Monday, March 18, 2013

I've Got Sunshine On A Cloudy Day

A friend on the west coast mentioned that she had been out bike riding with the kids yesterday.  Bike...riding?  Meanwhile, this was the view out my kitchen yesterday - and for the past week, now that I think of it:


A mini blizzard!  This time of year can be very trying, especially when the sky matches the ground and everything is greyish white and it feels, to be honest, like spring will never come.  It's not unlike the Ingalls family, enduring the Long Winter, thinking that hey, it's March, which means spring and the trains are finally going to get through and we all won't starve to death!  And then the trains don't get through until May.

Wait.  It's not like that at all.  I mean, we will probably still have snow until May, but the consequences are not so dire.  I'm not twisting hay to keep warm and eating one slice of bread a day, is what I'm saying.  The poor Ingalls family.  Can you imagine how deficient in Vitamin D they were?  As well as being deficient in every other nutrient. 

In my house, we all take Vitamin D supplements - sometimes more than one supplement a day, depending on the level of gloom outside.  It's well documented that Vitamin D helps with immunity and calcium absorption, but I think it also helps with moods and fighting the winter blues.  Yesterday I took an extra supplement, and guess what happened!  The sun came out.  Literally.  The sun started to shine immediately following my supplement ingestion; you're welcome, Calgary.

Another good way to fight the blues is to make cookies, and since there is a birthday coming up in our house - Mark will be NINE next week - I made everyone's favourite sugar cookies in the shape of stars, and that, along with some on-sale blackberries and strawberries, will comprise the school snacks for the week.


Goodbye, blues.  Hello, blue cookies!  You may notice that one of those things is not like the others; that was the scrag-end of the dough, which Jake poked a happy face into prior to baking.  It's a smiley face for the soon-to-be birthday boy!  Which is smile inducing for me, while I wait and wait for the snow to melt.

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I did a little reseach on food sources containing Vitamin D, wondering if we could up our intake that way.  The primary food sources are mainly fish - salmon contains the highest levels, by far - but since fish is not consumed in our house, the next-best thing is Vitamin D-enriched products.  The boys both like milk and yogurt, and so I often make thick smoothies, with a one-to-one ratio of milk to yogurt and a big handful of frozen blueberries or mixed berries.  It's a frosty, Vitamin D-full treat, and in a Thermos it would probably be a nice addition to a school lunch on a gloomy day.

10 comments:

  1. So can I ask a cheeky question? Why no fish? Is it a preference thing, or is fresh fish just hard to come by in land-locked Alberta?

    We eat fish a couple of times a week at least. I love it because it's so easy (and quick!) to prepare.

    That blue frosting is The. Bomb.

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    1. Well, I don't eat fish because I'm vegetarian. My husband doesn't eat it because he doesn't like it, generally - occasionally he will order it in a restaurant. My kids won't eat it because - and remember, these are the same children who happily eat "yummy cows and pigs and chickens" - the POOR LITTLE FISHIES! They should be swimming in the sea, not sitting on our plates! Apparently they do not feel the same way about livestock!

      Salmon is a very excellent source of vitamin D. I was suprised at HOW excellent.

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  2. Great idea! We too are suffering from the ongoing winter blues...and cookies seem like the perfect antidote! And thanks for the vitamin D tips - we do take supplements, but it's always good to have another reminder.

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    1. The winter is so lonnnnng. We've had so much snow on the ground since October, and it looks like it will be that way for QUITE some time. But spring IS coming. It is.

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  3. My kids have reminded me that when I pack them smoothies, I also need to pack them STRAWS. Smoothies are hard to drink!

    We eat fish only once in a while. I prefer tuna fish but thanks to its crazy mercury levels, I don't feed it to my kids that often. Sadness.

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  4. We do D drops in the winter. But good to know about salmon - we love it!

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    1. The kids have D gummies - I think the brand is Iron Kids - and sometimes I will (shamefully) munch on a handful myself, even though I am still taking my adult 1000 IU pill! Gummies! No wonder they are in childproof containers.

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  5. So let me get this straight...there are more cookies at your house?

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