This was a childhood recipe I would make it every weekend. I loved this recipe so much, but the original recipe used cow’s milk. I’ve turned it vegan by using some unsweetened soya milk and rapeseed oil in place of the butter. I still get that nostalgic feeling when eating this vegan version.
I’m using mushrooms which naturally contain vitamin D. I’ve written about this before where I talked about exposing shop-bought mushrooms to sunlight to make your own vitamin D mushrooms at home. You can buy mushrooms which have already been exposed to UVB rays, and therefore already contain vitamin D2. This can be useful if it’s not a sunny day or you don’t have time to let your mushrooms make vitamin D.
Serves 1
Ingredients
10g rapeseed oil
100g vitamin D mushrooms
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp mushroom ketchup
150ml unsweetened fortified soya milk
1 slice of toast
Method
In a saucepan, heat the oil and fry the mushrooms till they release all their juices and they evapourate off.
Add the flour and mix into the mushrooms before adding the mushroom ketchup. Add the soya milk in a little bit at a time, stirring continuously to get a smooth sauce.
Once all the milk has been added, cook for a couple of minutes before serving piled high on a slice of toast
Combining deliciously roasted and sticky garlic with vitamin D-enriched mushrooms (read my previous post on enriching your mushrooms with vitamin D by clicking here) for a delicious and nutritious spread. Make a large batch and I promise you won’t regret it! Try serving these up as little canapes on thinly sliced toasted bread at your next dinner party.
Roasted MushroomsRoasted Garlic
Makes 17 portions
Ingredients
1 bulb of garlic
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500g mushrooms of choice
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
20 sprigs of thyme
300g cream cheese
15g chives, chopped
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/ 180°C convection
Slice the top off the garlic bulb to expose the very tops of the cloves. Place in a mini cocotte or on double-layered tin foil. Drizzle with the olive oil, cover and place into the oven.
Meanwhile, add the mushrooms to a large tray, drizzle with the rapeseed oil and 10 sprigs of thyme. Roast in the oven for 1 hour till the mushrooms are sticky and shrunken.
Once the mushrooms are cooked check the garlic is soft and remove from the oven to cool – it may need a further 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your bulb and your vessel.
Once cooled, to a food processor add the mushrooms, remove the thyme leaves from the roasted thyme, chives, white pepper, and lemon. Add the remaining fresh thyme leaves and 5-6 cloves of roasted garlic. Blend to the desired consistency, checking the seasoning is to your taste.
Serve with crusty bread, crackers or stir into a risotto just at the end. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.
Roasted Mushroom Pate
Per serving: 58kcal/ 4.8g fat/ 2.9g saturated fat/ 1.6g carbohydrates/ 0.5g fibre/ 1.7g protein
As we enter the Autumn and Winter months of the year, we lose our natural ability to make vitamin D from skin exposure to sunlight. We therefore should be looking at alternative ways to maintain our vitamin D status through our diets. I have previously written about the importance of supplementation during winter months, but there are alternative sources to supplementation if you further want to ensure your vitamin D status remains within the healthy range during the darker days.
Sun-dried and UVB irradiated mushrooms are the only non-animal-based food product with substantial amounts of bioavailable vitamin D (as D2) and, as such, have the potential to be a primary source of vitamin D in a vegetarian and vegan diet.
Most fresh-grown retail mushrooms in the UK are grown in dark, temperature-controlled rooms before being refrigerated and transported. Thus, the vitamin D2 content of most mushrooms sold is commonly less than 1μg/100g fresh weight (FW), and therefore the typical serving of mushrooms is negligible.
When mushrooms are exposed to midday sunlight for 15-120 minutes they will generate significant amounts of vitamin D2 (<10μg/100g FW) which approaches the recommendation for the UK which is set at 10μg/day. However, the total amount of vitamin D generated in these mushrooms is dependent on many factors, such as length of exposure, time of exposure, the surface area exposed, and weather. Increasing the surface area by slicing the mushrooms to expose more flesh can increase vitamin D production. Additionally, certain species of mushrooms will produce more vitamin D if the gills are exposed.
Commercially produced vitamin D mushrooms are exposed to specific UV radiation in the growing and/or post-harvest phase. Fresh mushrooms deliberately exposed to UV light post-harvest can produce vitamin D2 levels up to 320μg/100 FW (calculated from dried weight).
In contrast, wild mushrooms are naturally exposed to UV light and therefore contain vitamin D2, as are sun-dried mushrooms. Both wild and sun-dried mushrooms contain significant amounts of vitamin D2.
Sunbathing mushrooms to produce vitamin D2
There are plenty of mushroom-containing recipes available on my website which can easily use vitamin D-enriched mushrooms, but here are a few of my favourite!
In the UK, the recommendation to to supplement the diet with vitamin D during the months of October through to March, or if you are unable to go outside during daylight hours in the Spring and Summer months. This is because the main source of vitamin D is not from the diet, but actually from UVB sunlight on your skin which causes your body to produce vitamin D.
There are some foods that contain vitamin D which may contribute to your intake, but food alone is rarely enough to maintain adequate vitamin D blood levels. Originally it was thought that vitamin D made during spring and summer months was adequate enough to support levels throughout the winter months. However, this has been found to not be the case with an estimated 20% of the UK population having inadequate levels of serum 25OHD. Recommendations to supplement the diet with 10µg (400IU) daily were introduced to the UK in 2016 by the Scientific Advisory Committee for Nutrition.
Animal derived foods which contain vitamin D include:
Eggs
Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, herrings
Dairy products
Offal
Plant-based foods containing vitamin D include:
UVB irradiated mushrooms
Fortified milk alternatives
Some fortified breakfast cereals
As dietary intakes of vitamin D are inadequate to maintain healthy serum levels, supplementation is still required even if you aim to include as many of these foods as possible. I have plenty of vitamin D containing food recipes, which also contain lots of other beneficial nutrients, so a reminder that variety is the key to overall good health.
Mushroom risotto (if made with specially UVB irradiated mushrooms could contain around 2µg per serving)
Top my courgette fritters with an egg for around 1µg vitamin D from the egg.
If you are concerned about your vitamin D levels, please speak to a trained health expert before taking extremely high doses without proper medical guidance.
Perhaps an important question given the current circumstances. In short, no. The immune system is a very complex topic, with many different defence mechanisms. In order to support a normal functioning immune system, we should already be having a healthy and varied diet encompassing a wide variety of foods. We should be including fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, healthy fats and lean sources of protein. Aim for 30 different plant-based food sources a week (think fruits, vegetables, beans and pulses, wholegrains, nuts and seeds) and 30g of fibre a day wherever possible. For those who have restricted intakes, speak to your doctor or dietitian before taking supplementation. Special interest in particular nutrients which have a role in immunity may be beneficial if you are lacking them in your diet. However, the most important factor is to eat a healthy and varied diet and not to fixate on a single nutrient or a wonder pill.
Here are a few nutrients with specific roles in the immune system.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is able to help strengthen our immune barrier by promoting mucus secretion and epithelium formation. In addition, vitamin A is needed for macrophage development, a type of protective white blood cell. Deficiencies of vitamin A can lead to a weakened immune system. Additionally, animal data has shown the vitamin A deficiency can impair T cell and antibody function.
Source of vitamin A include:
Liver
Dairy products
Yellow/orange/red fruits and vegetables such as peppers, sweet potato, carrots, papaya, mango
Dark green vegetables such as kale and spinach
Over consumption of vitamin A by supplementation can lead to vitamin A toxicity, so consult your doctor or dietitian before starting vitamin A supplementation. Special caution applies to pregnant women who are advised to avoid vitamin A supplements, liver and liver products due to the risk of birth defects.
Vitamin C is involved in proliferation, function, and movement of neutrophils, monocytes, phagocytes, and is often the first nutritional supplementation turned to when a cold or flu strikes. Previous high-quality work has shown that high intakes of vitamin C are not associated with reducing the risk of contracting a cold in the ordinary population. However, consumption of a high dose (1000-2000mcg/d) was found to reduce the length and severity of a cold. The caveat of this was that this was only effective in those people who were already regularly taking these high doses.
Sources of vitamin C include:
Citrus fruits
Berries
Kiwis
Bell peppers and chilli
Kale
Potatoes
Over supplementation of vitamin C can lead to diarrhoea, nausea, kidney stones and expensive urine. The UK reference nutrient intake for most adults is 40mcg/day. Anything above this will be excreted.
Roasted red pepper and goats cheese salad which packs in a whopping 14.5g fibre per serving – recipe coming soon!
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is thought to be able to modulate the immune response and has been linked to inflammation and the immune system, which could be due to its role in the formation of T cells. Vitamin D has also been shown to protect the lungs against infection.
Most of our vitamin D will come from supplementation. The Scientific Advisory Committee for Nutrition (SACN) recommend supplementation of 10mcg[400IU]/d for most of the population, as dietary sources are rarely adequate on their own. This is of particular importance for those living in the UK and Ireland where skin exposure to sunlight will not produce any vitamin D between October and March.
Dietary sources of vitamin D include:
Fortified foods such as milk alternatives and cereals
Egg yolks
Oily fish
Liver, including cod liver oil*
UVB exposed mushrooms
High doses of vitamin D (above 25mcg[1000IU]/d) can lead to nausea, vomiting, kidney stones, irregular heartbeats and stiffening of the arteries.
My smoked mackerel pâté recipe additionally provides you with some omega 3 fatty acids.
*not suitable during pregnancy due to a high level of vitamin A
Vitamin E
Dietary interventions looking at vitamin E supplementation have been shown to enhance cell-mediated and humoral immune responses in animals. Vitamin E supplementation has also shown increased lymphocyte proliferation, immunoglobulin levels, antibody responses, natural killer cell activity, and interleukin-2 production. In addition, vitamin E’s antioxidant effects are thought to play a role in protecting the PUFA membrane from oxidation.
Sources of vitamin E include:
Most nuts (e.g. almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts) and seeds (e.g. sunflower, pumpkin)
There isn’t enough evidence to know what the effects might be of taking high doses of vitamin E supplements each day. In the UK, the safe intake is set at 4mg for men and 3mg for women per day. Any vitamin E not utilised immediately is stored, so you don’t need to have it in your diet every day.
Zinc deficiency has been found to negatively impact many cells related to the immune system, such as: neutrophils, natural killer cells, macrophages, B cells and T cells, and has a central role in cellular growth and differentiation of immune cells that have a rapid differentiation and turnover. Use of zinc acetate lozenges daily for up to one week was associated with reduced severity and duration of a cold, but only when taken within 24 hours of the first symptoms presenting. In a separate study, zinc gluconate lozenges significantly reduced the duration of illness in comparison with placebo but had no effect on symptom severity.
Dietary sources of zinc include:
Shellfish
Red meat and poultry
Eggs
Dairy products
Nuts and seeds
Chickpeas
Lentils
Wholegrains
Too much zinc in the diet can cause a reduced uptake of copper, leading to anaemia and weak bones.
An easy way to include zinc in the diet would be to add some shellfish, such as clams, to a pasta dish.
Probiotics
Probiotics can be important for helping boost the good bacteria in your gut. You gut is responsible for around 70% of your immune system and can impact on the production of white blood cells. Recent studies have shown a link between specific strains of lactobacillus, which may reduce the risk of viral infections. However, more research into this area is needed.
Probiotic sources include:
Kefir
Live yoghurts
Live kombucha
Unpasteurised fermented foods such as kimchi or sauerkraut
Alternative ways to help boost your gut bacteria could be the use of prebiotics. Prebiotics are types of carbohydrates which feed your gut bacteria. Prebiotic foods include:
Garlic, onion and leeks
Jerusalem artichokes
Asparagus
Oats
Banana
Flaxseeds
Watch out as not all fermented foods are equal. Additionally, some fermented foods may trigger those who suffer from IBS, so follow the guidance of your dietitian if you suffer from this. Additionally, use of probiotics in health living people may not be so beneficial, but that is because your gut bacteria are already doing well on their own. Keep them happy with plenty of diverse plant food sources and fibre.
Overnight oats are a simple way of including both pre- and probiotics
Garlic
Garlic appears to enhance the functioning of the immune system by stimulating certain cell types, such as macrophages, lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Previously, studies have found that an equivalent dose of 3-6 cloves of garlic as aged garlic extract may help to reduce the severity of colds and flus. However, aged garlic contains a compound called S-allyl cysteine not found in fresh garlic.
Garlic supplementation may cause interactions with medications such as blood thinners, anticoagulants, certain oral contraceptive pills and certain HIV medication. Consult your doctor before taking garlic supplements if you are on medication. Very high doses of garlic can also be toxic… or cause social isolation….
While I use garlic throughout my dishes, I simply love pesto. So versatile, you can use whatever you have to hand be it left over herbs, frozen peas or even vegetable tops such as carrots. Why not give my kale pesto a go – additionally a great source of vitamins ACE!
Chilli
Capsaicin, the chilli pepper component that produces a burning sensation, can be effective against nasal congestion and lowering inflammation, thereby reducing symptoms of colds and flus. In addition, the pain from eating chillis can lead to the release of endorphines, the body’s natural pain killer, giving a feeling of happiness and wellbeing.
Overdoing chilli can lead to diarrhoea due to irritation of the stomach or intestinal lining; or irritate those with IBS.
For those who can, turn up the heat with an extra chilli or two in my vegan chickpea curry.
So what is the true answer? Eat (plenty of variety), drink (preferably not alcohol), sleep (7-9 hours a day) and repeat (washing your handswith soap).
Dr Pippa 