There are two things I love about Fall: Seasonal Squash Soups, and watching Top Chef with the husband.
Ok there are lots of other things I love about Fall, but these two are definitely high on the list.
So when I was contacted by the folks at Oikos about whether I wanted to virtually chat with Richard Blais (my all time favorite Top Chef contestant) and receive a healthy recipe from him, and host a giveaway for all of you, I couldn’t turn it down!
Nonfat Greek Yogurt is one of my favorite healthy substitutions – because you can use it for virtually any creamy substance (sour cream – like in these tacos, cream, mayo, etc.).
Richard Blais seems to agree with me
He used Dannon Oikos instead of cream in this Acorn Soup Recipe, and shared these healthy tips for cooking with Greek Yogurt:
- Swap out the dollop of regular sour cream on your mashed potatoes with Greek nonfat yogurt for a nutritious and creamy-thick taste.
- Greek nonfat yogurt is a great addition to any casserole; the nonfat greek yogurt provides calcium that acts as a binder.
- Greek nonfat yogurt can be used in dips and dressings as a substitute for regular mayonnaise or sour cream to provide a nutritious twist to your recipe
- Use Greek nonfat yogurt in marinades – it’s a great tenderizer!
- Whether you’re making a spiced apple cake, or a creamy cheese cake, Greek nonfat yogurt is a great substitution for some dessert staple ingredients such as oil, butter, cream cheese or ricotta cheese.
- If incorporating yogurt when cooking, avoid using aluminum products – the acidity of yogurt can react negatively with aluminum.
I can’t wait for all of you to try this recipe!
Richard Blais’ Acorn Squash Soup
Serves 4-6
The Ingredients
- 1 whole acorn squash
- 1⁄4 white onion, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp celery, chopped
- 1 1⁄2 quart veggie stock
- 1/2 cup Dannon Oikos plain Greek nonfat yogurt
- 2 tbsp cranberry canned jelly
- 3 leaves cilantro
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Pomegranate seeds for garnish
- Lime for garnish
The Instructions
- In a stockpot, cook the onion, bay leaf, garlic and celery in some olive oil until garlic releases aroma.
- Add the chopped acorn squash and then the veggie stock and simmer. When the acorn squash is cooked, swirl in Dannon Oikos plain Greek nonfat yogurt and remove from the heat. Add the paprika to the soup.
- When the squash is cooked thoroughly, purée the soup and pass through a sieve so it is smooth. Stir in the cranberry jelly.
- Garnish with the cilantro, pomegranate seeds, a squirt of lime and add a dollop of Dannon Oikos plain Greek nonfat yogurt on top.
Oikos® is a registered trademark of Stonyfield Farm, Inc. and used under license by The Dannon Company, Inc. Note that Dannon Oikos and Stonyfield Oikos are two separate brands under the same parent branch (Stonyfield is the organic version of Oikos)
- A $25 gift card to Whole Foods
- 5 coupons for 5 free pints of Oikos Greek Frozen Yogurt
To Enter: You can enter in one of four ways (each option below counts as a separate entry):
- Subscribe to The Picky Eater via RSS or via email
- Follow me on Twitter (@pickyeaterblog)
- Like The Picky Eater on Facebook
- Follow me on Pinterest
Then post a comment here for each option above that you chose.
This giveaway will be open until Monday, November 5th at 11:59pm PST. I’ll be selecting the winner at random (via random.org) and will contact them via email. I’ll be announcing the winner in the comments of this post on Tuesday, November 6th.



Hello! I'm Anjali. I'm a 20 something living in the SF Bay Area, with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty, and fun! Try some of 





















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This is awesome … love Top Chef and Blais was one of my faves. I ate at his burger restaurant in ATL and it was awesome. Can’t wait to try the soup, Anjali!
Oh that’s so awesome! I’ve wanted to try his restaurant for some time now. So glad it was good! Let me know how you like the soup!
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That soup looks awesome!
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Thanks Nicole! Hope you like it if you try it!
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I already follow you on Twitter! That’s actually where I saw the link to this post! Haha
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I love Greek yogurt as an ingredient too! I follow you on Facebook.
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I’m also a Facebook fan of the Picky Eater – thank you for the fabulous giveaway too!
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This soup looks delicious, interesting to add cranberries to it.
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Im following you and some amazing recipes on Pinterest! Indeed, Im making your samosa’s tonight for a dinner party. Props to you!
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love this site! will b here for recipes often
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Great recipe. Looks delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks!! Enjoy!
The soup looks yum!!! Like the healthy approach to food for life!!!!
Thank you so much Shibi!! Let me know how the soup turns out for you!
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the soup looks really good and yogurt always makes such a great substitution to the cream. greek yogurts are thicker and most importantly does not affect the taste. love the pic with pomegranate seeds on the side.
Thanks Dixya! I love yogurt as a substitution for just about anything creamy – for exactly the reason you described – it doesn’t affect the taste of the meal! I’m sure you will love this recipe
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Following you on my yahoo! email. I definitely want to try this soup, yogurt sounds like a great way to incorporate protein into a meal. Plus I love squash, I just had some in my pasta!
I love squash too – especially in the fall! Can’t wait to hear how this soup turns out for you – thanks for the kind words Christy!
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That looks really good, thanks for the recipe.
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Interesting site on the similar note to easy, tasty and healthy food. I did find some inspiring recipes here. Will try them and let u know. btw, just liked u on FB.
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Hi Everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that Casey is the winner of this giveaway!! Congrats Casey
The folks at Stonyfield should be contacting you soon to ship the goodies you’ve won. Thanks everyone who entered – stay tuned for another giveaway coming later today!
AHHH oh my goodness!! I can’t believe it! Thank you Anjali – I am a huge fan of your blog and am so stoked to win something here!! Still can’t believe it!!
Awww! You are too sweet Casey
I’m so glad you like my blog!! And congrats again on winning!
My first recipe from your site and really liked it! However, it seems that the instructions forgot when to add the cranberry…I added it at the end but others may be confused. Looking forward to making more of your dishes.
Thanks Courtney! Oh and great catch – sorry I must have accidentally left that out! You are supposed to stir it in at the end – the recipe is now updated
Thanks for letting me know, and so glad you liked this!
Thank you, looks delicious.
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