Butternut Squash Soup

It's about that time for pumpkin everything! And with the holidays coming next week, this is the perfect lil side dish soup to bring to the table. Although butternut squash is not an actual pumpkin, they do come from the same family the only difference is butternut squash does not have a stem.

Butternut Squash is a highly nutritious and alkaline food which is rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants. 

Squash is easy to digest and is an excellent remedy for conditions of the stomach, spleen, liver, and blood. It is high in Vitamins A, E, C, B-complex, and beta carotene, iron, zinc, copper, calcium, and potassium which are vital for a healthy and strong immune and nervous system. The carotenoids are especially beneficial for protection against heart disease, breast cancer, and macular degeneration. 

Winter Squash is also known to help reduce inflammation which is excellent for conditions such as asthma, fibromyalgia, and arthritis. 

Need I say more of why you should try this super easy recipe?! I'm no kitchen expert and I hate measuring so if I can do this, so can you!

Ingredients:

1/2 butternut squash peeled, seeded and diced in cubes

1/2 onion 

2 tablespoons of butter

4 cups of chicken broth

2 sprigs of thyme

2 tablespoons of chicken bouillon

ground cumin, salt and pepper according to your taste buds

cayenne pepper (if you like it hot!)

Directions:

1. In a pot lightly sauté the onion and thyme with butter until it is soft and brown.

2. Add chicken broth, chicken bouillon, ground cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. If you have someone that doesn't like it spicy (like my son) I suggest you add the cayenne pepper individually to your plate. Bring to a boil until the butternut squash is soft.

3. Add all of the ingredients into your blender (try not to add all of the broth at once depending on the type of consistency that you like; creamy, thick, clear) add more as you go.

4. Serve and garnish with more thyme on top to look like a pro ;)

Enjoy!

xo
Crystal

Nutrion facts:

http://www.medicalmedium.com/blog/butternut-squash

Photography:

Crystal Gaxiola

I'm Back!

I love this quote because it's so true! Sometimes we get so caught up with our fast paced life that we forget to do the things that make us happy and centered. On that note I will be blogging more often now since I have more free time because I'm done with school. I really forgot how much I love to express myself through writing.

Let's see a couple of more things I can add to the list of making my soul happy....

- Cooking new healthy dishes
- Hot Yoga
- Skating
- Home Decorating


I know I haven't blogged in 3 years but I will post new content at least once a week, next blog post is my famous kale salad!

Coachella weekend

I was fortunate enough to get tickets for Coachella just days before the event! I have been going for the past five years in a row with the exception of last  year since my son was only 1 month old. No way was I going to miss another year, and I am hoping that when Skyler gets a little bit older I can take him too. Now, I know what everyone's going to say...Oh my but that's no place for a child! Well this weekend I saw a few kids that went and there are some kid friendly areas such as the VIP area, Rose garden and Artist area. Music is a big part of my life and it represents so many things: Expression of Individuality, Fashion, Emotions, Art and Inspiration that I just want to be able to share that experience with him. Thats what this weekend was all about for me. Sometimes I get so caught up with life, work, and school that I forget how much I love music and how it makes me feel. How it touches me with the lyrics and how I want to express myself through with what I wear. It was just great to have some "momma" time and sit back and relax in the sun with all of my friends. Coachella you never disappoint me :)

We had front row access to all of the stages! YES!!

OMD was amazing Live!

Ben Benassi with surprise guest John Legend

Shirt from Forever 21

Skyler turns 1!!!

 My little one turned 1 year old last weekend, time flew by so quick! I still remember the day I brought him home from the hospital and it felt so scary and unreal, but that's a whole other post LOL! I was debating on what I should do for him and decided to do something small and intimate since he's still really small and probably won't remember anything yet. So I thought hmmmmm.....what shall I do? What does he like? What will he have fun doing? Oh yeah of course, that's right MICKEY MOUSE!! When we wake up I turn on the T.V. and that's what is usually on and he's been watching it since he was about 6 months. He gets so happy and looks at me and smiles! We always have to do the hot dog dance when it comes on. So I go on the web and start doing my research on good ol' Pinterest and Etsy and get inspired by this shirt that I purchased on Etsy. Then the ideas start flying.

So I thought what a better way to celebrate it than with Mickey himself! I found a restaurant inside one of the Disneyland Hotels "PCH Grill Surf's Up Breakfast with Mickey and friends" that serves a breakfast buffet with an omelet station, mickey mouse shaped pancakes and waffles, fruit and so much more that I really didn't get to see because I was to busy running around. I brought my own cake and Mickey came to our table to sing Happy Birthday with us. Everyone was really nice and accommodating of such a big group. Skyler had so much fun with all the characters and his cousins. He was dancing and running all over the place, always with his big cheesy smile =) It was so much fun, and very special that I can't wait to take him back and do it all over again!

I've got the blues

Sometimes a woman gets the blues and the best thing she can do is put on some lipstick; nice stilettos and pull herself together.

Shoes are from Sam Edelman.












Keep your heels, head and standards high. xo

Neon Trend

I'm really loving the neon trend so much right now, I think it really makes a tan stand out during the summer. Don't mind me I'm just admiring the neon POP of color in my nails and shoes that match Oh so perfectly! Shoes are from the Prabal Gurung collection from Target that I snatched the first day it came out, currently sold out everywhere! PHEW!!
"Tokyo" rings are from www.creativsnob.com










Keep your heels, head and standards high. xo

Sunday type of Love

Yesterday was a good day, I was a bit tired from the entire week that I just wanted it to be a lazy Sunday.  Unfortunately, with an 11 month old baby that is impossible. I saw that my son was cranky and bored so I sucked it up and got ourselves dressed and went to the market to purchase some items for a picnic  at the park.  When we arrived to the park it suddenly got cold and I just wanted to turn around and make a run for the car.  After I forced myself to eat and savor the food ( I am the type that cannot think when it's bleeping cold!) I got up and started walking around with my son and just let him run wild. I was able to grab my Ipad and follow him around and started videotaping him and taking pictures.  I started warming up by then with all the chasing I was doing, and I was able to capture the most beautiful, heart warming picture I've ever seen. It captures his early years as an innocent child running freely with so much joy and love in his face.  It just made everything so worth it and made me realize that pushing myself that extra mile even when I don't want to is always worth it and my son deserves all of it.