mushrooms Archives - Live Clean n Prosper

Vegetarian Lasagne

Today I’m going to share a great vegetarian lasagne recipe I found in an old Australian Healthy Food magazine.

We have just returned from a quick get-away in Melbourne. The food at all the little cafés and restaurants is always great.

We went to this out of the way little Italian place and had the best lasagne and tortellini. Though these were not vegetarian dishes it did remind me of this recipe and I thought I would share it.

This Vegetarian Lentil and Ricotta lasagne is full of flavour, quite filling and is a great way to get more vegetables into your diet. I halved the below recipe and it fed 2 people for 2 nights.

Vegetarian Red Lentil and Ricotta Lasagne.

Ingredients

½ cup red lentils

2 teaspoon Olive oil

3 garlic cloves – crushed

1 large onion – chopped

1 small red capsicum (**I left this out as we don’t like capsicum)

**I added sliced mushrooms instead

2 zucchinis – sliced

1 stalk celery – sliced

2 x 420g cans diced tomatoes

2 tablespoon. tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 ½ cups ricotta cheese

12 lasagne sheets (I use Gluten Free sheets)

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

White Sauce ingredients

1/3 cup corn flour

3 cups milk

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Method

*Preheat oven to 180 c.

*Rinse the lentils then put them in a pan with enough boiling water to cover them. Simmer for 30 minutes then drain.

*Heat oil in a large pan and add garlic & onion. Cook for approx. 2 minutes. Add the celery, capsicum and zucchini and cook for 2 -3 minutes.

*Add lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano and 1 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for approx. 30 minutes.

*Meanwhile make the White Sauce.

*Mixing the corn flour with 2 tablespoons of milk until smooth. Pour into a saucepan with remaining milk and stir over low heat until the mixture thickens. Add the nutmeg and add pepper to taste.

*Put the ricotta into a bowl and mix in ½ cup of white sauce.

*Spread a layer of tomato lentil mixture over the base of your lasagna dish. Then put a layer of lasagna sheet. Add another layer of tomato lentil mixture and top with a layer of the ricotta mix.

*Keep layering the lasagna sheets and then tomato and ricotta layers till done.

*Pour over the white sauce and sprinkle with the grated cheeses.

*Bake for an hour, covering with foil if the top starts to brown too much.

Let it stand for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Enjoy.

Till the next post,

Live Clean and Prosper

The many virtues of Mushrooms

Today I’m going to continue to write about Mushrooms.

Researching last weeks post shed some light on the other great virtues of this vegetable (or fungus).

Mushrooms are fat free,

They are also low in calories, cholesterol free, have very low levels of sugar and salt; they provide a valuable source of dietary fibre, as well as several vitamins and minerals.

A 100g serving of mushrooms contains more dietary fibre (2.5g) than 100g of celery (1.8g) or a slice of wholemeal bread (2.0g).

Apart from containing Vitamin D, mushrooms also contain:

Thiamin/Vitamin B1 – which controls the release of energy from carbohydrate, which is needed for the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system.
Riboflavin/Vitamin B2 – a vitamin that helps to maintain healthy red blood cells and promotes good vision and healthy skin.
Niacin/Vitamin B3 – helps to control the release of energy from protein, fat and carbohydrate, which keeps the body’s digestive and nervous systems in good shape.
Vitamin B5 – plays a number of essential metabolic roles in the human body, including providing assistance with the production of hormones.
Folate/Vitamin B9 – which is essential for the formation of red and white blood cells in bone marrow and is an important factor in healthy growth and development.
Biotin/Vitamin H – Is essential in the metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates.

Although these vitamins are also found in many vegetables, they are lost when cooked in boiling water: as mushrooms are rarely prepared with boiling water, they retain their valuable vitamin content when eaten.

Minerals as well,

Mushrooms also contain many beneficial minerals, such as Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Zinc, Magnesium, Selenium and Ergothioniene (a naturally occurring antioxidant).

Recent research also found that most mushrooms [White Buttons and Cups, Brown Portabellos, and the exotic cultivated Shiitakes and Enoki mushrooms] are rich in the non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) chitin and beta-gluten. These NSP can help to reduce blood cholesterol and protect against heart disease.

Stuffed Mushroom Recipe

After writing the last post, I found a great Stuffed Mushroom recipe.

I have tried to cook different versions of ‘stuffed mushrooms’ in the past and the results have been average.

This one (originally from delicious.com.au) with some small changes was great.

Easy to make and very tasty.

INGREDIENTS (for 4)

8 Portobello (or large flat) mushrooms

50g unsalted butter

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

12 sage leaves, finely chopped

125g fresh breadcrumbs

200g Camembert cheese (or brie), rind removed, chopped

1 egg, beaten

Juice of 1 lemon

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Place mushrooms on a paper-lined baking tray.

2. Heat a frypan over medium heat. Add butter, oil, onion, garlic and sage, and cook gently for five minutes until softened. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. Add breadcrumbs to the onion mixture and stir to combine.

4. Add the egg and half the cheese. Combine well, then spoon generously into the mushrooms. Top with remaining cheese.

5. Place mushrooms in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes until golden on top.

6. Arrange mushrooms onto serving dishes and drizzle with lemon juice.

I hope you enjoy this also.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper.

Vitamin D, Sunlight & Mushrooms

Today’s topic is Vitamin D, Sunlight & Mushrooms.

I know that this seems like a strange combination but all will become clear.

This morning I read an article about vitamin D deficiency. It seems that despite Australians being referred to as ‘bronzed aussies’ and our nation referred to as a ‘sunburnt country’, many Australians are actually deficient in this vitamin.

Many Australians work predominantly indoors and spend much of their leisure time indoors. This limits overall sun exposure.

The awareness of skin cancer and the increasing use of sun screens also mean that our bodies don’t absorb the necessary rays required to create vitamin D from sunlight.

What is Vitamin D?

It is a hormone that helps the body absorb calcium and control calcium levels in the blood. It is also important for preventing depression, muscle growth, organ development and supporting the immune system.

Recent research suggests adults may actually need at least 2,000 IU of vitamin D every day to maintain a healthy level in the body and reap the most benefits.

Most living things can make vitamin D through sunlight exposure.

The human body is able to produce its own vitamin D3 when the skin is exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet (UVB) rays. When UVB rays hit the skin, a chemical reaction happens: The body begins the process of converting a prohormone in the skin into vitamin D3.

It’s estimated that we should get more than 90% of our vitamin D from daily sun exposure.

The amount of vitamin D absorbed from sunlight depends on some variables, including the country and skin pigmentation. Under picture-perfect conditions, the human body is able to produce as much as 10,000 IU to 20,000 IU of D3 in just 30 minutes

Studies have found that between 2 to 15 minutes of sun exposure to your unprotected face, arms, legs or back, three to four times every week is enough for your body to produce all the D3 it needs. Times will vary depending on the time of year and where you live. (Source – ABC Health)

Where do the Mushrooms come in?

Research has found that we can get a small amount of vitamin D from food. Fish and eggs naturally have some vitamin D, while some processed foods have added vitamin D.

Mushrooms also have a small amount of Vitamin D. The form of D vitamin produced in mushrooms is D2, unlike the D3 found in the few animal foods that naturally contain it.

It used to be thought that D2 was less potent and bioavailable in the body than D3. A recent study comparing D2 from mushrooms with D3 from supplements, has found that D2 is as effective as D3 in boosting the biologically active form of the vitamin in the body.

It is also possible to boost the levels in mushrooms by putting them in the sun for a while.

Just 15 minutes of direct sunlight can produce 200 to 800 IU in 85 grams of mushrooms regardless of type. At least 90% of the vitamin is retained after storage and with cooking.

To do this yourself, place the mushrooms with the “gills” (or underside) facing the sun to increase D production. The mushrooms may discolour or dry out a little.

If you like mushrooms, exposing them to UV can help you get more vitamin D, however you have to eat a lot. They will certainly boost your levels and add other nutritional elements to your diet. Most of us probably find it’s easier to take a vitamin D3 supplement.

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper