The Hemp Connection:
mushrooms

I was looking for something comfort-foody to make the other night. I ran across a potato soup recipe that looked yummy…until I saw that it called for heavy cream.

I tried substituting Greek yogurt for the cream and it turned out great! It is not as luscious-creamy as a traditional cream soup, but it's still wonderful nonetheless.

Here is the recipe. I actually added the salsa because the recipe originally called for poblano peppers and my store was out of them. Loved the extra kick!

If you were to use the Monterey Mushrooms, which are organic and high in vitamin D, you'd be creating an especially hormone-friendly meal for yourself!

It is an adaptation of the Potato Poblano Soup recipe found in the lastest Costco Cookbook,"Smart Cooking the Costco Way."

Spicy Creamy Potato Soup

2 tsp canola oil
1 white onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 serrano pepper, minced
1 cup fresh salsa
3 small to medium potatos, cut into 1/2 inch dice
5 cups 1/2 strength chicken broth
1 cup Greek yogurt
salt and black pepper

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and aute for 2-3 minutes.

Add mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add garlic, peppers, and salsa; saute for another minute.

Add potatoes and chicken broth. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add Greek yogurt.

With a slotted spoon, scoop out about 1 1/2 cups of the soup vegetables and puree in a blender. Return the puree to the soup and stir well.

Reheat the soup to a simmer, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve. Makes 6 servings.

I don't know about you, but mushrooms just aren't my top priority when I'm writing my grocery list. They're fungus, right? They just can't have much to offer with regards to nutrition, with that neutral color and different texture!

Was I ever wrong! Last week I learned that mushrooms contain two nutrients with healing potential for women with PCOS. They contain chromium, a metal that can be helpful with cravings. You may have read earlier on this blog, chromium in large doses may damage DNA. So the wiser choice may be to include foods in your diet that provide this metal in a dose that Mother Nature has provided.

Mushrooms, surprisingly, also contain vitamin D! It's one of the few non-animal sources of this vitamin, so vegetarians take notice! Your pizza is a great place to sneak in some 'shrooms. You may have read that some mushroom producers are experimenting with a technology to increase the vitamin D content of mushrooms using light exposure. Even if you get the regular button mushrooms at the store that have not been processed in this fashion, they'll still contain vitamin D.

I spent last night looking at how different mushrooms vary in nutritional value. Regardless of what the type…portabella, shiitake, button…there was something valuable about each and every one of them.

So put them in your omelets, add them to your salads, toss them into your pasta sauce! Mushrooms, for PCOS, can be pretty marvelous!

If you'd like more specific help planning menus including mushrooms, our new inCYSTem menu planning/coaching program features mushrooms this coming week. If you sign up before October 23 and help us beta test this program, you pay half price ($7.50 for a month of ongoing menus and can continue to subscribe at that price for the following 5 months). Contact me directly at marika@google.com for more information.

They're all tasty ways to include mushrooms in your diet.

Earlier this week, Christine Marquette mentioned high vitamin-D mushrooms in her radio interview. I wanted to give you more information if you're vegan and looking for a way to increase your dietary vitamin D intake.

Check out the Monterey Mushroom website for nutrition information, recipes, and where to buy them.

As I mentioned when talking to Christine, I wasn't a big mushroom fan for a long time. Then I realized they had a lot of nutritional benefit. They're so easy to add to a lot of your already favorite foods.

It is so much easier to eat well when it tastes good!

Yesterday I found kale and portobello mushrooms deeply discounted at the store. I bought them both, since I try to eat kale whenever I can, and my own personal nutrition project is to eat more mushrooms. I hoped to find a recipe that incorporated them both, but figured if I couldn't, I'd be happy with portobello burgers and some kale chips.

I found this super easy recipe by Rachael Ray. This is what it looked like just before serving time. Isn't it beautiful?

Kale is one of nature's highest anti-oxidant vegetables, but it's not one I find many people naturally bring home from the store. They often have no idea what to do with it. Hope you like the recipe.

I still have enough kale left over for making chips. Yay!