Vitamin D "de'fish'ency" strikes 1/3 of Australians

I see many clients in my practice with vitamin D deficiency. It's not surprising, as nearly 1/3 of adult Australians are vitamin D deficient. With winter coming this week and the (sigh!) subsequent shorter days and less exposure to sunlight, we need to consider where we will get our vitamin D from this winter?

Did you know that some foods contain vitamin D? 

• oily fish
• mushrooms
• smaller amounts in eggs and butter

Tassal Australia is the largest farmer of fresh and frozen salmon. They have released results revealing that one standard portion of Tassal salmon (150g) contains 8 micrograms of vitamin D - more than 1/2 the recommended daily intake for adults.

Tassal has produced the following delicious salmon recipes, using their salmon range. They have fresh portions, smoked salmon and canned salmon. Jump on their website and use their recipe finder to find more ways to include salmon in your diet! I love the look of the smoked salmon and quinoa cakes (recipe at link below).

Smoked Salmon and Quinoa Cakes

Moroccan Grilled Salmon and Cous Cous

 

Vitamin D is not only important for the absorption of calcium for healthy bones. Low vitamin D levels have also been linked to increased risk of Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

So, top up your vitamin D levels and avoid vitamin D "de'fish'ency" by:

• exposing 15% of your body (equivalent of arms and legs) to the sun daily
• including 2 serves of fish a week, particularly oily fish such as salmon
• including eggs, low fat milk and mushrooms in the diet in recommended amount

Learn a little bit more about the life of a dietitian by checking out my profile listing in Dietitian Connection this week at the link below. 

Dietitian Connection Profile - Courtney Dinnerville

What's making news in nutrition?

Food Revolution Day 2013

May 17th was Food Revolution Day, a global day of action raising awareness of the importance of healthy food, by encouraging everyone to "Cook it, Share it, Live it"! Jamie Oliver is the face of Food Revolution Day. I love his everyday passion and food philosophy! I celebrated Food Revolution Day by cooking a beautiful dish using nothing but the freshest ingredients. I wanted to share the recipe with you.

Almond & Cumin Crusted Salmon

Ingredients:
2 salmon fillets
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp cumin
Green beans
1/2 Pumpkin
2 carrots
Juice of fresh lemon
Olive oil






Method:
1. Chop pumpkin and carrots and place on stovetop, bring to boil, cook until soft
2. Squeeze fresh lemon juice on fillets. Meanwhile mix almond meal and cumin in a bowl and coat fillets in mixture
3. Place fillets in hot fry pan with olive oil and cook about 7 minutes either side (depending on thickness)
4. Strain pumpkin and carrots and mash with a fork using tsp olive oil

Don't shop on an empty stomach

You've probably heard this one before... don't go shopping when you're hungry. Well, a study from Cornell University has shown people who were hungrier bought higher calorie food options when shopping. No surprises there!

My tips for a healthy shopping trolley:

• Don't go shopping when you're hungry
• Plan your meals, write a list and stick to it
• Stick to the outer layers of the supermarket (where the fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, eggs, low fat dairy and wholegrain breads are found)

Meatless Monday - why not try mushrooms?

Mushrooms make a great replacement for meat as they are very low in calories, fat and have a meaty flavour. A recent study showed overweight and obese participants lost weight and body fat by switching a serve of red meat for one cup of button mushrooms. Why not try cooking mushrooms this meatless monday?

Risoni and Mushroom Salad
http://www.powerofmushrooms.com.au/mushroom-recipe/risoni-mushroom-hazelnut-salad/

Protein Balls

My recipe is adapted from Teresa Cutter's The Healthy Chef recipe. Protein balls are a great snack to cure 3pm sugar cravings, have post-workout or on-the-go. The great thing about protein balls is that you can experiment with so many different ingredients. Plus, they take only 5-10 minutes to make!

My protein balls are a great source of complete protein (made using whey protein isolate), a good source of Vitamin E from the almond meal and high in iron and magnesium from pepitas (pumpkin seeds).

Ingredients:

60g Whey Protein Isolate (I used Musashi brand) - about 6 scoops
16 dates, pitted
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup pepitas, ground

Method:

If you have a food processor, place protein powder, almond meal and pepitas in and process until the mixture looks crumbly. Then add dates and a splash of water and process again until the mixture is soft. I didn't have a food processor so I used a mortar and pestle to grind the pepitas and chopped the dates finely with a sharp knife. Form the mixture into 12 balls. Store in the fridge and they're ready to go!

Nutrition per ball:

(makes 12)

Energy: 252kJ (60 cal)
Protein: 5.4g  
Carbohydrates: 3.5g
Fat: 2.4g