There’s A Fungus Among Us

Since it is wintertime I’ve decided to focus on foods that are often found in winter dishes. Today, just to be extreme, we’ll focus on a vegetable that is often considered totally empty nutritionally. Still, everybody invites him to parties because he is a Fun Guy…you got it:

Mushrooms.

photo credit: flowercarole lifestyle blog

Because mushrooms are totally fat free and have very few calories, people consider them to be a nutritional dunce. Mushrooms, however, have really come out as of late as a nutritional superstar.

Mushrooms are the only “vegetable” that has vitamin D in it, a vitamin sorely lacking in the average diet. They are also the best produce source for selenium, a mineral very crucial to immune health, which is mostly found in fish, meat, and nuts.

Mushrooms are also a very good source of many B vitamins, including folate, B6, and riboflavin. They also happen to be a good source of another mineral we tend to not get enough of, potassium.

I always find it shocking that in all of the foods that Hashem gives us we find amazing things that just can’t be made in a factory. And to think, people think mushrooms don’t add anything to your diet. Now you can feel free to add mushrooms as an important source of “vegetables” to any meal you are cooking. They’re also a great way to stretch ground beef!