“All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once.” ~Terry Pratchett, author
Ok, full disclosure time.
This will be one of those exceedingly rare times when I discuss the health benefits of something that I have absolutely zero intent to ever consume.
My father is deathly allergic to mushrooms. I mean deathly. Like completely and deathly allergic to mushrooms. It’s the spores; it is basically impossible to clean mushrooms well enough and get rid of all of the spores, so he avoids them completely. And so do I. I don’t know that I’ve inherited that allergy, however, with all of my other allergies, it’s simply best to skip them completely.
However! Mushrooms have many health benefits, and many people are very fond of them. What are some examples?
They’re low in calorie count. One cup of mushrooms has only 15-20 calories per cup. They’re high in fiber, so that one cup of mushrooms will fill you up & help satisfy your appetite. Mushrooms have potassium (helps with muscle cramps), B vitamins, choline (helps with sleep), copper (necessary for healthy red blood cells), and selenium (wards off depression). All of those nutrients may help fight inflammation in the body, which can help with your joints, depression, and general well-being. Mushrooms are also a rare item in the food nutrition world: they have vitamin D, which helps build strong bones and fight inflammation. (Again with that anti-inflammatory thing. Darn food allergies…)
So if you like mushrooms but you don’t think about them often, what are some options? Toss them raw into salads. Add them to pizzas or sauté or stir-fry them with other veggies. Drink them in your coffee. (Say…what?! Not kidding. Look it up!) Add them to scrambled eggs or omelets.
BE AWARE! This is vitally important. It can be very, very difficult to determine which mushrooms in the wild are edible and which are poisonous. Therefore, I absolutely recommend against picking your own, other than morels. They’re pretty obvious. Go to a store, or find a reputable mushroom hunter.
So! If you’re a fun-guy (or fun-gal), what do you like about mushrooms? What have you enjoyed mushrooms in recently? Salute the ‘shrooms, and give them a shout out!
Cheers!