It’s an established fact that I’m just a bit obsessed with brunch. It’s also well documented that I’m a mushroom pusher from way back. And from the photos on this post I’ve quite possibly revealed how the story ends before it’s even started…
But if you skip the awards show and head straight to the party you’ll miss the best ideas ever on how to get your daily Vitamin D, and that would be such a shame. So lets talk for a moment about Vitamin D, ok? Great.
The mighty D is a vitamin vital for our bodies — facilitating the absorption of calcium to keep our bones strong, contributing to a decreased risk of heart disease, hypertension and some kinds of cancer, and even modulating immune function and reducing inflammation — but one in three Australians (including me) are Vitamin D deficient.
You see Vitamin D is a bit of a tricky bugger. It’s available in very few foods, although it’s also one of the only vitamins our bodies can actually produce.
Vitamin D is created when ultraviolet rays hit our skin, but between desk jobs and cloudy days and that darn thing called winter most of us are way below the required dosage. So what do we do?
We’ll you’re in luck because I’ve teamed up with Australian Mushroom Growers to raise awareness about Vitamin D this winter. How terribly convenient.
So without any further ado, I’ve come up with 5 ideas — solutions if I can be so bold — on how we can all bump up our Vitamin D levels to the recommended daily allowance.
And all of them are perfectly viable* under the right circumstances. (*viability may be subjective… shocking, I know)
5 Amazing Ways to Get Your Daily Vitamin D
5. I shall only make my own Vitamin D! All of the time!
Solution #5 can be achieved by going to live on a perpetually sunny tropical island, sitting in the sun for between 5 and 55 minutes — just long enough to convert enough UV rays to Vitamin D, but not so long that you get burnt — every day for the rest of your life.
For the other 23.5 or so hours of the day that you’re not sitting in the sun you’ll have plenty of time to make kombucha and macrame plant hangers and take over the world one beautifully styled Instagram photo at a time. You can thank me later.
4. I shall live in the wilds of Alaska! Catching and cleaning and eating wild fatty fish!
Solution #4 is recommended only for the rugged (and slightly crazy) type as it may require fighting off bears and braving icy waters with only a spear and a net.
Although you can leave the catching and cleaning to someone else, braving only a frying pan or a can opener, you’ll have to consume between a quarter and half pound (150-250g) of wild salmon each day to reach the recommended amount of Vitamin D.
3. I shall consume all my Vitamin D in fortified liquid or tablet form!
Solution #3 is available due to the fortification of cows milk and orange juice with Vitamin D, as well as Vitamin D drops or tablets.
Of course it does mean drinking a quart (litre) of milk each day and moves us into the chemistry lab to achieve the aforementioned fortification process. Yeah, not the sexiest option out there, planted firmly in the middle at number three as it’s a terrible opening pitch, thank you very much.
2. I will raise free range, organic, highly intelligent chickens for their eggs!
Solution #2 moves us back towards the peace, love and kombucha camp, but does however require consumption of roughly a dozen eggs a day. While excellent in theory, perhaps it’s not so good in reality (unless of course you drink Rocky-esque raw egg shakes like a boss).
Of course by combining egg yolks with that fortified milk we land squarely on an ice cream solution…hum, I may need to give that one more thought.
Now in a perfect world you’ll find me living on a sunny tropical island with my free range chickens and an environmentally impossible cold water salmon migration route, eating freshly collected eggs and just-caught fatty fish and basking in the sun with a huge bowl of homemade ice cream.
But in reality it’s winter in Sydney and I spend the limited daylight hours inside taking photos, and I have no chickens nor a desire to fish and most of my ice cream is fruit or avocado based. And so that brings us to the number one solution…
1. I shall turn myself into a mushroom! Because mushrooms like humans make their own Vitamin D!
Wait, back up, let’s try that one again…
1. I shall eat all the mushrooms!
Solution #1 is by far the easiest — and quite tasty if you ask me — way to fulfil your daily levels thanks to the fact that mushrooms are a brilliant plant-based source of Vitamin D.
Mushrooms, like humans, actually produce Vitamin D when exposed to UV light and when properly infused (either by exposure to UV by farmers before sending off to a grocery store or exposure to an hour of mid-day sun once you bring them home) a mere 100g can provide the RDA for an adult.
And with that the music has started to play and it’s time for the main event — brunch!
A meaty mushroom lined with salmon (or spinach if you wish), baked with an egg in the centre and topped with tangy goat cheese. A Vitamin D feast, eaten while sitting in the late morning sun if at all possible, but just as good curled up under a rug on the lounge — because it is winter after all.
Maybe next year I’ll be eating this on that island. Note to self, buy island.
Egg, Salmon & Goat Cheese Baked Mushrooms
A loaded breakfast mushroom, because we can’t all sun-bake on an island every day.
Serves one, multiply as required
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large portobello mushroom, 125 g or so
- 2 slices smoked salmon, approx 50 g (see note for vegetarian option)
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp goat cheese
- olive oil, salt & pepper
- baby spinach, to serve
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a tray with baking paper.
Cut stem from mushroom and carefully scrape out black gills — discard or save for another purpose. Brush or drizzle mushroom with a bit of olive oil and bake on prepared tray 7 mins.
Remove mushroom from oven, drain any liquid from cup and line with smoked salmon, creating a bit of a lip around the edge. Crack the egg into centre and crumble over goat cheese.
Drizzle with a bit more oil and bake 15 – 20 mins until just set. Season and serve with baby spinach.
COOK’S NOTES
- For a vegetarian option replace salmon with baby spinach leaves.
- Pre-baking the mushrooms makes sure they’re cooked through by the time the egg is done.
- Baked eggs go from soft whites to overdone yolks in seconds it seems. Mine were not cooked enough at 15 mins and overcooked at 20 — 18 would have been perfect, but all ovens are different so keep an eye on them.
vegetarian option // gluten-free // soy-free // nut-free // probably paleo
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The creation of this recipe is sponsored by Australian Mushroom Growers, however the obsession with all things mushrooms is all mine.
lovely…maybe I should start growing mushrooms…on second thought, maybe I’ll coach others to grow mushrooms
May I join you on that island? I’m not much of a fisherperson, but I’m happy to give it a shot. I’ll bring the ice cream maker.
But seriously, this mushroom thingy looks sensational and could bump my current fave brunch off its perch. Thank you for sharing x
Definitely the best idea to get Vitamin D is mushrooms. Without a doubt.
Well there you go, 10+ years as a pharmacist pushing the values of vitamin D supplements. All the time not realising that mushrooms were a source.
That excites me, I love mushrooms and your brunch looks fabulous.
Ooooo this looks delicious, from a fellow brunch lover AND portobello lover. Bec x