Mushroom and coconut milk soup with crispy bacon croutons.


Here it is guys, my first recipe post. I hope you find it as tasty as me! Get cooking, and enjoy!!

I was seriously craving some mushroom soup and so decided to experiment with some ingredients in the kitchen....this my friends, is what I conjured up. 

Ingredients

1 white onion, chopped
3/4 garlic cloves (less or more depending on personal preference), chopped
380g/ 1 box of mushrooms, sliced
1 tin of coconut milk
600 ml of organic vegetable stock
2 handfuls of spinach (again adjust to personal preference)
2 rashers of cooked bacon
2/3 tsps of organic coconut oil
Himalayan pink crystal salt

Himalayan Pink Salt - Tesco

* Can be found in Tesco for approx £3
* Numerous health benefits to using pink himalayan crystal salt(blog to follow). 
** Please ditch the processed table salt!!!!

Kallo organic vegetable stock cube

* Can be found in Tesco for around £1.50
* organic, gluten and lactose free
* no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives
* No added MSG
* Suitable for vegetarians and vegans

Blue Dragon Coconut Milk

* Found in Tesco for approx £2 - £3
* Made from pressed, fresh coconut kernels







Toppings
4/5 bacon rashers (pre-cook the bacon until crispy and hard, break into bite size pieces)
chia seeds
pumpkin seeds
sunflower seeds

How to:

. Sweat the onions and garlic in the coconut oil until soft or  starting to golden in colour
. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened slightly
. Pour in the coconut milk and stir, heat for 1 minute
. Add the vegetable stock
. Season with salt and pepper
. Continually stir the soup and bring to the boil
. Add the spinach leaves and cooked bacon rashers and simmer for 1  to 2 minutes
. Blend the soup in a processor or with a handheld device to  your preferred consistency

Finishing touches:

. Pour the soup into a bowl and season with ground black pepper
. sprinkle on the chia, pumpkin, sunflowers seeds and crispy bacon  croutons

. store the remaining soup in the fridge or freezer to enjoy at a  later date

* Further Suggestions:

When cooking this soup I had some sweet potatoes and a fillet of salmon which were close to their use-by-date so... I decided to cook them up add them to my soup. Sounds a little odd but trust me it added that something extra and bulks out a soup if you're feeling a little more hungry. 

Sweet potatoes - diced into cubes and roasted in extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper wrapped in foil

Salmon - drizzled in olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and wrapped in tin foil

Skin Health Benefits

Mushrooms
. Great source of essential skin mineral - zinc

Spinach
. beta carotene 
. antioxidant
. selenium 
. magnesium 
. zinc 
. vitamin C  

Onions
. sulpher
. natural prebiotic
. anti-bacterial
. anti-microbial

. antifungal
. anti-parasitic

Garlic
. vit c
. selenium
. vit B6
. antioxidant
. anti-inflammatory, immune boosting, natural antibiotic, regulates blood sugar levels
. natural prebiotic
. antibacterial
. antimicrobial
. antifungal
. anti-parasitic

Pumpkin seeds 
. zinc 
. essential fatty acids 

chia seeds
. fibre
. high source of protein.
. calcium
. magnesium
. antioxidants
. omega 3-fatty acids
. manganese
. phosphorus

* zinc - hormone balancing, regulates sebum production, aids with wound healing
* beta carotene - (plant form of vitamin A) - anti-inflammatory, form of fat soluble antioxidant(protection the collagen producing layer of your skin)
* antioxidants -  protection against free radical damage
* selenium  - long term skin health - potent antioxidant - anti-inflammatory
* essential fatty acids - helps the body produce its own anti-inflammatory compounds
* vitamin C - helps with production of collagen
* sulpher - important for long term structure and ageing of the skin
* prebiotic - good bacteria found in your gut. Prebiotic feeds another set of beneficial bacteria called 'probiotics'; keeping these two 'biotics' in balance helps maintain the natural gut flora in your intestine...essential for a healthy immune system
* phosphorus - for healthy bones and teeth
* manganese - good for bone health 



Let me know how you get on by posting your comments below...