Food of the Week: Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a super-healthy food that can easily be added to many meals for a quick nutrition boost!

Mushrooms are nutritional powerhouses, containing many needed nutrients such as B vitamins, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Selenium, Copper, and Potassium. All these vitamins and minerals together help your body to function properly, especially your cells. You can have healthier skin and blood if you regularly consume mushrooms.

Antioxidants are also important for your body, and mushrooms are a great source! Mushrooms can also help with weight management due to their fiber content. They are hearty and filling, without fat and sodium.

Mushrooms are one of the foods in the umami taste category. Umami is a savory, meaty taste. It is a nice, strong flavor found in other foods as well, such as soy sauce, parmesan, and tomatoes. Using the natural umami flavor, found in foods like mushrooms, to season your dishes can help reduce salt intake if you are hoping to lower sodium in your diet.

There are many different varieties of mushrooms, and they all vary a bit in their nutritional profile. Always be sure you are buying mushrooms from a reputable source, because some wild mushrooms can be poisonous. A few edible and nutritious mushroom varieties include cremini, chanterelles, portobello, morels, enoki, beech, shiitake, porcini, button, and oyster.

To learn more about mushrooms, visit the fun website https://www.mushroomcouncil.com/ where they have tons of facts about a variety of mushrooms.

Mushrooms are great to eat in so many ways. Some can be consumed raw and others are best enjoyed cooked. Adding mushrooms to salads, soups, ground meat dishes, stews, stir-frys, grain dishes, and using as a meat substitute are all great ways to enjoy them.

Here are a few fun recipes for you to try! Share your favorite way to eat mushrooms with us in the comments!

For more delicious recipes, head over to my Pinterest!