This stuff is so delicious and the porcini mushroom aroma is very intense. Perfect blend for chicken, fish, soups, grilled veggies and salads.

As a kid, my only experience with mushrooms was picking them off a slice of pizza before enjoying that first bite. They were just too slimy looking. Yet my parents always ruined perfectly good pizza by always ordering those blasted mushrooms.

Well my hatred of all things mushrooms continued until a year ago. Last May it dawned on me that I never actually ate a mushroom. Was my household ban on all things mushrooms justified? Time for a test. I picked up some baby bellas, sautéed them in butter and served over a rib-eye.

Oh man was I missing out! From that moment my war against edible fungi was over.

I was only too excited when I found this awesome recipe for Magic Mushroom Powder over at Nom Nom Paleo (a kick-ass recipe blog you should follow!)

It’s become one of my go to spice blends. I use it on chicken, veggies, salads and fish. I’ve never tried the main ingredient — porcini mushrooms — so I thought I’d give them a try.

But a word to the wise: dried porcini mushrooms are not cheap. I found them at Whole Foods going for $58/pound…yes, you read that right: $58 per freakin’ pound!

Thankfully they are very light (you get a lot without the huge dent to your wallet) and I ended up buying a few of ounces for $8. I still have plenty left over for other cooking experiments.

As for the carb and point count, I used 1 tablespoon as a serving size. But truth is a little can go a long way. When I used it on shrimp, I ended up using just 1 teaspoon in my butter sauce. For large chicken breasts, I used the full tablespoon per breast. It’s really up to you and your taste buds.

Magic Mushroom Powder
Net Carbs: 1g/tbsp
Weight Watchers Points Plus: 0
Servings: Makes 20 tablespoons (1 tbsp/serving)

Ingredients

• 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2/3 C kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a spice grinder and pulse until they’re the size of coffee grounds.
• Put the mushroom powder into a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Store in a container (I used glass) in a cool, dry place. The powder should last for months.