Millions of Aussie kids have returned to school and now, more than ever, parents are looking for ways to support the child's immune health.  

One of Australia’s leading nutritionist’s Jane Freeman believes strengthening your child’s immune system should be added to the Term 1 ‘to do’ list.

The AMGA Dietitian says adding the mighty mushroom into lunchboxes is an easy way to support tip-top immune health.

“As a mother-of-three myself, I understand that mushrooms might not be the first ingredient that comes to mind when working out what to put in your child’s lunchbox, but mushrooms are a good source of vitamin D, antioxidants and other important nutrients proven to help support our immune systems,” says Ms Freeman.

“Mushrooms pack a powerful punch when it comes to health goodness and there are simple ways to sneak them in, even for the fussiest eaters.

“Interestingly, increasing intakes of wholefood antioxidants is something that can help our immune system to defend the body, and mushrooms contain a number of potent antioxidants to help do this.

“Mushrooms also contain a prebiotic type of fibre which provides an essential food source to the numerous types of good gut bacteria and cells in our body. In fact, 70 percent of the immune system is housed in the gut which is why including this superfood can help with overall gut and immune health.”

Ms Freeman says researchers are investigating whether a powerful antioxidant called ergothioneine and a compound called B-glucans – both found in mushrooms - might have a role to play in the overall treatment of respiratory illness, including COVID-19.

So how can you add more of the might mushroom to your child's diet?

“For a start, I recommend setting a target of around three small mushrooms per day as part of a plant-focused, whole-food diet. There are lots of great mushroom recipes on the Australian Mushroom Growers website, which children will enjoy.” says Ms Freeman.

“No matter how you decide to include more mushrooms in your child’s diet, you can be certain they will be better for it.”

A blend of mushrooms + mince is healthier, with less fat and more nutrients.

Mushrooms have almost no kilojoules compared to red meat, so substituting some mince for mushrooms significantly lowers the overall food kilojoules or calories that you are dishing up.

Comparatively, mushrooms have 88% less calories than lean red minced meat which is good for the waistline.

• 100g of lean red mince*           710 kJ (169 calories)
• 100g of minced mushrooms      86 kJ (20 calories)

This week, the AMGA launched the 2021 'Mushrooms in Schools' program, with help from South Australian mushroom farm SA Mushrooms, providing a virtual mushroom farm tour for students at Burnside Primary School. 

The launch and virtual tour coincided with National Science Week, with schools around Australia taking part in “Food by Design” themed science activities. Ahead of Science Week, Burnside Primary School science teacher Abby Macpherson had signed up to take part in the Australian Mushroom Growers’ Association’s (AMGA) ‘Mushrooms in Schools’ program; a free, ten-week educational program to teach primary school students about the third food kingdom - FUNGI.  

The plan for the launch was to invite the students on an excursion to a local mushroom farm, however with the pandemic continuing to unfold, the AMGA brought the farm to the children - virtually.

Farmer and owner of SA Mushrooms, Nick Femia, said he was more than happy to be involved. “We had 4 classrooms attend, so that’s about 120 students all tuning in live, eager to ask questions about mushrooms. We took them on a tour of our compost yard and our growing rooms, and I was able to explain what compost is made of and how mushrooms fruit from mycelium – a spiderweb like organism under the ground. We have some budding young mushroom growers in the group for sure, and the more we can do to teach kids about mushrooms and the importance of eating healthy foods the better.”

Head of Science at Burnside Primary, Abby Macpherson says the students are very excited to be growing their own mushrooms in class “The hands-on experience really helps the students understand the unique growing process, as they must tend to their mushrooms every morning and afternoon. They are genuinely excited to see them double in size every day.”

The lessons extend beyond mushroom growing, as Mrs Macpherson further explains “We have just finished a student survey and we have created a pie graph to report on how many mushrooms the students eat at home, some of the students have used fungi as their subject for a photography competition, and as we are getting ready for our first harvest, we are currently looking at mushroom recipes ahead of a cooking lesson. The mushroom kits have certainly helped spiked their interest in mushrooms.” Mrs Macpherson added.

To learn more about the AMGA "Mushrooms in Schools" program, or to discover how you can apply for free mushroom kits for your classroom, visit our Mushrooms in Schools section. 

Watch the SA Mushrooms virtual farm tour with Burnside Primary