Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Heart Healthy Valentine's Soup With Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Love, Spoon, Letters, Heart, Soup

Love and hearts are synonymous with Valentine's Day, and there is no better time than Valentine's Day to eat a heart healthy soup such as this yellow squash and zucchini soup.

 I love to create beautiful tablescapes for Valentine's Day using pink tables-cloths and decorative pink dishes, candles, hearts, love, and flowers. 

Love, Valentine, Valentines Day

So, I've made a heart healthy soup recipe for thisValentine's Day  using yellow squash and zucchini which provides lots of taste and nutrients without lots of fat and calories.- perfect heart healthy food.

Vegetables, Zucchini, Food, Meal

If you care about your health (and of course you do), you've got to re-think what you eat. It's a choice that you need to make everyday as well as on special occasions.

You can also think healthy red soup for this holiday and try my red (Link) Russian Borsht Soup

borsht

My Russian Borsht Soup 
 


zucchini vegan soup

I decided to make this yellow squash and zucchini noodle soup in my Instant Pot, but of course it can be easily made on the stove top. 

Costco sells produce bags that contain 3 organic zucchini and 3 organic yellow squash. I buy them for the zucchini but then always have to figure out what to do with the yellow squash. 


soup, vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, zucchini



Nutritional Value of Yellow Squash and Green Zucchini

Zucchini: zero fat, low carb, low calories, Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, fiber, the carotenoids- lutein and zeaxanthin - which are excellent for the eyes, bones, and heart. 

Zucchini, Noodle, Noodles, Zoodle

Yellow Squash: Low carb, low calorie, no cholesterol, zero fat, good source of beta-carotene, high in fiber, A, B, and C vitamins plus many minerals. It's a heart healthy choice. 

Lots of nutrients in this plant-based heart healthy soup which also meets gluten-free, vegan, and oil-free standards.

I recently purchased a hand held very small zucchini spiralizer that is very easy to use especially for a small amount such as for this soup. 


Ingredients: 
2 cups of sliced onions (about 1 large onion)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 cups of peeled and diced potatoes
4 cups of yellow squash, sliced
1 cup of chopped or sliced carrots
1 cup of diced or chopped celery
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of cumin (or more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon of black cracked pepper
2 teaspoons of Better Than Bouillon (low sodium organic vegetable) (see notes)
8 cups of water 
2 large bay leaves (remove before eating or blending)
2 cups of spiraled zucchini noodles (zoodles)
1 handful of raw spinach 

Instant Pot Directions:
Add sliced onions to the insert pot of the Instant Pot. Press sauté and allow to saute for 5 minutes while stirring. ( If it begins to stick after a few minutes add a tablespoon or two of water). Add garlic and potatoes and continue to pan sauté for another 3 minutes. Add yellow squash, celery, Better Than Bouillon, carrots, water and garlic powder, onion powder, bay leaves, cumin and pepper. Cancel saute and press to pressure cook for 12 minutes. When done, release steam manually according to the manufacturers instructions. 
When all steam is released, remove the lid and then remove bay leaves. Using an immersion blender, blend somewhat but leave somewhat chunky.  Add spiraled zucchini noodles and spinach which will both wilt in the hot soup.

Stove Top Directions: 
In a large dutch oven type of pot add sliced onions. Pan sauté the onions for 5 minutes stirring frequently and adding a tablespoon or two of water if needed. Add garlic and potatoes and continue to sauté for more 3 minutes. Add yellow squash, celery, Better Than Bouillon,  carrots, water and garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, bay leaves and pepper. 

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until potatoes are tender about 25-30 minutes. When done, remove the lid and the bay leaves. Add zucchini noodles and fresh spinach which will wilt into the soup, retaining more vitamins. 

Notes:
1. Don't want to use Better Than Bouillon?- substitute 4 cups of any vegetable broth and then add 4 (instead of 8 cups) of water.

2. I pan saute onions and vegetables without oil. You can use oil if you prefer when you saute.





15 comments:

  1. Those yellow zucchinis are looking really GOOD!

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  2. I love this heart-healthy recipe for Valentine's Day, not to mention your enthusiasm for hearts and flowers décor! The squash are gorgeous, especially the yellow ones, and I adore your blue floral tablecloth.

    Also, thanks for asking about Virginia Kantra's Little Women novels. They offer a wonderful message for women of all ages. But, full disclosure, they contain some (albeit non-explicit) sex, so I'm not sure if they'd be right for your granddaughter.

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  3. Our daughter uses the zucchini noodles a lot. I’ve never tried them. I’ll have to do that…

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  4. Yum, yum - I love squash and homemade soups. Pinned - this is winner!

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  5. This looks great! I'm a big fan of Better than Bouillon -- good product at a good price. Anyway, thanks!

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  6. I love soups of all kinds! I also buy that Costco bag of squash and will try your recipe as I also have a spiralizer and a pressure cooker, which I do not use often enough. Thanks!

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  7. Hello! I am glad you visited my little blog. It led me her to your space. I love this recipe. It sounds delicious! I will visit again soon. Have a cozy evening!

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  8. Looks like a good vegetable soup! I also like Better than Bouillon -- have you tried the mushroom flavor?

    Thanks for the comment on my post yesterday: I quoted you in today's post.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  9. We make zoodles, especially in the summer. And you can't go wrong with any vegetable soup.

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  10. Love zucchini but I never thought of using it in a soup. Have to make it I do have that bullion cube too which i never used. Perfect timing.

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  11. This sounds like the perfect combination of nutritious-and-delicious.

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  12. I need more heart-healthy recipes such as your soup Judee! Thanks for sharing. Cheers to a happy and delightful Valentine's Day to you!

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  13. i love that colourful tablecloth under your soup. so pretty. yes we changed our eating habits last year and i do think carefully about what i cook and eat now. we still have treats every so often. I think the biggest change was stopping alcohol. have saved money and calories :-)

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  14. We were eating zucchini noodles quite but we haven't had them for months! Time to revisit them I think.

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Your comments are appreciated. I love knowing who is stopping by to read my posts! Have a great day.

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