Love me or Hate me, but while the rest of the world is pushing sugary baked beans, bacon-stuffed burgers, layered Mexican dips and mayonnaise-laced potato salad this holiday weekend, I’m opting to share something a little more healthy: Simple Marinated Mushrooms

This new and wonderful group that I’m a part of – The Red- Faced Runners– has me inspired to eat healthy and keep fit through running and other calorie- burning feats! Did you hear about The Red Faced Runners? Please read more HERE– and I hope you’ll join us. We’re a group of women inspiring each other to stay fit. It’s a good bunch.

Anyway, these mushrooms are a good bunch too. Start with a box full of fresh mushrooms. Give them a light rinse to get any extra dirt off, and trip the rough end of the stems off and toss ’em.

You’re going to marinate them in oil and a few simple spices.

Marinating them in a zip baggie is easiest. Just toss them with the dressing and let them sit on the counter, turning the bag around to redistribute the marinade every once in a while.

In a couple of hours, the mushrooms will be marinated enough to serve.

Yeah, they’ll retain a little bit of that oil, but they’re a whole lot better to munch on than the super- fatty foods that will be on hand at most 4th of July parties. I’m pretty sure you’d feel better about eating a dozen of these over a dozen chocolate chip cookies (at least… the next morning you’d feel better, right?) Or you could compromise and eat a dozen of these and then 2 chocolate chips cookies. That’s a smarter idea all around!

And come join our group- The Red Faced Runners! You DO NOT have to be a runner to join (but we’ll encourage you to get started), and we’d love to have both experienced and beginner runners join in the fun. A Facebook Page has been created, and a RFR website is coming very soon too- stay tuned!

If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.

No ratings yet

Simple Marinated Mushrooms

By Lori Lange

These are a terrific appetizer to make ahead. Be sure to have some sliced baguette available for dunking in the drippings.

Prep: 20

Cook: 5

Total: 25

Servings: 6 servings (4 mushrooms per serving)

Save Pin Print

Ingredients

▢ 1 pound (about 24) fresh white button mushrooms (bite-sized), cleaned
▢ ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
▢ ¼ cup white wine vinegar
▢ 1 large garlic clove, minced
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ ½ teaspoon crushed dried oregano
▢ ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed

Instructions

Place water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
Trim the mushrooms by cutting off a thin slice of the stem of each mushroom. Drop the mushrooms into boiling water and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes; do not boil. Drain the mushrooms and cover with cold water. Let stand until cool. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, oregano and red pepper flakes. Add the mushrooms to the olive oil mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until well coated. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours or longer, stirring occasionally (overnight is even better). TIP: You can also marinate the mushrooms in a large zip bag. I prefer to do it this way since it's so easy to turn the bag and redistribute the marinade.
When ready to serve, drain the mushrooms from the marinade (reserving a little bit of the marinade) and place the mushrooms on a platter with toothpicks for serving. Drizzle some of the reserved marinade on top

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 58kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 102mg, Potassium: 245mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 14IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 0.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.