The Carb Combat

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Having launched this blog with much gusto, I was forced to sit back and re-think my direction, not just for my scripted musings, but for the entirety of Herft Creations…my scrumptiously, wholesome pet project.

For those of you returning…you will notice the new layout, representing a wholesome meal plan that includes every colour of the rainbow! And what of the purple? Suffice it to say…it is JUST for the love of purple!

Going back to our bright and beautiful rainbow…the importance lies, not just in colour variation, but also nutritional equilibrium....and therein lies the source of deprivation! You will often hear those founts of dietary sagacity, spewing forth their pearls of wisdom on the evils of carbs and how they are to be avoided at all cost! What these experts neglect to mention, is that our bodies do, in fact, require carbs for energy and, most significantly, that all fruits contain healthy carbs, as do many vegetables.

In my quest for a wholesome, yet enjoyable diet, I came up with the following recipe, in which, one serving contains 35% carbs (according to the illustrious MyFitnessPal app). If like me, you are dependent on this app to help you stay disciplined, you can easily add a serving of “Herft Creations Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms” to your daily meal in-take.

For this recipe you will need:

8 Portobello Mushrooms (these are your carbs!)

350 gm minced beef (if you don’t like beef, substitute with a mince of your choice)

2 medium sized carrots – grated

4 spring onions – chopped

4 medium size tomatoes – finely diced

2 chillies chopped (optional – I used “Bird’s Eye" Chillies – available at Woolworths)

2 teaspoons ginger paste

4 teaspoons garlic paste (feel free to increase this quantity to suit your taste buds)

A handful of baby spinach

6 tablespoons Ricotta cheese

Salt (I use Himalayan Pink Salt), Pepper, Chillie Powder (to your desired quantities)

Dried Italian Herbs (Again – go with your preference in quantity – but I am quite heavy-handed with this, as well as the garlic as the combination of the 2 really bring out the flavours of the dish). I would also replace this with fresh basil when my plant isn’t suffering from gross neglect!

The actual making of this dish is very simple.

 1) Place the mince, carrots, spring onions, tomatoes, chillies, condiments and herbs in a pot (you basically need to throw everything into a pot, except the mushrooms, ricotta cheese & spinach!) and add 1 cup of water.

    2) Cut off the mushroom stems – finely dice and add to the mince mixture. I also peeled the mushrooms, chopped the peel up and threw that in. You need to remove the mushroom gills too, so that the inside is flattened, ready for stuffing, you could throw the gills into the meat mixture too

    3) Simmer the mince mixture for about 20 mins on low heat (or until the meat is half cooked), stirring occasionally.

    4) Line a tray with baking paper and place the mushrooms upside down on the tray.

   5) Fill each mushroom with the mince mixture – be careful to spread the meat evenly inside the mushroom and make sure the top is not heaped.

   6) Once all the mushrooms are filled – cover the mince with one layer of baby spinach leaves

    7) Cover the spinach leaves with the ricotta.

    8) Bake in a convection oven at 180˚C for 30 minutes

    9) Serve on a bed of fresh spinach or lettuce (not included in nutrition count)

This recipe serves 4 people

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