Free Food? Time for #Mushroom Picking!

Yes, I truly am a fan of mushrooms and mushroom picking. Big thanks for that to my parents, and especially thanks that I know mushrooms and eat them. Oh, and also thanks to my friends who make sure I get mushrooms even when I'm stuck in a city and don't get out to pick them on my own. Well, I grew up wandering in  woods not just harvesting wild herbs, but also looking for mushrooms. And that time of the year is here again!

As I got a little packet of wild mushrooms today, I thought it's not a bad idea to remind also others that mushrooms are great addition to healthy diet. I won't teach you how to recognize mushrooms - for that you need to go into woods together with someone who knows them. I wouldn't really trust learning to recognize mushrooms online if you want to put them in your mouth. Some mushrooms truly are easily recognizable and there aren't similar dangerous mushrooms, while other good and healthy mushrooms might be similar to their dangerous mushroom-sisters. 

This time just a few words about mushrooms, reasons to eat them and interesting facts:

• Mushrooms absorb whatever is around the place where they grow and it is essential to eat only organically grown mushrooms and pick them in clean places. They absorb pollution, so they also need to protect themselves and they know how to do it. The substances that develop inside mushrooms for their growth and protection are also beneficial for human health. 
• Mushrooms are truly nutritive food and they not just help to get the necessary nutrients, but also boost immunity, help to maintain healthy weight and boosts allergy resistance.
• Mushrooms are a great source of Vitamin D. For vegetarians this is the best natural source of Vitamin D. 100 grams of mushrooms that grow exposed to light contain the entire daily dose of Vitamin D an adult needs. 
• They also contain a lot of B group vitamins, potassium, selenium, chromium, copper, phosphorus, iron and plenty of antioxidants. Take in account that different types of mushrooms can contain also different nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
• Mushrooms are great substitute for meat. 
• They are gluten-free.
• Mushrooms are low fat and low calorie food, that contains a unique type of proteins that are beneficial for human health. 
• Mushrooms help to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, it means they are beneficial for maintaining good heart health. 
• By the way, growing mushrooms at home is really easy and they grow fast and live short. From the moment the mushroom cup gets out of the ground until the right time to put it on your plate is just 2-3 days.

So, if you don't recognize mushrooms well or don't have a clean place to pick them, it's a not a bad idea to get your own mushroom grow-kit! And don't get too excited about mushrooms in shelves of big shops - most of them aren't grown the organic way.

What's the sunshine in the moss? Chanterelles! Golden chanterelles called also egg mushrooms are not just beautiful and have great nutritious value, they are also really aromatic and tasty, and  very highly valuated among wild mushrooms. Here are my chanterelles waiting for winter: cooked with butter and frozen. :)

Are you a mushroom picker?