Magic Mushrooms? Not what you think you hippie!
Mushrooms become the “meat on a plate” for a plant based eater.
The earthy quality, meaty texture and endless variety provide an extremely versatile food! They are also medicinal!
Personally I use many varieties in all forms: Fresh, dried, powdered, in a broth or even blended.
Dried mushrooms can be found in most stores now. Not just shitake either. Chanterelle’s have a sweet, delicate flavor that I just love.
Botelos are earthy and dense. Perfect for soup.
Lately I have found dried mushrooms at Sprouts and Thrive Market (online). Asian markets often have a wide variety at low prices. I find fresh ones there too that I cannot find in conventional stores.
One of my best sources for dried mushrooms is Olive Nation. Olive Nation is a cool online site that has a lot of ingredients I can’t find anywhere else. They are a tad expensive so I wait until they have big sales before I stock up on mushrooms.
It is a good way to start though and I buy the mixed mushrooms. I use A LOT of mushrooms and two large bags set me up for a year.
Not all of their products are WFPB, so be sure to read the ingredients on anything you purchase there.
Preparation
One of my fastest soups is to put a few pieces of dried mushrooms in my Ninja Foodie cooking blender.
I love this thing!
In go some mushrooms, a potato (for creaminess) and seasonings. My creamy mushroom soup can double as a gravy. Who has never used Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup? Well you can make your own and be on a caser-roll! My Ninja makes the soup in 30 minutes!
Want more of a broth? A piece of kombu and 3 shitakes in water make a lovely and healthy dashi broth. Rehydrated mushrooms can be a little chewy though. Finely chopped, they can give quite a texture to a dish.
Bubba Gump comes to mind when I think of ways to prepare mushrooms. Braised, sautéed, baked, boiled, stir fried, air fried, stewed…. endless really!
I love my Mushrooms Rockefeller, Mushroom Wellington and Mushroom Steaks Au Poivre.
Medicinal Mushrooms
Did you know how healthy mushrooms are?
Ever heard of Cordyceps?
This little mushroom is a real detoxifying powerhouse for the liver and kidneys. It may even halt fibrosis which leads to Cirrhosis! Cordyceps is available as a supplement. I like this one from Host Defense. It is a strange looking mushroom. Kind of like cat tails.
If you have any kind of liver problems, consider adding Cordyceps to your supplement list.
Cordyceps is pretty well known for it’s benefits so I will move on to one I’ve never heard of.
Turkey Tail is inedible but the most well studied mushroom to date. It may be the holy grail that fights off unwanted fungi in the body, like Candida and mold. It is available in supplement form.
Too bad you can’t eat them. They look really cool! Just like a turkey tail!
How about some edible mushrooms here!
Maitake is extremely beneficial to alleviate heavy metal toxicity. Metals are in everything and contribute to a host of neurological disorders. Metals are in the air we breath, water we drink, medicines we take, household products, cosmetics, and even your food if you are using toxic metal pans. (Throw out the aluminum pans and foil)!
Maitake’s can reduce the levels of mercury by as much as 50%.
I use Maitake mushrooms like I would shredded chicken in a lot of recipes.
Cilantro can also reduce heavy metals as well as most seaweed products. Hate cilantro? I’m sorry. It is a great little herb with lots of benefits.
I can’t imagine a dish with mushrooms, cilantro and Spirulina but it would be one powerful detox!
Maybe I try a Chopped basket on myself with these three ingredients together. (Suggestions welcome here).
Artichokes are well known to detox and repair the liver – similar to Milk Thistle. I might make that the fourth ingredient. My artichoke tacos are great and use cilantro. I add nori to them to make them a little “fishy”, I could use spirulina instead and add in some mushrooms cooked the same way as the artichokes.
Shitake is another common mushroom that aids the liver. It is known to decrease inflammation and has a role in fat metabolism. Shitake are rich in vitamin B! Plant eaters can always use a little B.
Eat mushrooms to eliminate fat? Show me the menu!!!
Ok, I have never heard of these two.
Agaricus is a mushroom that can provide protection against drug induced liver injury.
If you are seeking a WFPB diet, chances are you have experienced a lot of pain. Painkillers are extremely detrimental to the liver! There doesn’t seem to be ANY that have no adverse effects.
I use Arnica Montana in many forms. It may be natural and safer than conventional pain killers. I can’t say if it causes liver damage but what are we to do when in pain? Especially chronic pain?
Well I never heard of the Agaricus mushroom but if it can offset liver damage from pain medication, I am there!
Host Defense has this mushroom in capsule form. It is an edible mushroom that looks quite a bit like button mushrooms.
Reishi mushrooms has an antioxidant effect against amatoxin. Ironically an incredibly toxic compound found in some fungi. It protects liver cells from damage that would normally by caused by the amatoxin and drop the ALT and AST significantly!
Yes, Host Defense makes this supplement too. You can find it here.
Lions Mane mushrooms help increase the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) which protects us against degenerative brain disorders. It is known to help with memory and concentration. but may also reduce irritability and anxiety. It’s immune boosting benefits have been strongly touted as a Covid-19 fighter and the immunity starts in the nose and mouth!
I drink Lion’s Mane tea from time to time and have noted the calming effect first hand. Can’t say what it does for the memory though. I can’t remember if it helped or not. 😉
Lions Mane available in several supplemental forms. I assume it is edible as it can be ingested as a tea. There a Lions Mane supplements all over the place. I have never seen fresh mushrooms though. Too bad. The appearance of the mushroom looks very much like a shaggy lion’s mane.
Chaga tea has no flavor that I can tell. I add it to my soup at the last minute. Chaga is another power house mushroom that is known to boost immunity due to it’s high levels of zinc. Zinc can be an unpleasant mineral to take. It is recommended on an empty stomach in order to absorb better but it can produce nausea and stomach cramps rather quickly. (So can a cheeseburger and fries but people don’t seem to mind that much).
This mushroom can actually stimulate the growth of white blood cells. I suffer from red blood cell anemia and thought I could benefit from Chaga tea.
It is also known to regulate blood sugar and alleviate some symptoms of diabetes.
Testing
I do not take any mushroom supplements often enough to say they help and I only get blood work once a year. (Coming up soon).
Recently, I was suffering from some severe neuropathy issues. Well I suspected they might be related to toxic implants that had ruptured inside my body. There’s a lot of metals in the implant shells and fluid. Lions Mane seemed to help but I don’t know if it was due to the mushroom or the explant surgery.
Just FYI, I order tests online and use a local company like Labcorp to draw the blood.
A comprehensive panel can be had for $44 HERE. Considerably cheaper than what I’ve been paying.
Some insurances limit testing so it is good to have a source that does not have to be ordered by a doctor, $44 is about the same as most co-pays for a doctor visit.
Conclusion – where do I start?
With this many varieties of mushrooms, you could take one or two each day. If you don’t eat them, take a supplement that day.
Pick one supplement based on your needs and use it for 30 days.
References:
Seven Medicinal mushroom benefits
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