Sunday's Soup/Flu Buster Mushroom and Spinach Soup

The flu was a real worry for so many this past winter. My husband had a flu shot, but I did not. I decided to do what I could on my own to try and make sure that I stayed healthy. One measure I took was to drink a glass of green foods first thing every morning. Actually, I do this year round. It is not my favorite thing to drink, by no means, but as I drink it down, I keep in mind that I am doing something good for myself, at least I hope so. The green foods pictured below is one that I ordered. It's not my favorite as it has stevia in it and so it has a sweet taste. There's one that I purchase at Whole Foods that does not include stevia and I like it better. For many though, one with stevia would be much more palatable. 

I also take a probiotic capsule every morning and every night. And then...I made this soup, lots of it, and ate it throughout the winter. Now, the soup is MUCH more enjoyable than drinking that green drink. But, I would grow tired of eating the soup every morning ;) 

Early in the winter, my husband and I were out for lunch and I saw that there was a mushroom soup on the menu. I love mushroom soup! Well, it wasn't the best, but it made me think of what I would do to make it really good. One that if I owned a restaurant would be something people would want to come back for. 

I began with lots of mushrooms, 6 cups, along with a large onion and 3 cloves of garlic. All sauteed until the mushrooms were tender.     

I then added  1/2 cup of barley, 1/2 cup of wild rice, and 4 cups of vegetable broth. 

Brought it all to a boil, reduced the heat, and then let it simmer for about 45 minutes until the rice was cooked through.

I then added 3 sliced carrots, and 8 cups of chopped spinach, along with at least 2 more cups of vegetable broth, and the spices. The soup was once again brought to a boil, the heat reduced to a simmer and allowed to cook until the carrots were tender. 

The result was a very satisfying and delicious soup.

Flu Buster Mushroom and Spinach Soup
printable version

ingredients;
1 large onion chopped
6 cups sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic chopped fine
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup wild rice
3 carrots sliced
8 cups chopped spinach
6-8 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano 
salt and black pepper to taste

directions;
Pour olive oil into a large soup pot. Add chopped onions and sliced mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms are tender. Add chopped garlic and saute for another minute. 
Add barley, wild rice and 4 cups of vegetable broth to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until wild rice is tender, approximately 45 minutes.
Add chopped spinach and sliced carrots to the pot. Add enough broth to gain the consistency of soup you would like, 2 to 3 cups should be fine. Add dried thyme and oregano. Once again bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to cook until carrots are tender, no more than 20 minutes.
Serve and enjoy! 

I was in a grocery store doing a little shopping one Saturday afternoon. A company was there promoting their products and one was a green pressed juice of some sort. I took a sample and a man came up from behind me and said, "oh, that can't possibly taste good." Actually, it wasn't bad, but I understand how he felt. Believe it or not, there was a time in my life where I found every possible way I could think of to get out of eating my vegetables. Miracles happen :)

Wishing you great health! :)

Rhonda