Butternut Squash Bisque

This tasty, fragrant veggie does more than make your pasta sauce delicious. Garlic is loaded with good-for-you vitamins and minerals like manganese, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and other antioxidants, including allicin. The health benefits of garlic have been recognized for centuries, ever since the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates prescribed it to treat all kinds of illnesses. Now modern medicine is embracing garlic’s healing properties too.

Garlic has anti-inflammatory benefits and helps blood flow more easily through the body resulting in helping to stabilize better blood pressure.

Garlic can also reduce cardiovascular disease risk by lowering your cholesterol. Adding garlic to your daily routine is a healthy way to develop a lifelong habit that can benefit your health year after year

Garlic is a natural at reducing heart disease risk because it lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. It’s also great at reducing your risk of heart disease by relaxing hardened blood vessels and preventing platelet aggregation. How does it work? Garlic increases production of nitric oxide which keeps blood vessels relaxed. It also prevents platelets from binding to proteins, which reduces blood clots. When it comes to heart disease help, garlic’s got you covered.

Digested garlic helps boost the immune system and reduces the severity and length of cold and flu symptoms. Studies have also reported that the average length of cold symptoms were reduced from five days to a day and a half. If you like garlic, try adding more to your meals when you feel a cold coming on.

Ancient cultures used garlic to enhance the performance and reduce the fatigue of people doing physical labor. Eventually, the Olympic athletes in Greece started using garlic to enhance their athletic ability. Now modern athletes (and regular folks too) are using it to reduce exercise-induced fatigue.

There is some evidence that garlic can help reduce bone loss by increasing estrogen in females, which can be a big win for your bone health after menopause.

Damage from free radicals contributes to aging, but garlic contains a powerful antioxidant to help battle that—S-allyl cysteine. This antioxidant shows promise in protecting against brain damage and keeping your brain functioning better as you age. It works by increasing your brain’s blood flow thanks to garlic’s ability to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. This means a reduced risk of brain disorders like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Garlic is a superfood because it has so many beneficial properties: antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal. Which adds up to big benefits for your skin

Information gathered from: https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/food-nutrition-and-diet/8-surprising-health-benefits-of-garlic

Butternut Squash Bisque is a rich, but healthy vegetarian fall soup that is sweet and creamy with just a touch of heat.

Servings 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 large butternut squash
1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 large carrot chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 jalapeno pepper seeds removed, chopped (optional)
3 garlic cloves minced
1 large sweet apple peeled, cored and cubed
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup coconut milk (full fat)
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare butternut squash: Cut rinsed squash in half length-wise. Scoop out seeds, and place on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in a 375°F for about 45 min until tender. Allow to cool. Scoop out flesh and set aside for the recipe.
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat.
Add onion, celery, carrot, jalapeno, and garlic. Saute, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
Add apple, squash, broth, and ground ginger. Stir to combine.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes, until apples are tender. Remove from heat.
Blend soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Be careful of splatter!
Stir in cream, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook a few more minutes to increase the temperature, if necesary. But do NOT bring to a boil (your cream will curdle!).

NOTES

Have fun with toppings! Top your soup with pepitas, roasted sunflower seeds, chopped pecans, or croutons for a little crunch.
Consider adding 1/2 to 1 teaspoon turmeric or curry powder for extra flavor or health benefits. Add it in step 4 with the ground ginger.
How to Use Fresh Butternut Squash: Remove skin and seeds from squash, and cube. Add squash to the pot when adding the apples. Boil until tender before continuing to the next step.
An immersion blender is the easiest way to puree this soup.
Do not boil after cream is added. Boiling cream will make it curdle and separate. Not pretty.
Use disposable gloves (like these) while preparing jalapenos. Oils from the peppers can burn your skin.
To freeze: Prepare soup according to instructions, stopping before adding the cream. Place in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight (I place in a bowl to do this to prevent leakage). Reheat. Then stir in cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.

NUTRITION

Garlic Health Benefits