I look through cookbooks, cooking magazines, and old recipes all the time in search of something delicious to eat. Sometimes I strike gold and other times not so much. Interesting enough I came across a “baked potato soup” recipe the other day and (more…)

Welcome 2013!  I’m headed into this BRAND SPANKING NEW YEAR with an attitude adjustment. I’m going to change my diet a little by becoming a flexitarian. Which basically means I will lean towards eating more vegetables, grains and fruit as my main diet, and 2 to 3 days out of the week still enjoy my favorite meats.  Just a slight cut back here and there.  I learned about this way of eating at the Dole Healthy Lifestyle Blogger Summit I was invited to a few weeks ago, held at the California Health & Longevity Institute and The Dole Headquarters both  in Westlake Village, CA.

Let me tell you all about it.  The first day we arrived we started the trip with some friendly competition.  We were each teamed up against a fellow blogger, handed the same ingredients and asked to make a certain dish.  I was assigned salad.  I have never been one to enjoy timed cooking or to be judged by a panel of people tasting my food, but in this case it worked out.  I am proud to say I won best salad in my category.  The judges said my salad was perfectly spiced and I was the first person ever to use the grill when making a salad.  That was a good omen that the trip was going to be fantastic

The next day I learned many new facts about healthy substitutions in old recipes. We sampled recipes Dole has been publishing for the past half – century versus the new and improved healthy recipes to see if we could tell the difference and to test which we preferred.

In one of the food driven learning sessions we also learned some interesting tidbits about mushrooms and Vitamin D (known as the Sunshine Vitamin).  Did you know, if you place your mushrooms outside in the sun for 10 minutes before cooking them they will soak up 100% of the Vitamin D your body needs in a day? How cool is that? Vitamin D deficiency is linked to a number of chronic diseases – Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, and Type 1 Diabetes to name a few.  This is a serious problem worldwide due to lifestyle, geography, and weather, so we are rather fortunate that sometimes our Vitamin D needs can be met through diet.  You will now be able to purchase Vitamin D powder made from portobello mushrooms to sprinkle in your food or even bake with it.  Or you can do things the old fashioned way and just make yourself something laced with lots of mushrooms. That’s what I did today. Nothing like a nice big pot of mushroom soup to keep me and my family healthy. I want to share it with you… so you can keep your family healthy too.

Ingredients for Mushroom Soup:

• 6 – tablespoons of butter
• 1 – large onion sliced
• 1/2 – teaspoon dry basil
• 1/2 – teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 – teaspoon applewood smoked salt or sea salt
• 1/2 – teaspoon Lawry’s
• 2 – large dole portobello mushrooms (cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 16 – ounces white mushrooms (quarter sliced)
• 4 – garlic cloves
• 4 – cups vegetable broth
• 2 – tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 – teaspoon (per bowl) premium olive oil for garnishing

Directions:

1. Place cleaned mushrooms out in the sun
2. In a large pot over a medium flame add butter and allow to melt. Then add in onion, basil, ground pepper, salt, and Lawry’s. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add in all mushrooms and garlic cloves. Saute for 10 to 15 minutes. Stirring every 3 minutes or so. 
4. Add in vegetable broth and let come to a boil. 
5. Once broth is boiling remove from flame and with a ladle scoop out all content from pot and add to a blender. 
6. Blend till smooth. Pour back into pot and add in sour cream. Mix till combined. Serve hot and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil. Pair with cheese toast or a piece of whole grain toasted pita. Enjoy!

Disclosure:  My travel expenses, and meals were all provided graciously by Dole. Thank you Dole, it was a great summit.  As always all opinions and recipe are my own.