Mushrooms are having a real moment. But not just your simple portobello mushroom.
"Medicinal mushrooms" are all the rage, so much so they were named one of the top food trends of 2019.
People are sipping Chaga tea, treating themselves to Reishi face masks and even Cordycep chocolate.
We've never seen as many mushrooms as we have at Springifeld right now - and each day there are dozens more popping up all over the paddocks. Which got us thinking.
Mushrooms have been used in medicinal medicine for thousands of years to help fight off bacteria and viruses and to generally support immune health. Each variety of mushroom differs greatly in their medicinal effect, however all mushrooms boost immunity.
But here's the wild part. Mushrooms are not simply immuno-stimulants or immuno-suppressants, as most foods are. Mushrooms actually do both, making them "immunomodulators".
What this means is that they are adaptogenic foods that will have a different effect on each person, depending on what that persons specific immune system is requiring. Your own personalised little immune-workers. We can't help but stop and ponder... how perfect that Mother Nature has got our back and is giving us exactly what we need right now!
If you would like to try out some medicinal mushrooms yourself, we can recommend Evolution Botanics and Four Sigmatic.
Or if you are feeling ispired and would like to get creative, give this recipe a try.
Mushroom and Buckwheat Risotto. The perfect winter warming dish. We love to make ours with onions and greens straight from the Springfield garden and served with a side of slow roasted winter pumpkins. To read why we are completely obsessed with pumpkin at the moment, click here.
Tip: For extra medicinal nutrition mix up the types of mushrooms you use in the recipe, as each type will give you a different nutrient profile and benefit.
Cheers,
Shannon Rosie x