If you have spent any time watching movies set in the ’70s, you have probably heard of magic mushrooms. But for the health-conscious, this phrase knows an entirely different meaning. What if you heard evidence suggests that that regular mushrooms may really be a magic diet food? Shouldn’t you know which ones to eat, how to eat them and how they can help you lose weight?
The Mushroom Diet
You know a food is trendy when there’s a diet built around it. This is a simple diet to follow with very few rules, which is why people love it. The basis of the mushroom diet is that you replace one meal every day with plain, cooked mushrooms. So if you like mushrooms, this diet could be your next favorite.
When it comes to choosing which mushrooms to eat, the sky’s the limit. This diet works with a huge variety of ‘shrooms, from the common kinds you can find in any grocery store (for example, white mushrooms and portobello) to the more exotic mushrooms that foodies love (i.e. shiitake and chanterelle).
How to Eat Your Mushrooms
Another reason people are embracing mushrooms is their ability to adapt to all kinds of cooking techniques. Mushrooms can be steamed, sauteed or roasted to create a low-calorie entree or side dish. And if you really want to watch your calorie intake, you can even eat mushrooms raw.
Mushrooms are loaded with vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins and iron, and they’re filling. Mushrooms are used in meals all the time as a meat substitute because they have a naturally meaty texture that’s filling and still provides protein.
Eating More Mushrooms
Another benefit of mushrooms is that they’re cheap and ubiquitous. You can find mushrooms at any grocery store, and often you can find them offered in many different ways. Mushrooms can be purchased whole, pre-sliced or pickled. You can toss a handful in a salad, throw them into any sauce or use them as a base to stuff filling inside. They mix beautifully into any meal as well. Mushrooms are a delicious addition to eggs, sandwiches, pasta and tons of other dishes.
One cup of chopped raw white mushrooms is only 15 calories, so it’s easy to see why you would want to add more of them to all your meals. White mushrooms also have about 2 grams of protein per cup, and about the same amount of healthy carbs. Most mushroom varieties have very similar nutritional value.
There’s a huge variety of mushroom-centric recipes out there, and it’s easy to spot easy mushroom swaps once you start looking for them. Eating more mushrooms can help you stay on a healthy diet that’s low in calories, high in nutrients, texture and flavor. There’s a good reason why you can find mushrooms everywhere: they’re delicious! When it comes to super diet foods, you can definitely do a lot worse than the humble yet highly effective mushroom.