Red lentils with butternut squash soup: vegan

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 tbsp ginger minced
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 ten oz bag frozen butternut squash
1 c dry red lentils
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
juice of two limes

1 c grape tomatoes cut in half
1 c raw spinach

Directions:

In a large pot sauté onions in olive oil and cook till starting to brown, add garlic, mustard seeds and ginger, stir for a minute. Add 5 cups of water, butternut squash, red lentils, cumin, turmeric and lime juice. Bring to a boil, stir frequently, lower heat and simmer till lentils are cooked, about 15 minutes.

Turn off heat, add tomatoes and spinach, stir to wilt spinach and serve.

Serves 4: 268 calories per serving, 1225 calories for the whole batch.

We love lentil soup and this is a nice fall variety with the butternut squash. Serve it with a teaspoon of vinegar and add salt as needed.