Pumpkin Soup ~ Easy Indian Intermittent Fasting Diet

I started on Intermittent Fasting a year back, and for a complete month, I was focusing on eating only an Intermittent diet.

The latest trending diet currently is Intermittent fasting (IF). This diet is all about an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It doesn’t specify which foods you should eat but rather the time window during which you should eat and fast.

A single post is not enough to explain in detail. So will attempt that later. However, today’s post is all about making healthy soup that is very healthy and filling as well.

Since I am a vegetarian who doesn’t eat soya chunks, and mushrooms as well, finding a proper protein food was quite tough. However, after cooking this diet, I realized our Indian food can very easily be modified to meet all the requirements for this diet.

And not to mention, if you follow what’s advised you can easily achieve good results. So for this week, it’s going to be healthy soups that I follow for my Vegetarian Intermittent Fasting Diet.

Some of the other foods I have cooked for this Intermittent Fasting are Carrot Soup, Quinoa Pulao, Quick Kadai Paneer, and Quinoa Biryani.

Ingredients

This is a vitamin-loaded-rich soup. So use fresh vegetables for the best results.

• Pumpkin – I have used yellow pumpkin that is cubed and sauteed.
• Capsicum – Since we are looking for Beta Carotene rich produce, I have used red capsicum. You can use yellow as well.
• Other Veggies – Along with the above, you can use half a Tomato and a handful of Shallots as well.
• Spices – I have used whole spices like Cloves, Cumin Seeds to enhance the flovour. Since we grind the puree, it is best to add a little for the health and aromatic benefits.
• For Garnish – We can use any seeds for garnishing on the top. I have used Chia Seeds, it adds a good crunch to the soup.

Instructions

To make this Pumpkin Soup, take a pressure cooker, heat oil, saute the spices and add shallot, saute for a few minutes.
Next add the cubed tomatoes, red capsicum, and pumpkin and cook on slow flame for 5 mins.
Add salt, and 1/2 cup water, and bring to a boil.
Add 3/4 cup water and cover with a lid, and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles.
Once the pressure falls down, let it cool down.

Pulse all the ingredients together to a smooth creamy texture.
Add it back to the pan, add pepper powder, boil, and add more water as required.
You can adjust the seasoning if you need to.
Garnish with Chia Seeds.

Why is Beta Carotene important?

Bright Yellow, Orange, and Red Colored Vegetables are rich in Beta Carotene. The body converts Beta Carotene into Vitamin A (Retinol)

Vitamin A, known as a vital nutrient for vision, plays a critical role in cell growth and in maintaining healthy organs in our body.

Substitutions & Variations

For this Pumpkin Soup, we can other Beta-Carotene vegetables as well. The richest sources of beta-carotene are yellow, orange, and green leafy fruits and vegetables (such as spinach, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cantaloupe, and winter squash)

Equipment

I used a pressure cooker to cook this soup. Next, you will need a blender to make this a fine puree.

Storage

The fresh vegetables can be stocked and you can make this soup fresh. However, you can make this soup and heat it when you want to consume it as well.

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