People often have thoughts that eating healthy means eating solely salads and green smoothies. This is not the case! You can still be comforted by warm dishes, and eat a little lighter, by making easy changes to your diet. For example, if you don’t eat a plant-based diet, you can switch to vegan meats to lower the fat and cholesterol in your meals. So, today, I’m showing you how to do this with a delicious Butternut Squash Bacon Soup, made with Sweet Earth Foods Benevolent Bacon!

If you need further convincing to try this Benevolent Bacon, check out these stats, per serving:

• 75% less fat than animal bacon
• 57% fewer calories
• Only 120 grams sodium
• 10 grams of protein

And that doesn’t even count the positive environmental impact!

And honestly, it just tastes good. The hickory sage seasoning is bold, the seitan-based bacon crisps nicely when fried, and is easy to prepare. For this Butternut Squash Bacon Soup, I roasted squash with onion and bacon pieces, then paired it with a seasoned broth and butter beans for extra protein, fiber and creaminess. Then, topped it with pan-fried bacon, following SEF’s package instructions and ta-dah.. All-in-all, there are about 10 ingredients!

Another great thing about this product, is that it is easy to find. I saw it all over the country when I was on my book tour! But, you can use their store locator to see what’s closest to you. (I have 6 stores within a 3 mile radius that sell it, woohoo!)

Now, onto the Butternut Squash Bacon Soup!

1 year: The Taco Cleanse // 2 years: Vegan Kluski // 3 years: Cool Ranch Chickpeas // 4 years: Back to Basics Fruit Pie // 5 years: Raw Chocolate Mousse Pie

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Butternut Squash Bacon Soup

Yield: 4

Warm, comforting, smoky and VEGAN, made with 10 ingredients! Butter beans and chard add more nutrients to this delicious soup.

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Ingredients

Soup

• 1 pound peeled butternut squash, chopped
• 3/4 cup diced yellow onion
• 5.5 ounce package Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon, divided
• 1/2 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 15 ounce can of Butter Beans, drained
• 1 cup chopped Swiss Chard, firmly packed, stems removed and diced

Garnish

• 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
• Remaining Benevolent Bacon
• Fresh sage, optional

Instructions

Soup

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, place butternut squash, onion, 4-5 strips of chopped Benevolent Bacon (leaving 4 strips for garnish), and oil. Toss, then add salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Toss again, until evenly coated.
3. Place baking sheet in oven and roast for 30-35 minutes, or until butternut squash is fork tender with some browning edges.
4. In the last 10 minutes of squash mixture roasting, warm vegetable broth in a large pot, with sage and thyme added in.
5. Once everything is roasted, and broth is simmering, add roasted mixture to pot, along with butter beans and chard leaves (not stems). Bring back to a light simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, to taste.

Garnish

1. While the soup is simmering, heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, place 4 strips of bacon and cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, then flip and cook 2-3 minutes on the other side.
2. Once browned, remove bacon from pan and chop up.
3. For plating, divide soup between four bowls, garnish with crispy bacon, chopped chard stems, and a couple leaves of sage.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

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This post is sponsored by Sweet Earth Foods. All words and opinions are my own, and are honest. Posts like these help me to keep this blog going! 🙂