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Only five per cent of Canada's mushrooms are grown in the Maritimes, but that's enough to ensure you can usually find fresh, locally grown specimens at your local markets. While the most commonly grown variety is the white button (agaricus), there are also farmers growing the specialty ones like shitake, oyster, king, maitake and enok.

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A wide variety of mushrooms are available in our local grocery stores.

Besides being an extremely versatile food, mushrooms are a bonus in any diet. They are low in fat, sodium, carbohydrates, and have zero cholesterol. Additionally, they are a good source of riboflavin, niacin, copper, pantothenic acid and selenium. They are also the only vegetable that contains Vitamin D.

There's more good news for those trying to incorporate a healthy diet into their lifestyle. Mushrooms also have significant levels of 1-ergothioneine, an antioxidant present in both cooked and raw mushrooms.

Don't forget if you have a recipe you are willing to swap to send it to thisweek@brunswicknews.com. I'll feature them in this column, which runs regularly in This Week. Don't hesitate to send in requests for specific recipes either.