Flipping Mushrooms On The Grill

Evenings are finally getting cooler here in Dallas.  A nice change from the 100+ degree days we’ve been getting for much of the Summer.  Grilling out in those temperatures is little more than throwing a slab of meat on a plate and leaving it in the sun to cook.  But, now that Fall is finally approaching, I fired up the old Weber grill this weekend.

Family wanted burgers.  Me, I’ve been getting my fill of beef, chicken, and fish lately, so i wanted to try something different.  I went browsing in the local Sprouts and found some fresh portobello mushrooms that were 6″-7″ in diameter and looked just like tasty round slabs of meat.

I’ve heard that vegetarians often use mushrooms in place of meat, so, being the adventurous eater that I am, I bought a couple of the firmer looking brown caps.  Time to grill up some meat and mushrooms!

Marinated the meat with Worcestershire sauce and the mushrooms with olive oil and some red pepper.  Threw them all on the grill, and learned that portobello mushrooms kick out a different sort of smell when cooking.  More earthy and somewhat fresher than the smell of charring meat.  My neighbor actually stuck his head over the fence to ask what I was cooking.  When I told him mushrooms, he ducked back down muttering something about it being unnatural to grill anything but meat in Texas.

Once cooked, I slapped one of the mushrooms between a  bun, threw on some lettuce and tomato, and had one of the tastiest burgers I’ve ever eaten.  Really really good.  Now when I get burned out on eating beef and chicken, I can always throw some mushrooms on the grill or in the oven to spice up my diet.

Forget the fact that taking a break from meat is always a good thing to do to allow your body to do some self cleaning, but mushrooms are really healthy.

Some fun facts about a mushroom’s nutritional value:

First, unless you know what you are doing, don’t pick your own mushrooms.  There are hundreds of species which are poisonous.

Second, mushrooms are not vegetables, and they are not herbs.  They are fungi.  You just aren’t likely to see a “Fungi” sign in your local Kroger, so look for mushrooms in the veggie section.

Mushrooms are made of 70%-80% water, which was really surprising to me as the portobello burgers I cooked had the texture and chewiness of meat.  And at only 100 calories per ounce, they are a perfect weight loss substitute for beef or chicken.  Mushrooms contain very little sodium and fat, and 8% to 10% of the dry weight is healthy fiber.

How about vitamins are other nutritional goodies?  Mushrooms pack quite a wallop.

Mushrooms are an excellent source of potassium.

Potassium is a mineral that helps lower elevated blood pressure and reduces the risk of stroke. One medium portabella mushroom has even more potassium than a banana or a glass of orange juice. One serving of mushrooms also provides about 20 to 40 percent of the daily value of copper, a mineral that has cardioprotective properties.

Mushrooms are a rich source of niacin, selenium, and riboflavin.

Selenium is an antioxidant that works with vitamin E to protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals. Male health professionals who consumed twice the recommended daily intake of selenium cut their risk of prostate cancer by 65 percent. In a Baltimore study on Aging, men with the lowest blood selenium levels were 4 to 5 times more likely to have prostate cancer compared to those with the highest selenium levels.

Certain mushroom species are famous for their healing and immune system boosting capabilities.

Shiitake mushrooms have been used for centuries by Asian cultures to treat colds and flu. Lentinan, a beta-glucan present in the fruiting body of shiitake mushrooms, appears to stimulate the immune system, help fight infection, and demonstrates anti-tumor activity.

So, the next time the family wants burgers, just throw sone fungi on the grill for a tasty and healthy meal.

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