Cold weather is in the air! Well, for most of us anyway. Fall is well underway and in most places across the country, the change of season is palpable. For some, the fact that winter is approaching is an exciting change of pace. For others, the decreased sunshine and dropped temperatures are a dreadful milestone toward the dead of winter. Even if you’re a person who loves winter, the reality of shorter days can take a toll on our physical and mental health.
That’s where Vitamin D comes in.
Vitamin D is one of many vitamins essential to healthy body function. According to the Cleveland Clinic, Vitamin D “plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of calcium in your blood and bones and in building and maintaining bones.” This vitamin is also crucial in regulating mental health and hormone balance.
One of the main sources of Vitamin D, however, is exposure to sunshine and time outside. So, in the fall and winter months when a spot on the couch is much more comfortable than sitting outside in the cold, how can you make sure to get enough?
Though Vitamin D can be taken in through external sources like sun on your skin, it can also be ingested. Daily supplements are a common strategy for increasing Vitamin D levels. However, it can also be found in common foods like salmon, orange juice, and egg yolks! With the daily recommended serving being approximately 15 micrograms (mcg) of Vitamin D, here are some of the top Vitamin D-rich foods that can help you reach that goal:
- Salmon – 10-18 mcg per 3 ounces
- Rainbow trout – 16 mcg per 3 ounces
- Portobello mushrooms – 8mcg per 3 ounces
- Tuna – 6mcg per 3 ounces
- Beef liver – 2 mcg per 6 ounces
- Egg yolk – 1 mcg per large yolk
- Yogurt (fortified) – 3mcg per 8 ounces
- Milk (fortified) – 3 mcg per 8 ounces
- Orange juice (fortified) – 2.5 mcg per 8 ounces
Interested in upping your Vitamin D levels with the food you eat? Keep reading! We’ve got quite a few (delicious) suggestions for integrating this essential vitamin into your meals throughout the day.
1. Featured Recipe: Blackened Salmon Hoagie
Our first featured Vitamin D recipe is this eye-catching Blackened Salmon Hoagie, made with seasoned and grilled salmon fillets. Seasoned with subtle flavors of lemon, rosemary, and paprika, the salmon is placed atop a Martin’s Hoagie Roll and a bed of fresh lettuce and tomato. Finally, grilled onions and herb-seasoned mayonnaise complete this flavor-packed light entrée.
We used a 4.5 ounce filet to create this hoagie, so with this recipe, you can consume up to 15-25 mcg of Vitamin D.
2. Featured Recipe: Salami and Spinach Scramble on Toast
This colorful breakfast doesn’t just look pretty—it tastes great, too. Plus, it features another food rich in Vitamin D—eggs! To prepare this one-pan dish, start by grilling onions until softened. Then, add salami and cook until browned. Next, add arugula or spinach and cook until wilted. Finally, add the eggs and cook until they are softly set. Serve warm with Martin’s 100% Whole Wheat Potato Bread.
The main source of Vitamin D here is the egg yolks. Each serving includes approximately 2-3 large eggs, which equals 2-3 mcg of Vitamin D. However, one serving (3-4 oz) of salami can also be worth 10% of your daily value of Vitamin D!
3. Tangy Tuna Salad Sandwich
Next up, we have another fish recipe that is great for packed lunches or dinner on the go. Featuring crunchy additions like green apple and celery, this is definitely not your run-of-the-mill tuna salad. It’s also made with two Vitamin D-rich foods (yogurt and tuna), so one serving can give you up to 3 mcg of Vitamin D.
4. Tuna Burgers
Another way to integrate tuna into your meal is with these grilled Tuna Burgers. You can prep and cook these burgers outside on the grill or inside on a grill pan, making them perfect for any time of year and certainly appropriate for when you’re fighting off winter blues.
Each serving in this recipe contains 3 ounces of tuna—6 mcg of Vitamin D.
5. Smashed Eggs
The element of Vitamin D in this recipe is visually obvious here—egg yolks! Smashed eggs are one of many ways to prepare eggs for your breakfast. We love this particular recipe because it’s so versatile and can be topped with your favorite seasoning or produce of choice (e.g., everything bagel seasoning, avocado slices, fresh herbs, and more).
Our version of this classic dish contains 2 large eggs per serving, which equals about 2 mcg of Vitamin D.
6. Mini Salmon Sliders
These sliders may be mini and adorable, but they still contain 2 ounces of salmon per sandwich, which means up to 12 mcg of Vitamin D! These mini sliders, prepared on Martin’s Party Potato Rolls are delicious and perfect for party appetizers or a light lunch.
7. Yogurt Smoothie Bowl
If you just now learned that yogurt provides a source of Vitamin D and you’ll be looking for new ways to integrate it into your meals, we suggest this Yogurt Smoothie Bowl! Topped with nuts, berries, and French toast crumbles, this dish makes yogurt interesting and more satisfying than ever.
Each bowl is made with 8 ounces of plain yogurt, which totals about 3mcg of Vitamin D.
8. Salmon BLT
Add a new letter to your classic “B-L-T” with this Vitamin D-friendly version featuring a filet of grilled salmon. All between two slices of toasted Martin’s Potato Bread, you can’t go wrong with this “grown-up” version of a classic.
The 4-oz fillet of salmon in this sandwich contains approximately 15-20 mcg of Vitamin D.
9. Portobello Pesto Grilled Cheese
We love a good burger or panini that’s topped with mushrooms. But, what about a grilled cheese? Since Portobello mushrooms boast 6 mcg of Vitamin D per three-ounce serving, we recommend trying out this flavorful Portobello Mushroom Grilled Cheese for your next lunch.
Made with about 4 ounces of mushrooms per serving, each of these sandwiches contains about 8 mcg of Vitamin D.
10. Smoked Salmon and Veggie Sliders
Prefer thin-sliced smoked salmon? Try these slider sandwiches, made with a dill cream cheese spread, fresh veggies, and Martin’s Slider Potato Rolls. You could even swap the cream cheese for plain Greek yogurt to squeeze in even more Vitamin D.
Each slider contains approximately two ounces of salmon—about 10-12 mcg of Vitamin D.
And just like that, now you’re armed with ten new delicious recipes to help keep your Vitamin D levels up until we can start spending time in the warm sun again. Spring will be here before we know it!
Sources:
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d/
- https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/what-to-know-about-vitamin-d-and-mental-health
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15050-vitamin-d-vitamin-d-deficiency
- https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/ss/slideshow-foods-high-in-vitamin-d
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-dosage
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