Shiitake mushrooms are amazing. They are not only vastly superior to portobellos in taste but they have more health benefits as well.
My mom had breast cancer last year and I help out preparing healthy meals for her as much as I can. One meal that she has really enjoyed lately and which packs a ton of healthy cancer fighting goodness is a simple Japanese inspired Shiitake Mushroom soup.
Shiitake mushrooms have many beneficial compounds that have been shown to lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and reduce the size of cancer tumors. It also has anti-viral and anti-bacterial compounds as well.
The soup takes less than an hour from start to finish and served about six.
Mom’s Shiitake Soup
- One medium cleaned unpeeled sweet potato – diced in half inch pieces
- 1/2 box organic chicken stock
- 1/4 small red onion – finely diced
- 4 cloves of garlic finely diced
- 4-6 ounces Shiitake Mushrooms sliced in 1/4 inch slices
- 1 bunch of organic green onions cut up in small rounds
- 1 bunch of organic cilantro chopped
- 1 lemon – cut in wedges
- 1 tablespoon of Ghee, olive oil, avocado oil
- Two cups water
Sauté mushrooms on medium heat in fat of your choice (no veggie oil) in a medium sauce pain for 6-7 minutes. Add onions and sauté till they are translucent. Then add garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
Next add the chicken stock, diced sweet potatoes, and water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for at least thirty minutes to up to two hours.
To serve simply ladle the soup into a bowl and add a big handful of green onion and cilantro. Then squeeze a wedge of lemon into it and enjoy!
**I was cooking a lot of button mushrooms for my mom but I recently stopped after Paul Stamets on the Joe Rogan Podcast, warmed against eating them.
I highly recommend it. Paul Stamets is the most knowledgeable guy on the planet when it comes to mushrooms.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mPqWstVnRjQ
Button mushrooms, crimini and portobellos are all the same mushroom, Agaricus bisporus. He hesitated during the Podcast to reveal why to avoid them but I did a little digging and it turns out that Agaricus bisporus contain chemicals called agarotines that when digested can be carcinogenic.
I found a video of him explaining this in more detail. He said it’s analogous to smoking a cigarette when you eat one, except instead of just causing tumors in the lungs like cigarettes these compounds can create tumors all over your body.
So needless to say we avoid all button, portobello, and crimins until further scientific testing is done. Thankfully delicious Shiitake mushrooms don’t contain these carcinogenic chemicals.
In this video he explains to Daryl Hannah (yes the actress) starting at 6:30 why he thinks people shouldn’t eat button mushrooms and portobellos.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2C-QlPb3J74
I hope you will consider trying the soup. It’s something we have really enjoyed.
healthier2day.com 