As temperatures drop and we begin to feel a crispness in the air, many of us turn to warm and comforting meals. But watch out! These delicious foods are often high in carbohydrates and low in nutrition—the perfect recipe for unwanted pounds. In this post I will be sharing a fortifying recipe that is warm, delicious, and packed with nutrition!

Ingredients

• 1 large pie or sugar pumpkin
• Coconut oil
• 2 scoops Balance Complete^™
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Blue Agave
• 2 small shallots, chopped
• 1 teaspoon (or to taste) cayenne pepper
• 2 drops Black Pepper essential oil
• 2 drops Thyme essential oil
• 2 drops Clove essential oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. Place your whole pumpkin on a baking sheet and lightly coat it with coconut oil. Position the baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour.
3. Once the pumpkin has finished roasting, remove it from the oven and let it stand for 15–20 minutes. After the pumpkin has cooled, hold it securely and cut it in half, horizontally. Use caution, as the pumpkin will be filled with steam and can cause burns. Remove the seeds and set aside to use as a garnish. Scoop the remaining pumpkin meat into a food processor and add 1 cup chicken stock and 2 scoops Balance Complete^™; puree until completely smooth.
4. Combine shallots and olive oil in a large pot, then sauté over medium heat until the shallots become soft and golden brown. Add the pumpkin puree, remaining chicken stock, coconut milk, water, cayenne, and Blue Agave. Bring the soup to a low simmer and let cook for 15–20 minutes.
5. Just before removing the soup from the heat, add a few pinches of salt and the Thyme, Clove, and Black Pepper essential oils. Stir well and enjoy!

My family loved this savory soup with freshly roasted pumpkin seeds on top! After removing the seeds from the pumpkin, we washed, salted, and then baked the seeds at 350° for 8–10 minutes.

What Young Living products do you use to cook with in the cold winter months? Share your favorites with us in the comments!

—Blair Lloyd, Young Living International and Portfolio Brand Associate

Article source: https://blog.youngliving.com/roasted-pumpkin-balance-complete-soup/