Talk about bathing in nutrients.
If you’re looking to eat healthier — and save some money by growing your own food at home — Welsh chef and influencer Gaz Oakley says there’s just about no easier plant to pick than one that you can grow in your bathroom.
They’re high in antioxidants and nutrients that boost heart and brain health, but best of all, they’re so low-maintenance that you can watch them grow while you wash your hair.
“The best thing you can grow in your house — anywhere, with no light whatsoever — is mushrooms, believe it or not,” Oakley told The Post. “And the best one to grow is oyster mushroom. It’s easiest one.”
It makes sense: Mushrooms are a type of fungus — and so is mold, which can easily grow in the grout and caulk in your bathroom if you’re not careful.
So Oakley says to put that humid environment to good use. Oyster mushrooms have a ton of vitamins and minerals, including potassium, folate, and vitamins B2, B3 and B5.
They’re high in antioxidants, which fight free radicals that can cause diseases like cancer. They also have beta-glucans, which are great for heart health.
Studies show that eating them can also regulating blood sugar in diabetics, boost your immune system and support gut health.
“With mushrooms, they’re a complete cycle, so all you need to do is the initial outlay of buying some mushroom spawn,” he explained.
Start with a bucket with some holes and wood shavings or sawdust.
“You have to pasteurize the sawdust, which just means putting boiling water over it, leaving it overnight, letting it cool, pouring the water away, and then you just crumble in the mushroom spawn,” he said.
“You leave it somewhere sort of well ventilated but humid — so your shower or bathroom is great.”
Within two weeks, mushrooms will start to pop up.
“They grow in front of your eyes, and they are fruit twice. So you get a harvest of beautiful oyster mushrooms twice,” he said.
“You’ve got a supply of mushrooms constantly, if you wanted to. So if all else fails, get into mushroom farming in your house. It’s incredible.”
He recently harvest his own oyster mushroom that weighed over a pound — and would’ve cost about $20 from a grocery store.
He used it to make a strawberry jerk oyster mushroom cluster, one of his favorite recipes from his new book, “Plant to Plate: Delicious and Versatile Plant-Forward Recipes.”
“I’ve been to Jamaica over the last few years, and it inspired me so much,” he said. “I grow things like scotch bonnet, chilies and and scallion and thyme and garlic, and they’re the sort of the main ingredients in Jamaican cuisine.”
If you’re looking to grow even more at home but aren’t blessed with a green thumb, Oakley previously shared three other healthy foods that are easy to grow on your window sill.
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