Real Food Recipes High In Vitamin D For The Dark Winter Months

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These recipes are chock-full of foods containing natural Vitamin D3 to get you through the dark, dreary months. Most of us don’t get enough Vitamin D3.

Winter in Canada can feel like a long, dreary road sometimes. It’s not that I dislike the cold and snow, I really don’t, I just dislike wearing a down parka in April.

Winter here lasts a long time.

The months can feel dark and dreary, especially after the Christmas celebrations are over and you’re faced with a slushy, grey January.

One of the reasons we may feel especially down in the winter months is a lack of sunshine (obviously) and what the sunshine does for you — vitamin D.

Vitamin D isn’t really a vitamin at all, it’s a steroid hormone. And we can get it from only two sources, the first is the sun, the second is certain animal foods.

One of the highest and best sources of food-based Vitamin D is cod liver oil.

I faithfully start taking my Rosita Extra Virgin Cod Liver Oil daily as soon as the summer is over and I don’t stop until the next summer when I take a break from it. It is the best cod liver oil on the market, and unsurprisingly, it’s super expensive.

If you cannot afford that, don’t worry about it. There are other food sources of Vitamin D — salmon and other wild-caught fatty fish can be a tremendous source. As can pastured pork, and especially pork fat like lard. Egg yolks are another source.

This is a collection of real food recipes that focus on foods containing Vitamin D. You will notice that this list of nutrient-dense recipes and superfoods also contain other vital micronutrients that our modern diets tend to be lacking — Omega 3 EPS & DHA for example, while also being a rich source of protein, Vitamin A and more.

Please note this recipe collection focuses on foods naturally containing Vitamin D, it does not list fortified food recipes.

My Best Pasta Sauce Recipe: ‘Nduja Sausage With Smoked Caramelized Onions, Tomatoes & Parmigiano-Reggiano

This is my best original pasta sauce recipe: ‘nduja sausage with smoked caramelized onions, tomatoes, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and garlic. This entire recipe can be done either on your Traeger Grill (or whatever smoker you may have) or on your stovetop. Both results are ridiculously delicious and complex in rich umami flavour.

‘Nduja is a traditional Italian sausage spread made with pork parts and fat.

Choose pastured pork products, they are vastly superior in nutrition and taste while remaining relatively affordable.

Analyses by Mattila et al. (26) in raw pork meat purchased in several retail stores and pork liver bought from 1 meat wholesaler in the Helsinki area in spring and autumn showed only minor variations in the results of the 2 seasons. In the case of the muscle samples, a positive correlation between the fat and vitamin D-3 content was found. Compared with Mattila et al. (26), Kobayashi et al. (27) found rather high vitamin D (sum of vitamins D-3 and D-2) amounts in meat and liver of pork, respectively. Source.

Country Peasant Pork & Mushroom Pâté With Wild Berry Topping

This rustic Pork & Mushroom Pâté With Wild Berry Topping combines pork liver with pork shoulder, dried fruits, and mushrooms for an incredibly delicious peasant food. This recipe makes for a large batch that can be frozen.

Mussels In Bacon, Tomato, Roasted Red Pepper & Red Wine Sauce

Mussels and pork come together in this rich and savoury recipe that is perfect for any time of the year.

Recently, investigators have found that certain shellfish, especially mussels, contain significant amounts of 25(OH)D3, ranging from 0.7 to 9.9 µg/100 g wet weight. … Taking account of this potency factor, mussels could provide up to 50g of vitamin D per 100g. Source.

How To Smoke Whole Trout On The Traeger Grill

An explanation for the origin and the high concentration of vitamin D (cholecalciferol) in some species of fish is still not apparent. Because fish may live in deep water and may, thus, not be exposed to solar ultraviolet (UV) light, it is commonly assumed that vitamin D found in their livers and adipose tissue has been derived from a food chain, originating in zooplankton exposed to UV light at the water surface. To investigate the metabolism and possible origin of vitamin D in fish, rainbow trout were reared from eggs, in the absence of light, and were fed a vitamin D-free diet. When small quantities of radioactively-labelled vitamin D were injected or fed to these trout, much of the radioactivity was found as excreted metabolites in bile. Hence, even when they are vitamin D deficient, trout vigorously catabolise and excrete exogenous vitamin D. Source.

Portuguese Caldo Verde Soup With Roasted Garlic

Portuguese Caldo Verde soup is rustic comfort food made in homes all over the country and there is not just one way to make it.

Many variations exist: Some use kale, others collard greens. Some include beans. Most iterations use either Portuguese Chouriço or Linguiça sausage, both of which are quite garlicky.

Marinated Fried Anchovies With Grilled Halloumi

Fried anchovies and grilled halloumi is a perfect appetizer. These foods are very common and traditional across the Mediterranean. Both hold up very well making them perfect for a party or picnic. They are also very simple and quick to make up.

Although milk in some countries is fortified with Vitamin D3, dairy products like cream, butter, and cheese will have naturally occurring Vitamin D3 is varying amounts thanks to the high-fat content.

Anchovies may be small in size, but they have are impressive. Per 100-gram serving, anchovies offer 114 IU of vitamin D, which equals 28.5% of our RDI. Source.

How To Smoke Salmon On The Traeger Grill

This is how you smoke salmon on the Traeger Grill: Start with an earthy and citrusy brine of beetroot and blood orange, and then glaze with pomegranate and maple syrup hourly when on the grill as your salmon smokes to perfection.

It has been suggested that the major source of vitamin D should come from dietary sources and not sun exposure. However, the major fortified dietary source of vitamin D is milk which often doesn’t contain at least 80% of what is stated on the label. Fish has been touted as an excellent source of vitamin D especially oily fish including salmon and mackerel. Little is known about the effect of various cooking conditions on the vitamin D content in fish. We initiated a study and evaluated the vitamin D content in several species of fish and also evaluated the effect of baking and frying on the vitamin D content. Surprisingly, farmed salmon had approximately 25% of the vitamin D content as wild salmon had. The vitamin D content in fish varied widely even within species. Source.

Smoked Maple Salmon Jerky on The Traeger Grill

Make delicious smoked salmon jerky on your Traeger Grill or pellet smoker. Maple salmon jerky is a simple recipe that results in a shelf-stable, nutrient-dense food that makes for a smarter snack choice over other empty-calorie laden and processed foods.

Smoked Salmon with Poached Egg, Roe, & Asparagus

This is one of my favourite breakfasts: wild smoked salmon, poached egg, asparagus, basil pesto or hollandaise sauce, and an optional spoon of rich wild salmon roe.

This breakfast (or brunch or whenever-meal really) is packed with Omega-3’s, choline, potassium, magnesium, Vitamins A, B6, B12, K, D3 & C (wild roe has vitamin C), protein, and more. Wild salmon, salmon roe, and pastured eggs are nutrient-dense and very satiating.

Every component here can also be assembled in advance making it an easy meal-prep choice.

 

Halibut In Creamy Turmeric Sauce + Caramelized Onions, Peas + Bok Choy

This simple recipe comes together very quickly and only requires one pan. The creamy turmeric sauce with peas and bok choy can be used as a base for many other recipes as well. Do you have chicken, mussels, or shrimp in your fridge? Use any of those instead of the halibut.

Halibut provide 384 IU of D3 per half a fillet.