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...

About Me

              

Hey everyone!

Welcome to Sophiesticated Health! I am so excited to start writing this blog and share my food journey with you. My aim is to offer an honest account of how food can affect the way you look, but more importantly how you feel and to take control where you may have otherwise felt helpless.

My story stems from years of struggling with problem skin. After exploring every avenue in the quest for clear skin I finally turned my focus to healing myself from within. Disappointed with my GP not taking my condition seriosuly and after being oversubscribed antibiotics for over 10 years I decided to take things into my own hands. I wanted to get to the root cause of my problem, as issues within the body often show themselves through the skin.

I have always LOVED food and for previous years; having an extremely high metabolism I would eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted (at the time, not making the link between the food I was eating and the health of my skin and general well-being).

After learning about the negative effects of processed foods I decided this was the best place for me to start. I began slowly, starting with taking a conscious effort to read the labels on the food I was buying; looking for products with the least amount of ingredients(or at least ones I could pronounce). Following on from this I cut out dairy, removing the majority of cheese from my diet and replacing cows milk with alternatives such as: soy, rice or almond(I have found my body doesn't seem to agree with almond milk and soy in general is believed to contain many toxins bad for the body).

Slowly I started to wean myself of processed foods until I got to the point I am at now; eating whole (organic where possible) raw foods. This new way of eating has changed my life for the better and knowing exactly what I am putting into my body helps me sleep easier at night (literally).

My existing belief was that by cutting out the foods I used to love (and crave) I would be more restricted in the meals I could make...this couldn't be further from the truth! Meal-times nowadays are much more exciting, colourful and the taste of the dishes you can create is incredible. I look forward to eating everyday in the knowledge that I am providing my body with the nutrition it needs to be the best it can be.

I hope you will join me in my journey to better health, better skin.

In my blog I will be sharing the following:

My story -  the steps I took, things that worked for me, things that didn't

A list of the core staples that should be in everyones cupboards

A guide to key ingredients specifically for the skin

Selection of whole food recipes - smoothies, breakfast, mains

Skin care - natural, organic products that are currently on the market and my experiences with them

I hope you enjoy reading my posts and I look forward to answering any queries you may have.

Sophie x