Mushrooms are wonderful, medicinal and magical. I love the history of these amazing little fungi. Dating back to Ancient Rome, the healers of the time understood their amazing powers. High in antioxidants, vitamin D, and selenium, mushrooms provide many potent health benefits. Studies show that mushrooms help increase our immune response. They provide powerful anti-inflammatory benefits. A potent superfood, they help decrease the risks of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, respiratory disease and other chronic conditions.

 Centuries Old International Tradition  

Stuffed mushroom date back to 19th-century Italian cuisine. But the French spread their popularity in the 20th century. Over my life I’ve enjoyed many varieties of stuffed mushrooms. I would typically eat them at holiday parties or social events. At home I’ve tried making a variety of stuffed mushrooms. This one is my family’s indisputable favorites. My sons eat them up so fast that I have to make a double or triple batch!  It’s a quick-and-easy recipe you can whip up in less than 45 minutes. These stuffed mushrooms are more than plain delicious. They are “sinfully” delicious.  So, if you are looking delicious and healthy side dish that is sure to be a hit, try this! Put this recipe on the top of your must try list.

Stuffed with Healthy Ingredients

Check out the healthy ingredients of this garlic stuffed mushroom recipe:

Avocado oil 

I use avocado oil for its health benefits and flavors. It’s chock full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and nutrients we need.  Plus, I like the taste.

Garlic 

A common ingredient in many recipes, garlic is one of the most underappreciated superfoods. Garlic helps support heart health. It helps reduce cholesterol levels and helps reduce blood pressure. Garlic also boosts our immune response, helps combat sickness and provides many other health benefits.

Cream cheese 

Organic cream cheese is a good source of vitamin A and vitamin B2 (riboflavin).  Used in moderation, cream cheese adds just the right amount of creamy goodness texture to the stuffing. It’s the yummy ingredient that takes these mushrooms from plain delicious to “sinfully delicious”.

Parmesan cheese 

This stuffing includes parmesan cheese which is a good source of calcium and vitamin D. We need calcium, vitamin D and protein to support our bone health, particularly as we age.  By age 30, we have achieved maximum bone density. For that reason, it’s important to nourish our bones with good sources of calcium and vitamin D such as parmesan cheese.

Onion powder 

Since onion powder is low in salt, it’s a popular ingredient to help reduce sodium content in many recipes. Onion powder is also a good source of calcium, potassium and magnesium which is are some of the key nutrients we need to stay in healthy balance.

Cayenne pepper  

Red cayenne pepper is a potent medicinal ingredient dating back almost 10,000 years. The healing powers of cayenne come from its high potassium, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and vitamin E content.

Transformative Benefits of the Mighty Mushroom

Mushrooms can help transform our health. They have helped maintain vitality and overall well-being since ancient times. The variety of potent fungi on the planet provide diverse health benefits. For example, Chaga mushrooms from Finland help provide antioxidant benefits. And Reishi mushrooms from China support healthy immune function. Shitake-Maitake mushrooms, also from China, support general well-being. And Cordyceps mushroom mycelium aids vitality and endurance. Plus many more have special health benefits. Fungi are like Nature’s medicine chest. They are a medicinal food.

Powerful Nutrition in a Delicious Bite Size Morsel

The nutrient rich ingredients in these bite-size tasty mushroom morsels help support our health. This Garlic Stuffed Mushroom recipe is one of the tastiest ways I know that packs a powerful superfood punch in a tiny bite. Whether for a family meal or holiday gathering, these Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms are sure to be a hit. Even more, they are powerfully nutritious and sinfully delicious at the same time. Let me know what you think.

Grace Notes

The mushroom toad has symbolized transformative powers for centuries– both magical and medicinal. Mushrooms have symbolized special magical powers since ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics to the modern classic literature. Alice nibbled on the most famous and magical literary mushroom in her Adventures in Wonderland. The Royalty of Ancient China commonly used Reishi mushrooms for medicinal benefits, especially to aid longevity. Above all, mushrooms are far more than a symbol of transformation. They are a medicinal food that has provided humans powerful health benefits since Ancient times.

Next time you see a cartoon of a toad stool, think of the amazing transformative benefits of the mighty mushroom!

Enjoy and Live Well with Zest!

xo

Bev

Written By Bev Hope

Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms

• Author: Bev Hope
• Prep Time: 25 min
• Cook Time: 20 min
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings, 2 each
• Category: Sides
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• 12 whole fresh organic button mushrooms
• Avocado oil- 1 tablespoon
• 1 8-ounce package of organic cream cheese, softened
• Minced organic garlic- 1 tablespoon
• Grated organic Parmesan cheese- 1/4 cups
• Ground black pepper- 1/4 teaspoon
• Organic onion powder- 1/4 teaspoon
• Ground organic cayenne pepper- 1/4 teaspoon
• Ghee butter or regular butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease baking dish or baking sheet with Ghee butter
3. Remove cream cheese from package and let soften.
4. Clean mushrooms by brushing them gently with a damp paper towel.
5. Remove the stems and chop in extremely fine pieces, remove the tough edges.
6. Chop garlic in fine pieces if using fresh garlic.
7. Heat avocado oil or olive oil in stainless steel skillet over medium heat.
8. Add chopped mushrooms and garlic to the skillet. Cook until the moisture has reduced, without overcooking the garlic. Set aside to cool.
9. Stir garlic and mushroom mister in cream cheese.
10. Mix in Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper and stir well. Mixture should be very thick.
11. Use a small spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a heaping pile of cream cheese stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on the prepared backing dish or sheet.
12. Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under the caps.

Notes

OPTIONS/ADD-INS

Stuffed mushrooms are a container for creative expression. Mix in your favorite herbs such as chives, tarragon, parsley, or basil, oregano, dill, or rosemary. Proteins such as egg, or sausage, pork, bacon, or veal meat add variety. Include plant-based protein such n chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, pine nuts or Macadamia nuts. Add chopped vegetables such as artichoke hearts, red peppers, scallions, or jalapenos. The possibilities are endless to create the perfect herb, spicy, or savory stuffed mushroom morsel.

Keywords: Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms

The post Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms appeared first on Well with Zest.

Cranberries have a unique flavor making them a favorite for many meals or even just to snack on. Packed with dense antioxidants and fiber, cranberries are one of Nature’s medicinal foods. In fact cranberries have a higher content of antioxidants than many other fruits and berries. And with a low sugar ratio (only four grams of natural sugar per cup) cranberries are an ideal antioxidant.

Cranberries Have Many Health Benefits

While cranberry juice is well known to support women’s health, there are many other benefits of cranberries that make them an ideal food. Do you know the major health benefit reasons to include cranberries in your diet?

Prevents UTI Infections

The first benefit of cranberries, or rather cranberry juice, is preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs). Cranberries are loaded with an antioxidant called proanthocyanidins, or PACs for short. These PACs help reduce the chances of developing a UTI by keeping bacteria from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract. Because women are more prone to UTIs the cranberry is a friend to women’s health.

Improves Digestion

The fiber content found in cranberries is great for overall digestive health. One cup of cranberries has about 4.6 grams of fiber which is 16% of the recommended daily amount of fiber. Not only does the fiber help you stay fuller for longer, but it also keeps you regular and prevents big swings in your blood sugar. This may reduce the risk of stomach ulcers and some cancers.

Reduces Bad Cholesterol

Cranberries are rich in anthocyanins (an antioxidant), which have protective cardiovascular effects that can lower high levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol and raises the HDL or “good” cholesterol which is beneficial to heart health. Studies have shown that dried cranberries contain more phenol antioxidants than any of the other commonly consumed fruits like raisins, plums, or apricots.

Supports Anti-Aging

The high levels of antioxidants in cranberries help flush out the endocrine system of free radicals that contribute to the aging process. With these free radicals removed your skin can look younger with prolonged improvement of the internal organ functions.

Eat Cranberries All Year Long, Not Just During the Holidays!

Cranberries have been part of my family’s traditional holiday celebrations all my life. But over the years I’ve started incorporating cranberries in foods I eat all year long. Whether in sauces, salads, casseroles, desserts, drinks, snack mix, or toppings, eat more cranberries to live well with zest. Let me know your favorite ways to enjoy cranberries.

Enjoy and Live Well with Zest

Bev xo

Written by Bev Hope

Reviewed by Board Certified MD

The post Cranberries: Nature’s Potent Antioxidant Food appeared first on Well with Zest.

When I was in high school, I kept the latest nutritional information booklets by my bedside table. I would read them to help me understand what foods should be on my “good” list if I wanted to be in shape.  Unfortunately, I followed the wrong advice and began eating mostly low-fat foods, essentially high carbohydrate and highly processed foods. These low fat, processed foods on the ‘good food list” lacked the essential nutrients we need to stay healthy and fit.  Now we know the guidance in those nutrition booklets was not only pretty bad, it was dead wrong. I wish I had known then what I know now.

Food is Medicine

We’ve come a long way baby since the low fat, high carb diets became the rage in the 70’s. We now know the guidance back then to eat low fat, high processed foods was completely wrong. We now have long term studies and decades of evidenced based research that reveal the truth: Food is Medicine. The right foods have the power to keep us alive. The wrong foods consumed over many years have the power to threaten our survival and hasten an early death.

Can an “Apple a Day” Help Keep Death Away?

We’ve moved on from the cliché, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” to serious talk: “An apple a day keeps cancer away”.  Now we are moving to even more serious talk: “An apple a day keeps early death away!”  So, what’s in the proverbial “apple”? How does the proverbial “apple a day” help keep death away? Well, it’s back to our basic A, B, C’s of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

We need to understand what vitamins and minerals are in the food we eat and what they do for our bodies. Vitamins and minerals are essential and necessary for our bodies to function at the cellular level. Unfortunately, and alarmingly, the modern-day diet worldwide is lacking in sufficient amounts of the essential vitamins and minerals humans need to live well and live long. Many people are dying too young due to consuming so much bad food and not enough good food.

Poor Diet is Associated with 20% of Deaths World-Wide

Poor diet is associated with 1 in 5 deaths world-wide, according to a new large study. That’s 11 million deaths a year due to putting the wrong foods in our mouths. The study, published in the journal, The Lancet, tracked trends in consumption of 15 dietary elements from 1990 to 2017 in 195 countries. These included diets low in fruits, vegetables, legumes (peas and beans) whole grains, seeds, milk, fiber, calcium, seafood, omega 3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fats, and diets high in red meat, processed meats, sugar -sweetened beverages, and trans fatty acids and sodium. These are diets low in good foods and high in bad foods.

Essential Vitamins and Minerals Our Bodies Need to Function

We all need to understand the basics of nutrients in the food we eat. We need to understand what vitamins and minerals our bodies need to function properly so we can eat what we need to keep our bodies functioning well. If you don’t want to be a chronically malnourished, underproductive, at risk for early onset of chronic disease, or early death, be sure you are getting enough of the following vitamins and minerals:

Vitamin A

Vitamin A functions include the formation and maintenance of teeth, bones, soft tissue, white blood cells, the immune system, and mucus membranes.

Vitamin B1

Vitamin B1 enables the body to use carbohydrates as energy. It is essential for glucose metabolism and plays a key role in nerve, muscle and heart function.

Vitamin B5

Vitamin B5 know as Pantothenic Acid helps turn the food you eat into the energy you need. It’s important for many functions, especially breaking down fats.

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 is involved in protein metabolism, brain development during pregnancy and infancy as well as immune function.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 helps keep the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and. Helps make DNA, the genetic material in cells.

Biotin

Biotin helps turn protein, fat, carbohydrates you eat into energy you need.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E helps protect cells from damage caused by free radicals and helps boost the immune system to fight bacteria and viruses.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is important for blood clotting and healthy bones.

Phosphorous

Phosphorous is an essential mineral that your body uses to build healthy bones and teeth, create energy and make new cells.

Calcium

Calcium is important for building and protecting bones and teeth. It plays important roles in other functions including nerve, muscle and heart function.

Sodium

Sodium is used by the body to control blood pressure and blood volume. Your body also needs sodium for your muscles and nerves to work properly.

Magnesium

Magnesium is important for many processes in the body including regulating muscle and nerve function, blood sugar levels and blood pressure, and making protein, bones, and DNA.

Iron

Iron is a mineral the body needs for growth and development. Your body uses iron to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body. Your body also uses iron to make myoglobin, a protein that provides oxygen to muscles. Your body needs iron to make some hormones and connective tissue.

Iodine

Iodine is used by the body to make thyroid hormones. These hormones control the body’s metabolism and many other important functions. The body also needs thyroid hormones for proper bone and brain development during pregnancy and infancy.

Fluoride

Fluoride is contained in bones and teeth. Your body needs fluoride for the formation and health of bones and teeth.

Zinc

Zinc helps the immune system fight off invading bacteria and viruses.  The body also needs zinc to make proteins and DNA, the genetic material in all cells.

Copper

Copper works with iron to help the body form red blood cells. It also helps keep the blood vessels, nerves, immune system and bones healthy. Copper also aids in iron absorption.

Chromium

Chromium is an essential nutrient for sugar and fat metabolism. Normal dietary intake of Cr for humans is suboptimal. Most diets contain less than 60% of the minimum suggested intake of 50 micrograms. Insufficient intake of chromium leads to symptoms similar to those observed for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Selenium

Selenium is important for reproduction, thyroid gland function, DNA production and protecting the body from damage caused by free radicals and from infection.

Learn Basics of Nutrients, Vitamins, and Minerals You Need to Live!

Whether you or someone in your family suffer from a chronic disease or not, it’s essential to get informed on the basics of food nutrients. It’s not only about what not to eat, but more importantly it’s about what to eat to stay well and live well with zest! Here is my free E-book that provides comprehensive nutrient information, the best food sources for each nutrient, and recommended daily allowances of vitamins and minerals. Click here to receive free E-book.

I am a widow and I want to live as long as possible to be here for my two sons. I live by the mantra that Food is my Medicine. I need to eat well to take care of my body and be here for my sons.  For my own benefit, I gathered a summary of what I needed to know to be informed about nutrients in food and now I’d like to share it with you. It’s exciting and empowering to get to know food as medicine on a more intimate level.

Click here to receive free E-book of comprehensive nutrient information, the best food sources for each nutrient, and recommended daily allowances of vitamins and minerals.

What I’ve learned is it’s important is to love good food and to feed our bodies the good food that loves us back. Love your body by eating foods with the essential vitamins and minerals that will help keep you healthy and strong. Learn what foods are the best sources to help you live long and live well with zest!

Cheers to Living Well with Zest!

Bev

Written by Bev Hope

Reviewed by Board Certified MD

Well with Zest Disclaimer: We are not medical doctors or RD’s, and we do not treat disease. The information provided does not substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment by your doctor or other qualified clinician.

The post Know What To Eat– Your Health and Life Depends On It appeared first on Well with Zest.