Healing Mushroom Broth

*This recipe is essentially Organic Olivia’s Immune Modulating Medicinal Mushroom Broth with a few minor adjustments / commentary by me. My love of mushrooms began with the use of Four Sigmatic’s mushroom coffees when I wanted to wean myself off of coffee as it was contributing to my chronic inflammation. Earlier this year, I read Tero Isokauppila’s book which I mentioned earlier (he’s the founder of Four Sigmatic), and I fell in love with the magic of mushrooms. Olivia is a wealth of herbal wisdom and when I saw her recipe for mushroom broth, I knew I had to make this drink part of my daily ritual. I’ve been enjoying it’s comfort and benefits and wanted to pass on this plant wisdom, but of course giving credit to Olivia. Check out Olivia’s post for more information, as well as her incredible herbal supplements and FANTASTIC podcast (What’s the Juice?). I’m a devout listener.

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From the common cold to cancer, medicinal mushrooms are an incredible (and completely underrated) tool for healing!

Mushrooms are powerful adaptogens and immunomodulators, meaning they help the body adapt to stressors and regulate the immune system. Immune regulation is important, because sometimes we need to boost the immune system (which is what we hear about most often i.e. fighting off infections); however, sometimes the immune system needs to take calm down instead, as in the case of auto-immune disease where the immune system is in overdrive and actually causing harm to the body. Immunomodulators, like medicinal mushrooms, help the body achieve appropriate immune function balance.

I became interested in adaptogens and immunomodulators to help cope with my chronic anxiety and nail psoriasis (an auto-immune disease). Other than a general love for food and cooking, I am very passionate about healing with plants (food & herbs) which is the main reason I started this blog. The list of why mushrooms are amazing medicinal tools goes on and on. I have highlighted some of the most noteworthy attributes of the mushrooms I’ve chosen for this broth below, however if you are interested in learning more about the incredible properties of medicinal mushrooms, I highly recommend the book, Healing Mushrooms by Tero Isokauppila. It is a quick and fun read with mind-blowing facts and unique recipes.

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A quick testimony to the power of this broth:

I usually operate with a constant stream of anxiety but had been drinking this broth for about 2-3 weeks leading up to a trip (involving flights, interacting with a large group of strangers, and a single day 25 mile hike through the Grand Canyon, amongst other anxiety inducing things), and I felt SO calm the entire trip! I didn’t feel the usual awful fear and doom of traveling or experience the terrible pit of anxiety in my stomach when we got up at 4am in the freezing cold to do that crazy hike. The only thing I can attribute this to is the broth and that the adaptogens are working!

Aside from the mushrooms, calendula flowers are the other star healing force of this broth. Particularly this year, as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, our health, and the ability to quickly get through a sickness if we contract anything, is incredibly important. Calendula is a gentle lymphatic herb meaning that it can help stimulate the lymphatic system to move stagnant waste and lingering infection from the body. In addition, it will help prevent future infection, as it is antimicrobial, antibacterial, and is also known to be healing to the gut lining and other internal wounds.

The calendula flowers add a bit of bitterness to the broth and a flavor I’m not particularly fond of, but they are powerful so you only need a small handful or about 5-8g.

The broth in general, with the addition of vegetables like onions, celery, carrots, etc., is an excellent way to soothe inflammation, increase vitamin and mineral intake, and has been a beautiful, alkalizing addition to my diet.

My favorite way to enjoy this is drinking it hot, straight from a mug, with the addition of 1-2 tsp of white miso paste. The miso adds a wonderful saltiness and balances the flavor, while adding additional health benefits (additional minerals and good bacteria for the gut - it’s fermented!). You can, of course, use it in other dishes like soups or cook your grains in it.

Enjoy + Happy Healing!

M

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THE MUSHROOMS

TURKEY TAIL 

• Provides overall immune support / regulation

• known to be anti-cancerous while regenerating white blood cells to fight off infections

Reishi 

• immunomodulating

• improves circulation

• eases seasonal allergies

• supports healthy liver function

• prevents gut inflammation

• stabilizes blood sugar

• shown to reduce tumor growth in some cancers

• adaptogenic

• balances the endocrine system to achieve hormonal balance, leading to better sleep and reduced stress

Maitake 

• immunomodulating 

• improves metabolic function and stabilizes blood sugar

• adaptogenic

• bold umami flavor from l-glutamate (an amino acid)

Shiitake

• immunomodulating

• used to treat and prevent upper respiratory diseases

• increases energy / ‘qi’ 

• contains 7/9 essential amino acids 

• supports digestion

• improves liver detoxification

• improves circulation

• anti-inflammatory

• antiviral 

• high in vitamin D 

CALENDULA FLOWERS

• gentle lymphatic (helps move lymphatic system to remove waste and lingering infection)

• anti-microbial

• anti-bacterial

• healing to the gut lining

ONION

• rich in vitamins and minerals

• anti-microbial / fight infections

• improves circulation

• high in quercetin (a flavonoid) which is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant rich; therefore, an amazing cancer and infection fighter

GINGER

• improves circulation

• builds digestive fire

• helps absorption of other nutrients

MISO

• a fermented food, great for the gut microbiome

• high in minerals and vitamins

• studies show it may reduce risk of many cancers including breast, liver, colon, and stomach

• it adds a delicious salty / umami flavor

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Healing Mushroom Broth

Author: MADELINE APPEL

Ingredients

• 1 gallon water
• 8 grams dried reishi mushrooms*
• 8 grams dried turkey tail mushrooms*
• 8 grams dried maitake mushrooms*
• 8 grams dried shiitake mushrooms*
• 5-8 grams dried calendula flowers*
• 1 onion, cut in half
• 2 stalks celery, cut in half
• 2 large carrots, cut in half
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
• a few large chunks of ginger; fresh or dried turmeric is great as well for its anti-inflammatory properties
• other vegetables as desired (cleaned leek tops, left over onion skins, mushroom stems, etc.)
• herbs as desired (left over cilantro stems are great, fresh thyme, etc.)
• 2-3 tsp salt, pepper to taste
• miso paste, added after cooking

Instructions

Cooking

1. Place everything in a large pot and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 4 hours.
3. Cool, then strain through a fine mesh sieve into glass containers.
4. Store in the fridge for up to one week.

Serving

1. Heat through; remove from heat, then stir in 1-2 tsp white miso paste. Drink from a mug!
2. Add a splash of soy sauce, sriracha, some dried wood ear mushrooms, soft tofu, and your favorite dried seaweed for a delicious and incredibly nourishing miso soup.
3. Add to soups or cook your grains and legumes in it!

*In Organic Olivia’s post, she recommended sourcing the mushrooms from Oregon Mushrooms. I completely trust her and her ability to source high quality herbs and products, so I followed her lead. It is a small business with excellent values. If you look elsewhere, make sure they are organic and have trustworthy and transparent practices. Mushrooms easily absorb heavy metals and pesticides - we definitely don’t want that in our broth!

*I purchased the calendula flowers from Mountain Rose Herbs.