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I heart mushrooms. I always have. Whether it’s a giant portabella on the grill, mixed into a pasta sauce for spaghetti night, or just having it topped on a juicy burger, I love it any way I can get it. I could never figure out why I loved them so much when I was younger, until I started studying food and it’s make up. Needless to say, Mushrooms are pretty awesome.
Besides being able to adapt their taste to whatever meal you are making, Italian, Asian or what-have-you, they provide a great amount of vitamins for the body.
The Benefits of Mushrooms
Did you know mushrooms are the only produce that actually has Vitamin D in it? Most of us know to get it from the Sun, dairy, or in pill form, but a good amount of ‘shrooms on your plate can do the trick. It’s also a great source of Calcium, Selenium, Potassium, Riboflavin and Niacin. Talk about dietary overload!
They also provide a great source of protein. I know lots of vegetarians and vegans love to use mushrooms to get that protein punch they need to stay healthy, so why not base a meal or two around it a few times a month? Also, not only is a great source of protein, it’s a FAT FREE source of protein.
Did you also know that mushrooms actually aren’t too hard to grow? They’re found in the wild quite a bit, so I think we frugal mavens can have such a good time growing them. Not into growing your edible buttons? Get them from the store for a low price. I personally can’t wait to go to the farmers’ markets this summer and stock up on some of the more interesting varieties of mushrooms. Ever had a blue or purple mushroom? They exist! I’ve seen it!
The mushroom concoction pictured above included, baby bells sliced with an egg slicer, sliced, multicolored peppers and onions sliced thin. I cooked it all in my wok and we had it as a side dish that night. There was so much that I split the leftovers in 3, placed in freezer bags and they are saved in the freezer for future meals, like stir fry, burrito or burger night.
This soup was made with the mushroom stems and a few sliced ‘shrooms I reserved on the side. I heated up some turkey stock I had in the freezer, added in half a ramen packet of chicken flavor, and let it boil. Once I could smell the broth, I turned it to a simmer, added in chopped onion and the mushrooms. I let it cook for about 2 minutes, added in a splash of soy for flavor and called it Chinese mushroom soup. We had it along with my recipe for fried rice. It was divine and so easy.
So, here’s the challenge: create at least one meal this month featuring(or hiding) mushrooms. This will be a great way to start stretching those frugal meals you have to put on the table every night. Since they are so inexpensive, you can try out a new recipe and have it not effect the budget. The goal is to find at least one new recipe that you can go to that is meatless but provides lots of nutrients. Need inspiration? The Mushroom Channel has great information on mushrooms and even greater recipes.
Any of you love mushrooms like I do? Anyone loathe them?
I’m a mushroom fanatic and I forage for them in the park starting from early May through end of November. Right now Morels are running like crazy so if you take your kids to the park take a look around and see if you can find some. In June chanterels will start and black trumpets. You can always find oysters, wood ear (those black thingies in your chinese food that taste crunchy) and I still have few bags of frozen Maitake that I picked last fall – 15 lbs of it! Can you say I love mushrooms
Jenny,
I remember seeing all the pictures on your blog of the wonderful mushrooms you found! I was drooling just looking at them lol. I always loved your new posts about the mushrooms you find. I’ve tried to look around for some, but I haven’t been able to find them in the parks here. I’d have to come up your way in the woods to really find some mushrooms. I think I may just start growing them right here. They don’t need much space to grow and since we don’t have much space anyway, that’s great for us. I’ll have to ask you for recipes once I get them going!
2/3 of my kids refuse to eat mushrooms. I simply chop them very small and put them in spaghetti sauce. They gobble it up no problem.
Love mushrooms and we eat them in every meal. There are studies showing that they are good preventive measure for breast and prostate cancer. I use a lot of eggplant too.
One thing I read about and I try to do when frying/sauteing them is to get the pan really hot, add the oil and then the shrooms. I also “blot” or otherwise put them on paper towels because they “weep.” But we love them too!!!
My sister and I have refused to eat mushrooms our entire life (she will be 40 this year). It’s pretty funny because anytime my mom made stuffing, she always had to make 2, one with mushrooms (homemade) and one stove top for my sister and I. And we’d always ask, ‘Which one has mushrooms’. I don’t think I have actually even tasted a mushroom!
I did see on Dr. Oz making a portobello mushroom pizza. The portobello mushroom serves as the crust…it looked yummy! But I’m hesitant to try it!
Beth,
I know so many people like you and your sister lol. I totally think you should try it! Our adult palette is very different from our childhood one, so it’s always a good idea to give things that you didn’t like as a child another chance. I bet that portobello mushroom pizza is probably really good. I know your Hubby loves to grill; maybe have him grill you up some marinated portobello this summer?