We all know that we can load up on Vitamin D with sun exposure however is it possible to create the sun from within?

Absolutely! Read our blog and discover tips and what Vitamin D foods are best. At Italian Spoon, we also have the top 8 recipes to load up on Vitamin D.

Why is Vitamin D important?

Vitamin D is essential for bone health. It aids calcium absorption for bone mineralization which is important for bone growth and prevention of osteoporosis. It also plays an important role in musculoskeletal health and various functions of your immune, digestive, circulatory, and nervous systems.

Many Australians have low vitamin D levels, especially during winter. What are effective ways to increase Vitamin D naturally? The best way is to spend time in the sun, followed by eating foods rich in Vitamin D. I say load it up! It is almost impossible to get too much Vitamin D from sunlight and/or food alone.

What Vitamin D foods are best?

There are many healthy foods that can give you a boost of Vitamin D. Fatty fish is the highest natural food source of vitamin D with the added bonus of omega-3 fatty acids. Winning! Fish that contain the highest amount of Vitamin D are herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, trout, halibut, sword fish, and anchovies (includes canned fish). Other great food sources include cod liver oil and egg yolks, particularly from pasture-raised or free-range eggs. Mushrooms are the only plant-based source of vitamin D. Mushrooms contain ergosterol, a pro-vitamin that converts to Vitamin D with sun exposure. Interestingly, store bought mushrooms produce even more Vitamin D when exposed to direct sunlight. Give your mushrooms a real Vitamin D boost by placing them outside under the sun, gill-side up for 2 days. Many commercially available foods are also fortified with vitamin D such as cow’s milk, orange juice and breakfast cereals.

Here are our Top 8 recipes to get more Vitamin D:

1. Salmon and prawns ‘al cartoccio’ (in paper parcel)
2. Sicilian-style pasta con le sarde (with sardines)

3. Mushroom soup
4. Risotto with dried porcini and mushrooms

5. Fussili pasta with salmon and baby prawns (shrimp)
6. Uova alla Contadina (saucy peasant eggs)

7. Veal scaloppine ‘ai funghi’ (of mushrooms)
8. Sword fish alla Siciliana

Getting enough Vitamin D is important. Choosing Vitamin D rich foods and regularly spending time in outdoor activities can make all the difference to your health and wellbeing. In Italy, everyone from young children to the elderly participate in outdoor activities and exercise on a regular basis – whether be swimming at local beaches, hiking, playing sport or a ‘passeggiata’ (a leisurely walk, usually with friends and family in the afternoon or after dinner).

Cheers to modelling the Italian way of life, healthy and long!

Happy cooking X

What Vitamin D foods are best? Top 8 recipes to get more Vitamin D blog authored by Vanessa Bottaro.

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Vanessa Bottaro

Author, Founder and Creative Director at Italian Spoon

In my eyes, Italian cuisine is love on a plate.

Vanessa is Creative Director of the Italian Spoon website and Author of The Italian entertaining cookbook, a collection of home-style Italian recipes and tips for entertaining in true Italian-style. In addition to cooking and taking photographs, Vanessa writes the recipes and blogs to bring the love of Italian cooking to life! The collection of recipes and blogs on the website have been inspired by travels to Italy and desire to share what she has learnt from the great ‘Mamma’s and ‘Nonna’s in her life!

Vanessa is an entrepreneur and wife to husband Simone and the mother of two beautiful kids Dante and Mia. Even so she was born and lives in Melbourne Australia, Vanessa has a deep connection to Italy. Perhaps it is the food, or maybe it is because it is the place where Vanessa met the love of her life, Simone to whom she has been happily married for so many years.

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