Poached Eggs Over Collard Greens & Shiitake Mushrooms - Healthy Food Tip and Recipe

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Today's Recipe If you don't know what to serve for dinner tonight ...
This recipe is a great one for dinner as well as breakfast. The shiitake mushrooms adds the unique umami Asian flavor to this dish.
Poached Eggs Over Collard Greens & Shiitake Mushrooms
Prep and Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:

• 6 cups chopped collard greens
• 1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced thin
• 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced medium thick, stems removed
• 4 fresh omega-3-rich eggs
• about 4 cups water
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar, or any white wine vinegar
• 
  
• Dressing
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 1 TBS minced fresh ginger
• 3 medium cloves garlic pressed
• 1 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• salt and white pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Slice onions and press garlic and let sit for 5-10 minutes to bring out their health-promoting benefits.
2. Bring 2" of water to a boil in a steamer pot.
3. Rinse greens well. Roll or stack leaves and cut into 1/4" slices and cut again crosswise. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
4. Steam collard greens, mushrooms and onions together for 5 minutes.
5. While steaming greens, get ready for poaching eggs by bringing water and vinegar to a fast simmer in a small, shallow pan. You can start on high heat, and once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer before adding eggs. Make sure there is enough water to cover eggs.
6. Mix together lemon juice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
7. Poach eggs until desired doneness. This will take about 5 minutes, or just until the white is set and the yolk has filmed over.
8. Remove vegetables from steamer and toss with dressing. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and place on plate of tossed greens.

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In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Poached Eggs Over Collard Greens & Shiitake Mushrooms
Healthy Food Tip

The Latest News About Shiitake Mushrooms

What's New and Beneficial About Shiitake Mushrooms

• Although immune system support has often received much of the spotlight in shiitake mushroom research, recent study results involving support of the cardiovascular system have caught the attention of many researchers. In particular, recent studies have shown the ability of shiitake mushrooms to help protect us against cardiovascular diseases (including atherosclerosis) by preventing too much immune cell binding to the lining of our blood vessels. In order for immune cells and other materials to bind onto our blood vessel linings, certain protein molecules - called adhesion molecules - must be produced and sent into action. By helping to block the adhesion molecule production process, substances in shiitake mushrooms can help protect our blood vessels. (The adhesion molecule production that is partially blocked by shiitake mushroom components includes the adhesion molecules ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and E-selectin.)
• Shiitake mushrooms have long been recognized as a very good, non-animal food source of iron. But a recent preliminary study has determined that the bioavailability of iron from shiitake mushrooms may be even better than we thought. Although conducted on laboratory animals (female rats) rather than humans, this study found the iron in dried shiitake mushroom to be equally as bioavailable as supplemental iron in the form of ferrous gluconate. (Ferrous gluconate is a very commonly used low-dose iron supplement.) While we don't usually spotlight research on laboratory animals, we found this result to be especially promising for individuals who consume little or no animal products and are often looking for foods that can supply valuable amounts of bioavailable iron.
• Shiitake mushrooms can be one of the most sustainable foods in your diet! While the majority of shiitake mushrooms produced worldwide have been grown on sawdust block in a non-natural setting, it is fully possible for shiitake mushrooms to be produced on natural hardwood logs in a forest setting. This approach to shiitake mushroom production is called "forest farming" and it has become an especially popular way of growing shiitake mushrooms in the U.S, where there are now more than 200 shiitake mushroom growers. Unfortunately, forest farming is not a requirement for organic certification of shiitake mushrooms. However, all of the plant crop standards in the National Organics Program regulations apply to shiitake mushroom production, and so the combination of these two features - certified organic shiitake mushrooms that have also been forest farmed - can make a great food choice in terms of sustainable agriculture. Just look for the USDA's organic logo on your shiitake mu shrooms to determine if they are certified organic. Then check for information about forest farming on the packaging. If no information is provided, there is a good chance that your shiitake mushrooms were not forest farmed. For this reason, we encourage you to ask your store staff or contact the product manufacturer to determine if your shiitake mushrooms were grown on hardwood logs in a natural forest environment.

WHFoods Recommendations

To maximize their flavor and the retention of their nutrients it is important to not to overcook them. That's why we recommend Healthy Sautéeing shiitake mushrooms for just 7 minutes to bring out their best flavor while maximizing their nutrient retention.

Health Benefits

Shiitake mushrooms provide numerous health benefits including:

• Immune system support
• Cardiovascular health
• Anti-cancer support

For more details on shiitake mushroom health benefits, see this section of our shiitake mushrooms write-up.

Nutritional Profile

Like most fungi, shiitake mushrooms offer a unique variety of phytonutrients, including their well-known beta-glucan polysaccharides (especially lentinan and laminarin). A cholesterol-lowering nutrient called eritadenine (or lentinacin) is found in shiitake, as well as the recently discovered amino acid-like nutrient, ergothioneine. Shiitake mushrooms are a very good source of energy-producing iron. They are also a good source of muscle-building protein as well as heart-healthy dietary fiber and vitamin C.
For more on this nutrient-rich food, including references related to this Latest News, see our write-up on shiitake mushrooms.