Today’s rainy May day mushroom soup recipe perfectly embodies the principles of eating to nourish, practising sustainable eating and increasing your fibre and protein content in midlife. It’s a simple, sustainable celebration of earth’s bounty that supports vibrant health at every age. I promise you’ll love it! But first let’s talk about the best and only diet I recommend for midlife women – The Mediterranean Green Diet. Enjoy lovely! xo Sulin
It’s another rainy day in May here on the northern beaches of Sydney, and I’m all cosy inside. Sweetpea is snuggled on the chair next to me and I thought, I should share this soup that I’ve just made. It’s delicious! So while it’s all pitter-patter misty hills of trees outside, and the odd Butcher bird or Kookaburra popping by :), I’ll be telling you how to make a nourishing bowl of mushroom soup to warm you on the inside.
It’s all about nourishment – at any age
This soup is really tasty, and if you want, you can add less salt and cream and you can also replace the cream with coconut cream and the butter with ghee for a vegetarian experience. With each spoonful I’m reminded of how profoundly our food choices shape our wellbeing. Plant-based eating isn’t just a trend—it’s a return to what human bodies have always thrived on, particularly as we navigate life’s transitions. This is just another step in your Rewilding journey.
Whether you’re embracing midlife like me or at any stage of your journey, shifting toward more plant-centered meals offers many benefits for our digestive and hormone health. Our metabolic health flourishes with plant foods that naturally regulate blood sugar and reduce inflammation—crucial as our bodies’ processing efficiency naturally changes with age. The fiber-rich nature of plant foods nurtures our gut microbiome, which scientists now recognize as central to everything from immune function to hormone balance. Are you getting your 23+ types of fruits and vegetables every week?
For midlife women specifically, plant proteins from sources like mushrooms, legumes, and seeds provide alkaline-forming nutrition that supports bone density during years when osteoporosis risk increases. Often we focus so much in eating more protein that we end up eating a lot of meat, which is acidic and so great for bodies when we’re in a life stage where chronic inflammation is common. So we look to vegetables and plant-based protein to lower those acid levels internally. These same foods deliver heart-protective compounds without the saturated fats that can challenge cardiovascular systems in midlife.
Beyond personal health, our food choices ripple outward. Plant-centered eating dramatically reduces our environmental footprint—requiring less water, generating fewer emissions, and promoting biodiversity. It’s a beautiful alignment: what nourishes our bodies also nurtures our planet, creating a legacy of wellbeing for generations to come. I love this for us!
Why I 🎔 the Mediterranean Diet
The journey through midlife brings significant changes for women – hormonal shifts, metabolic adjustments, a complete cognitive recalibration and evolving nutritional needs. If you’d like more structured information on the various recalibrations women go through in midlife be sure to check out my webinars here and my podcast Well Woman. During midlife our food choices we make become more important. How we eat determines our healthspan going forwards into possibly the last third of our lifetime. The Mediterranean diet is not just a eating pattern, it’s a lifestyle approach that addresses many midlife concerns with delicious simplicity! Here’s how….
Hormonal Harmony
As progesterone levels fall and estrogen levels fluctuate (and eventually decline) during perimenopause, many women experience hot flashes, mood swings, and sleep disturbances. Our body shape starts changing and we can experience emotional upheaval on top of this. The Mediterranean diet’s emphasis on omega-3 rich foods like fatty fish, walnuts, and flaxseeds provides natural anti-inflammatory compounds that may help moderate these symptoms. In fact the biggest draw-card to this diet above others is really the anti-inflammatory foods it favours. Also, the abundance of phytoestrogens (plant-based oestrogens) found in Mediterranean staples like chickpeas, lentils, and olive oil can further help balance hormonal shifts, offering gentle support during this transition.
Metabolic Support
The midlife metabolic slowdown is real, but not insurmountable. I used herbs and a sugar-free diet over a 6 month period to significantly reduce my waist and hip circumferences for example. Which means reduced risk of chronic disease. The Mediterranean approach – with its focus on fiber-rich vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins – naturally supports healthy weight management without restrictive dieting. The diet’s moderate inclusion of high-quality carbohydrates helps maintain stable blood sugar levels, addressing the increased insulin resistance many women face as they age. This balanced approach makes maintaining a healthy weight more sustainable.
Bone and Heart Protection
With declining estrogen comes increased risk for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease – two major health concerns for women post-50. Good news is that the Mediterranean eating pattern delivers calcium-rich foods like sardines (with bones), leafy greens, and moderate amounts of dairy, supporting bone density maintenance. Meanwhile, the diet’s healthy fats from olive oil, avocados, and nuts help maintain flexible cell membranes and reduce inflammation in blood vessels, offering protection for your heart during years when risk factors naturally increase.
Mind and Mood Enhancement
Midlife can bring cognitive challenges along with mood fluctuations. Things like short term memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and mental fog are really common in midlife. The Mediterranean diet’s antioxidant-rich foods – vibrant berries, colorful vegetables, and yes, wonderful mushrooms – help combat oxidative stress that contributes to brain aging. Often I’ll assess neurochemical status for my patients, chemistry like serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine and melatonin. These neurochemicals play a role in our every lives in the way we eat, feel, think and learn. So it’s important to make sure we’re eating to support our neurochemistry, not just our stomachs 🙂 So let’s get to that recipe…
Creamy Mushroom Soup - a plant-based, protein rich meal
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter or use ghee for vegetarian version
- 500 g button mushrooms sliced
- 1/4 cup leek chopped
- 1/4 cup spring onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped or minced
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or use coconut cream for vegetarian version
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the oil and butter in a pot on medium heat, and then add in the mushrooms. Stir and cook until tender. Set aside a small portion of mushroom for dressing later on.
- Using a handmixer, blend until liquid.
- Stir in the stock, leek, garlic and spring onions and simmer for 5-10 minutes, then turn off heat.
- Stir in the cream and serve topped with mushrooms and shallots.
I hope you love this simple recipe! It’s a little more herby than most other mushrooms soups with the leek and spring onions, so tailor as you like to suit your taste. Happy eating!
Hey there! Welcome to my world of totally natural and powerful healing medicines. Medicines from nature. Medicine from Source. I’m a naturopath and herbalist with extensive clinical experience working with a range of health conditions including hormonal, metabolic, mental health, sleep and more.
I’ve brought together years of clinical and teaching experience, academic skill and curiosity to bring you this blog. I hope you enjoy it! If you do, leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
