Keep the beef – add mushrooms. Consider this new idea for changing your favourite dishes – adding mushrooms allows you to cut down on meat without going full on vegetarian. Consider mushrooms your gateway drug to a healthier diet. 

Hen-of-the -woods

Mushrooms have a fresh, umami flavour profile and a texture that is both meaty and vegetal. They not only do the job of satisfying in the flavour department, they also intrigue. No chef would consider making the classic Beef Wellington without generously smothering the beef tenderloin in a blanket of rich, woodsy mushrooms- duxelles, in itself a fabulous and irresistible spread for a canapé.

Enoki

But here’s a great little secret about these wonders of nature. Mushrooms extend, enrich and to varying degrees replace meat in a great many recipes. Especially ground meats like beef and pork and lamb. Mushrooms also absorb other flavours too, so if you have picky eaters, mixing in some chopped mushrooms in this manner will be a great way to sneak in another serving of vegetables, and mushrooms also release their juices when they cook, making your burger even juicier. Substitute a third to a half of the meat in your next burger, meat sauce or meatloaf recipe and replace it with chopped mushrooms that have been roasted or sautéed. Not only will you will vastly reduce it’s fat and caloric content, you will be adding an intriguing fat-free woodsiness, and cutting down on food cost.

from mushroomsonthemenu.com

If that doesn’t sell you let me pontificate further- mushrooms are a great source of B vitamins including riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid. They are also rich in potassium and copper, so good for bones, red blood cell manufacture and the nervous system, and also contain the antioxidants selenium and ergothianeine – say that five times fast! They are gluten-free, and are a low-energy-density food (few calories per volume) meaning they provide a feeling of satiety without adding many calories. You want to show your family some love? Skip the flowers and cook them up some delicious, magical (not that kind of magic!) mushrooms.