It is winter time here in Mn which means one thing; it’s soup season. We were blessed with an abundance of squash from a local farmer, and I’ve been adding it to everything. As long as I keep the recipes interesting and the forms of delivery creative; soup, pies, muffins, bread; no one seems to mind that the main ingredient is exactly the same. This Ginger Squash Soup was one of the recipes that everyone absolutely loved which means two things. One, I had to write it down because that rarely happens and two, I knew I needed to share it with you!

If are like us, you may have kids at home that don’t enjoy soup. We’ve been there. It’s not fun, especially when one is trying to get in some gut healing broth.

I have two little tips for getting kids to eat soup. First, toppings. Seriously. My kids are topping gurus. Everything from seeds to sour cream; guacamole to sriracha; crackers to croutons to chips. If they can scoop it on or crumble it on the top, they are happy. It’s like a toppings bar for sundaes except we do it for soup.

Tip number two; straws. For some strange reason, my kids are opposed to chunky soup and love straws. Totally fine. I can work with that. I blend all of my soups with my beloved immersion blender, put the soup into mugs, and pop in a stainless steel straw.

If you haven’t yet questioned the ability to use both toppings and a straw, I’ll save you the trouble. They cannot co-exist. So, do what I do and mix it up a bit. No toppings? Grab the straws. Fridge and pantry filled with random topping like ingredients? Fill tiny bowls with those and watch the kids go to town.