Creamy Yellow Squash Soup (Warm or Cold) + A Simple Embodiment Practice

A meal (and practice) to bridge the seasons.

This silky summer squash soup is the perfect dish to bridge the seasons. It can be served warm or cold, and it gets bedazzled with a drizzle of pesto.

Hello my dears, 

The theme for me this past week has been embodiment. As the summer shifts into fall, I always get untethered, which often leaves me kind of confused. As I mentioned in Tuesday’s bonus post, this confusion extends to what I want to eat (do I want summer tomatoes and lettuce, or do I want fall soups and squash?!). Luckily today’s soup is the perfect meal for such times—you can serve it warm or cold, depending on what your body is craving.   

This week I’ve also been diving back into one of my favorite books about ayurveda (A Life of Balance, by Maya Tiwari). It makes sense, as ayurveda (the ancient Indian science of health) is all about finding balance, which is just what I’ve been seeking. Fall is Vata season—it’s about wind, air and space. I also have a mostly Vata body type, which means I can easily get blown out of balance this time of year (too much dryness and cold!). No matter what your constitution, as the seasons shift it’s important for us all to find more grounding. As Emily Morrison explained in this podcast episode, we’re microcosms of the natural world, meaning as the days darken, temperatures drop and leaves start turning, we also feel this shift within us. 

One way to find grounding during times of transition is to tune in to our bodies, listening to their calls. We’re not static creatures—our needs may change daily or even hourly—but if we can stay attuned to what our bodies and emotions are calling for, we can better nourish ourselves in a way that that’s right for our unique constitution, in each particular moment.

A simple embodiment practice

Attuning to our bodies requires embodiment—being fully present with the needs/desires of our physical forms and our emotions. It sounds easy, but often it’s not (at least, not for me!). It’s so easy to get swept up in our daily schedules/plans/habits/mental chatter/worries, etc—going about our days on auto-pilot. Simple embodiment practices, however, can help us tune back in. 

One really, really easy way to tune in right now is to ask yourself this question before making (or ordering) a meal/drink:

“Do I want something warm or something cold?”

I know, I know, it seems almost too simple. 

However, the most profound shifts in life often start with the smallest of steps. Right now temperatures outside are fluctuating, and so too are the foods that will feel best in our bodies. Instead of habitually grabbing what you’ve been eating/drinking over the past couple of months, pause. Take a deep, grounding breath. Tune into your body and allow your mind to quiet down. Do you want something warm? Or do you want something cold?

Perhaps instead of iced coffee you’ll find you want hot matcha, or maybe a bowl of sliced peaches and yogurt sounds better than the steaming bowl of oatmeal you usually go for. Maybe instead of a juicy tomato sandwich you’d rather stuff the tomatoes inside a toasted grilled cheese. Is your body calling for a salad, or does a quick sauté sound more nourishing? Would a steaming bowl of soup feel good, or are you craving something cool and refreshing?

What would feel better in your body, in this exact moment? 

This simple practice can become the foundation for a deeper listening, cracking the door open to our intuition. The more we practice communicating with our bodies in the smallest of ways, the easier it becomes to follow our intuition when it comes to feeding ourselves in bigger ways. As we learn to listen to and trust in that inner wisdom, we start to gain freedom around food. We’re no longer controlled by what we think we “should” or “shouldn’t” eat but rather by our own autonomous knowing. 

Creamy Yellow Squash Soup

This creamy yellow squash soup can be a delicious way to put the practice into action. It can be served either warm or cold, depending on what your body is calling for. The soup is silky and light, getting its creaminess from potato instead of cream. A drizzle of pesto gives the soup dimension and sparkle. Pair it with some crusty bread, BLTs (which is what we did last week), or an oozy grilled cheese. It’s the perfect meal to bridge the seasons.

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Save the Date! (+ more embodiment practices)

I’ll be in conversation with

Abigail Rose Clarke

all about her fabulous book, Returning Home to Our Bodies, at Split Rock Bookstore on Thursday, October 17^th at 7:00pm. Abigail and I will be diving into her book, and she’ll be sharing more embodiment practices. I would LOVE to see you there! Learn more about the event here. Also, you can listen to my podcast conversation with Abigail at the link below:

Being in Relationship to Food & Our Bodies with Abigail Rose Clarke

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The Recipe (+video!)

The squash soup comes together quickly and is blended until smooth and silky

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