Kitchen Prepared: Lessons Learned from the Stuffed Mushrooms that Never Were

I failed—plain and simple—no doubt about it. The taste-bud delighting recipe in my head turned out to be a tongue-repulsing creation on my plate. Yes, I’m serious. It was that bad. See, if all had gone according to plan, right now, I’d be writing about veggie-stuffed mushrooms that were so good they had my taste buds belting in joy, as if they were trying out to be the next Glee star. Instead, my taste buds recoiled in horror, as if they were Simon Cowell watching a tone deaf auditioner try out to be the next American Idol.

Lessons Learned

Although I can’t share a tantalizing stuffed mushroom recipe with you, I can share some rules to live by in the kitchen related to my fiasco.

• To avoid soggy stuffed mushrooms, bake, grill, or roast them before stuffing and baking.
• Follow recipes (even if you think you don’t need to). There’s a method to their madness.
• Taste your recipe before dishing it up to anyone.
• Test drive a recipe before serving it to large groups or for any special occasions. The last thing you want is a bunch of hungry party-goers staring at you, waiting for dinner, and all you have is soggy, texture-less, garlicky, over-onion-infused stuffed mushrooms.
• When using a food processor or Cuisinart®, don’t try to overstuff it with veggies. You’ll end up with soupy, mushy vegetables on the bottom, and large unchopped pieces on top. Stick with small veggie batches only.
• If your recipe fails, don’t give up! Get back in that kitchen and try again!
• Always have healthy staples in your kitchen—no ifs, ands, or buts.

The Biggest Lesson: Healthy Items Stocked at Home

The last point mentioned above is key. Not only can stocking your kitchen with healthy eats save you during dinner catastrophes, as I encountered, but in turn, will help keep your bod in top-notch shape. Simply because if healthy fare is what you have in your kitchen, that’s what you’ll have in your stomach. With today’s busy schedule, having easy-to-prepare healthful items ready to go is essential, as you’ll be less likely to dial your local Chinese food or pizza joint during that long work week when you had no time to hit the market. Plus, eating at home is almost always better for your waistline and ticker than eating out. Therefore, whether you’re a culinary genius or not, having lean protein and fiber-amped items on hand is your best bet.

Thus, the next time you hit your local market, grab some healthy eats that keep well, cook quick, and can be bought on a dime, such as brown rice, quinoa, frozen veggies, beans, and water-packed tuna. For example, I always have black beans, frozen broccoli, and quinoa on hand. So in times of need, I can quickly throw together a fiber- and protein-packed dinner that’s filled with healthifying nutrients, such as folic acid, antioxidants, and B vitamins. For those concerned about the beans’ sodium, simply rinse them for about 30-45 seconds to remove approximately 35% total sodium. I always do this. Too much sodium does not do a body good.

So please, learn from my mushroom mishap and adopt my healthy kitchen stocking philosophy, if you haven’t already. And, if you are a mushroom-stuffing extraordinaire, I hope you share your secrets!

This piece was a guest post for the award-winning dietitian, cookbook author, culinary instructor, recipe developer, and downright inspiration of a healthy foodie, Robyn Webb. Robyn has a WONDERFUL blog, Fabulous Food Finds. Here, you will discover the best food and kitchen tools on the market, awesome cooking tips, foodie news, and grand recipes! Simply said, her blog is fab!