10 Ways Mushrooms are the Answer to Extending Your Food Dollars

(Aug. 04, 2022) – Grocery inflation is expected to top 10% this year, putting pressure on everyone’s food budget, but one favorite produce item can help stretch those dollars a little further: fresh mushrooms.

“With food prices so high, I truly believe mushrooms are the answer when it comes to creative ways to extend you budget because they can add so much to meals for a relatively low cost,” said Mackenzie Burgess, registered dietitian nutritionist, nutrition expert and recipe developer. “Mushrooms make dishes like omelets, soups and salads heartier. Not to mention, you can extend the servings of more expensive ingredients by layering in mushrooms.”

Burgess recommends first sautéing a pound of your favorite mushroom variety, sliced, and seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper.

“Cooked mushrooms are delicious on their own, but are even better when added to recipes,” she said, noting she then stores the cooked mushrooms in the fridge, so she can conveniently reach for them throughout the day to help extend an array of meals.

According to Burgess, a daily meal plan could include:

• Breakfast: Avocado toast topped with mushrooms.
• Lunch: Quinoa salad topped with pumpkin seeds, Parmesan and mushrooms
• Dinner: Burgers blending meat and finely chopped mushrooms

Burgess offers seven additional mushroom pairing inspirations to help spread your grocery buying power throughout the week:

• Savory oatmeal
• Egg frittata vegetable add-on
• Soup topping
• Cauliflower rice risotto
• Lentil burger topping
• Cooked chicken, steak, or tofu topping
• Taco bowls made with a mushroom and meat blend

Ready to showcase how you use mushrooms to extend your grocery budget? Visit MushroomCouncil.com for recipe inspiration. While there, all through National Mushroom Month in September, get details on how you can share your best budget-friendly ideas and enter to win a reusable “Mushrooms are the Answer” grocery tote bag.

Mushrooms are the Answer. What was the question?

No matter what problem you’re trying to solve in the kitchen, mushrooms are the answer whether it’s extending your budget, adding delicious umami flavor to any dish or creating an eco-friendlier kitchen. It’s no wonder the New York Times named mushrooms the 2022 “Ingredient of the Year.”

Mushrooms Are the Answer To: Crafting Tasty Meals

Mushrooms add satisfyingly savory flavor to any dish. Nutrient rich and loaded with umami, mushrooms are ready for a starring role on your plate all month long. And, with nine fresh mushroom varieties and endless ways to prepare them, the recipe combinations are endless and always delicious.

Mushrooms Are the Answer To: Adding Nutrition to Your Plate.

Did you know your favorite fungi are low in calories, very low in sodium, fat free, cholesterol free and a good source of selenium and an excellent source of B vitamins? Safe to say, they’re a powerhouse in the produce department.

Mushrooms Are the Answer To: Eating More Sustainably.

It’s more important now than ever to strive for a low-waste kitchen, and mushrooms are the just the food to help. You’re not only able to use the entire mushroom in your cooking, creating zero food waste, but mushrooms are grown sustainably with minimal resources, creating a tiny carbon footprint.

About the Mushroom Council:

The Mushroom Council is composed of fresh market producers and importers who average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually. The mushroom program is authorized by the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1990 and is administered by the Mushroom Council under the supervision of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Research and promotion programs help to expand, maintain and develop markets for individual agricultural commodities in the United States and abroad. These industry self-help programs are requested and funded by the industry groups that they serve. For more information, visit mushroomcouncil.com.