THE PERFECT BLEND

BLENDITARIAN SUBSTITUTIONS MAKE DINNERTIME DELICIOUS

Finding the right daily nutritional balance is no easy feat. Managing sugar, carbohydrate, fat and red meat intake takes serious effort and planning, but transforming your favorite recipes into more nutritious family meals may be easier than you realize. Adopting the blenditarian lifestyle is a simple solution to healthier eating. It involves, simply, blending mushrooms into meat to make every day dishes more healthful and delicious. Adding chopped mushrooms to ground beef at a ratio of at least 25 percent mushrooms can enhance the taste of dishes, deliver an extra serving of vegetables and beneficial nutrients, and trim total calories and fat intake. Any mushroom variety will work. Creminis and portabellas lend rich, earthy flavors to any meal, while white button mushrooms offer a more delicate taste. For the more adventurous eaters, maitake and shiitake varieties bring a bold woodsy taste and meaty texture to the plate. The key to blending is developing the perfect mushroom consistency. For example, if using ground meat for tacos or burgers, chop mushrooms to mimic the familiar crumbled texture, using a knife and cutting board, food processor or vegetable chopper. For stews, halve or quarter mushrooms, or slice them to match strips of meat in fajitas or stir-fry. Practice your blending technique with these recipes and find more deliciously blended dishes to share with your family at MushroomInfo.com.