Cream on a 5:2 Diet Fast Day? A 5:2 Diet Recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup

5:2 Diet Recipes – Autumnal Flavours in this Cream of Mushroom Soup:

Cream of Mushroom soup – not an obvious 5:2 diet soup recipe.  But it’s the first of September, it feels like the start of Autumn and it’s a year since I first started doing the 5:2 diet and since I started posting my 5:2 diet recipes on London-Unattached.  I’ve lost 12kg and I am at a bit of a plateau.  But, rather excitingly, I’m off to a bootcamp in Spain in early November!  That’s really focused my efforts to lose a bit more weight and get fit – so with some of the lovely ladies in the 5:2 diet face book group I am doing the 30 day squat challenge.  Day one today! It feels a little ironic that it takes being booked on a ‘get fit’ week to kickstart me into getting fit at home.  A bit like my mother who used to send us all to tidy our rooms while she diligently cleaned the loo and mopped the kitchen floor BEFORE the cleaner came.  But, I suspect many of us do the same?

Although the sun is shining, it feels just that little bit chillier and Autumn seems to be creeping up all too quickly.  For me, it’s the season for game, mushrooms and lovely vegetables like marrow and squash.  Mushroom soup is one recipe I’ve avoided trying to make so far for the 5:2 diet because for me, I really do prefer the ‘creamy’ version with a large dollop of cream stirred through to make a pale, rich and buttery dish.  As chance would have it, I’ve been sent some samples of Lake District Quark and having tried using it in cooking before I wondered if it might work as a cream substitute here to create the perfect 5:2 diet recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup.

The answer is most definitely yes.  It works really well and as I suspected doesn’t split when it is warmed through.  While I’d like to hope that I’d still pick the full-fat version if I was taking part in a blind test, this low calorie version is a pretty good substitute.  And by using quark you can make a creamy mushroom soup that is around 65 calories for a bowlful!  Perfect for a 5:2 diet fast day – this soup is filling and comforting.

Cream of Mushroom Soup – Low Calorie 5:2 Diet Recipe

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Serves	3-4
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	25 minutes
Allergy	Milk
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Soup
Misc	Serve Hot

Ingredients

• 300g Mushrooms (Any kind)
• 1 Banana Shallot
• 1 teaspoon Vegetable stock powder (I used Marigold)
• 150g Lake District Quark
• 1 handful Flat leaved Parsley
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 1 teaspoon Cornflour
• 2-3 shots 1 cal spray (or a few drops of olive oil, or a tiny amount of butter)

Optional

• 25g Dried Porcini Mushrooms (Soaked in warm water for 30 minutes)

Directions

Step 1	Finely chop the shallot and the fresh mushrooms.
Step 2	Gently soften the shallot for 8-10 minutes in a heavy based pan using a little oil or butter or a few shots of 1 cal spray
Step 3	Add the finely chopped mushrooms, season with freshly ground black pepper, sprinkle over a teaspoon of cornflour stir well and cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. They will cook down very quickly and produce quite a lot of liquid
Step 4	Drain the dried mushrooms, reserving the liquid, and chop them up as finely as possible.
Step 5	Add the dried mushrooms and liquid to the pan, sprinkle over the marigold stock powder and add a little water as necessary to make a runny porridge-like mixture. Cook for 5 minutes
Step 6	Blend with a hand mixer to the consistency of your taste. You can make a really smooth soup, or if you prefer, something like the version in my photograph. Yes, I know it's not a thing of great beauty...but, it's the basis for a fabulous creamy mushroom soup.
Step 7	If you don't want to eat all of the soup immediately, remove half at this stage, cover and put in the fridge.
Step 8	Stir through the Quark (half the quantity in the recipe if appropriate) and chopped parsley. Heat very gently till it is warm through. You don't need to bring it to the boil.
Step 9	Check and adjust seasoning to taste, serve garnished with a few parsley leaves.

I like parsley in my mushroom soup.  I’m not quite sure how ‘authentic’ that makes it, but it adds a nice peppery tang.  And, the addition of a little cornflour is to help stabilise the soup and stop it splitting and making a greying scrambled-egg-like mixture when you add the quark.  Another hint is that if you plan on having half one day and half on the next day, take out half the mixture before you add in the appropriate quantity of quark to what remains in the pan.  Even if you are making this soup with real cream, there’s a good chance that it will split if you re-heat it with the cream already added.

This 5:2 diet recipe has 65 calories per bowl made with Lake District Quark.  If you can’t find the quark, then substitute low fat creme fraiche, but remember that nutritionally it will have a few more calories and a lower level of protein (quark has 19 cals per 30g compared with low fat creme fraiche at 50 cals).

Thinking of making this recipe?  Why not pin it for later!

Disclaimer:  I received some samples of Lake District Dairy Quark for a blogging challenge – which I used to make this recipe.