.

Place the chard over the bottom of a 9 x13-inch glass baking dish. Season fish fillets with remaining salt and pepper and place in on top of chard. Spoon sauce over the fish and bake, covered, until fish is just cooked, about 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Serves 4

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This is a great dish for when you have extra veggies around and need to use them up. You can use different combinations of vegetables, cheeses and herbs. Inspired by a recipe in Sophie Dahl’s, Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights, get creative with it!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 baby zucchini, sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (or fresh basil to taste if you have it)
• 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled (or feta)
• Low fat sour cream

Heat olive oil on medium in a 10 inch OVEN PROOF (remove rubber handle) non-stick pan. Saute zucchini until slightly golden.

Turn on broiler. Mix eggs with the salt, pepper and basil. Pour evenly over the zucchini. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Cook for 2-3 minutes to set the bottom.

Place pan under the broiler a few inches and cook about 2 minutes. Spin pan around and cook another couple of minutes until evenly browned and the cheese is melted. Watch it carefully as it will burn quickly. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes to set.

Slice and garnish with sour cream if desired. Serve with a nice leafy salad.

Serves 2

Finally, there is a chill in the air. Soups are a great way to warm up. This one features lots of veggies. The recipe is adapted from one found on the My Melange blog.

• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 2  carrots, chopped
• 3  stalks of celery, chopped
• 1  small white onion, chopped
• 1  clove of garlic, minced
• 3  tomatoes, chopped
• 1  15oz. can of white beans, rinsed and drained
• 4  red swiss chard leaves, roughly chopped
• 1  bay leaf
• 1  heel of parmigiano reggiano cheese
• fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube dissolved in 4 cups boiling water
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent. Add carrots and celery, cook until softened. Add garlic, cook for another minute. Add tomatoes, beans, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour the 4 cups of bullion infused water to the pot, add the bay leaf and heel of parmigiano reggiano to the pot, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add chard, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes, just until the chard is wilted.

Serves 6