I am staying with my mother for the holidays and like many other people out there she has a cold. My family eats the Standard American Diet, and I never really try to push them much with my own food habits/lifestyle. I’ve noticed that the more I try to push thoughts, food and so forth on people the more they repel. It’s best to make something and leave it out so it is clearly free game for all to enjoy. If they feel inclined and attracted on their own, they will give it a try. I never push saying “it’s healthy” or it’s “the way you should eat.” That doesn’t work.

Here is a video of me making a not vegan cooked soup for my mother that I have absolutely no problem preparing or any sense of guilty feeding someone. The main thing to keep in mind is to cook at a low temperature and boiling is one of the cleanest cooking methods ❤

My mom surprisingly wanted to keep the shiitake mushrooms in the soup, even though I was using it more to enhance the broth. Mushrooms are very difficult to digest raw, and to get the full medicinal benefits using them in a tonic or boiling them in a soup is probably the best way to go. They have a lovely robust, smokey, earthy and woody flavor to them which makes them so great for light soups and broths. Woody?! Besides typically growing off of trees, part of it’s name explains how this all works. The word “shiitake,” comes from the Japanese language. “Shii” in Japanese refers to wood belonging to the Pasania species of tree on which shiitake mushrooms naturally grow. “Take” simply translates as “mushroom.” Hehe 😀

Shiitake mushrooms has high levels of protein (18%), potassium, dietary fiber, zinc, copper, selenium, niacin, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. They have natural antiviral and immunity-boosting properties. Nutritionally they are used to; fight viruses, lower cholesterol and regulate blood pressure. Lentinan, an immunostimulant derived from shiitakes, has been used to treat cancer, AIDS, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibrocystic breast disease, and other conditions with impressive results!

Just another odd example of how not pressing ideas or food on people in the way to go 😉

Much love ❤ and raw power 😉