Looking through my pile of recipes, this one caught my attention.  What’s not to love about a soup with beef, brown rice and mushrooms?  The original recipe from Very Well uses some high sodium ingredients like canned mushrooms and reduced sodium beef broth.  Yep, reduced sodium beef broth is still too much sodium for a person who is on a low sodium diet.  It also lacks protein and vitamin C.  The calorie count is a bit high for what you’re getting.  However, I made some changes so that the sodium is lowered and the nutritional value is raised so it hits all the macros.

Here are the original stats:

• 332 Calories
• 18g Fat
• 88mg Cholesterol
• 449mg Sodium
• 221mg Potassium
• 13g Carbohydrates
• 9g of Protein
• 130% Vitamin A
• 6% Vitamin C
• 2% Calcium
• 21% Iron

Here is what I changed:

• Deleted the canned mushrooms and used whole fresh white button mushrooms and increased the amount to 8 ounces.
• Replaced the reduced sodium beef broth to low sodium beef broth
• Increased the amount of brown rice to 3/4 cup.
• Deleted the tomato paste and replaced it with ultra low sodium soy sauce.
• Added broccoli for vitamin C.
• Increased the servings to 9

Ultra low sodium soy sauce is not easy to find.  The link above takes you to a place that sells it online.  I order several bottles at a time.  It’s totally worth it when you have to cook for someone who has to stay on a low sodium diet.  The stuff tastes great!  Since the tomato paste is being used as an umami ingredient and we are using beef, soy sauce works as a good replacement.

Here are the updated stats:

• 292 Calories
• 8g Fat
• 44mg Cholesterol
• 178mg Sodium
• 416mg Potassium
• 21g Carbohydrates
• 27g of Protein
• 95% Vitamin A
• 116% Vitamin C
• 6% Calcium
• 6% Iron

Hearty Beef, Brown Rice and Mushroom Stew

Serves 9

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 fresh garlic clove, chopped in large pieces
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 pound carrots, chopped
• 1.5 pounds of broccoli, chopped
• 3 pounds beef chuck, cubed in 1 inch pieces
• 1 quart low sodium beef broth (not reduced sodium)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons ultra low sodium soy sauce
• 3/4 cup uncooked short grain brown rice
• 8 ounces fresh button mushrooms, sliced

1. In a 4-quart stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the celery, carrots and mushrooms and stir-fry them until they are lightly brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables to a plate.
2. Add the meat to the pot and brown it for about 5 minutes on each side.  Pour the broth into the stock pot and scrape the bottom with a spatula to deglaze it. Stir in the thyme leaves, paprika, pepper, garlic, and soy sauce.
3. Cover the pot and cook at a very light simmer for about 40 minutes. Add the brown rice and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Add the reserved vegetables and cook for 15 minutes. Add the broccoli and simmer 15 more minutes, then serve.