Book Review: Vitamin D The Sunshine Vitamin and NOT meatloaf

A while ago, Rick over at Book Publishing Company sent me the Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin book to review.  My husband and I both read it and loved it.  I recently wrote a post about Vitamin D here and we both got ours checked and we were both deficient.  So now we are both taking a supplement every month.  That's the only supplement we take.  This book is written by Zoltan Rona, MD, MSc.  He first explains how Vitamin D works in your body and that, of course, the best source is the sun.  Not all of us live in a sunny location, so it's not so easy to get for a lot of people.  He goes on to explain the differences between D2 & D3 (which I also talked about in my post), one is vegan, one is not.  And of course he mentions sunscreen and the differences between UVA and UVB rays:

"It is important to realize that it is UVA light and not UVB light that is responsible for skin damage, aging, and wrinkles."

I love chapter 4!  He talks about all sorts of diseases that can be prevented/treated with Vitamin D.  It's really interesting and you can easily skim that part for particular diseases you may be looking for, from Cancer and MS to Acne and Autism! At the very end of the book he mentions a few concerns for women's health that can be helped by Vitamin D, including Preeclampsia and PMS.

Overall, this is a great read.  The book isn't too long and is not overwhelming at all....but gives really great information on this vitamin. Go out and get it!!

And now for my NOT meatloaf recipe!! (Don't get scared, but it looks like raw meat)

Tanya's NOT Meatloaf:


1 recipe of my black bean burgers with the following changes:
-add 1 small beet, cut in small pieces and a handful of chopped broccoli instead of mushrooms
-works better with cooked black beans that have been drained well & refrigerated, rather than canned.

Follow the directions for the burgers, but instead of shaping into burgers, put into a sprayed/oiled loaf pan and press down evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  (I have to admit, it tasted much better cold the next day!!)  Serve with BBQ sauce, or any other sauce.....or no sauce :)

We had it with a side of steamed green beans fresh from our friend's garden!

Question of the week: I'm saving up for one of the following two. Which one should I get?  I have a small 3 cup food processor that I use several times a week, and I have no blender, but the blender is a lot more expensive than the food processor.  Not sure which I would use more:

The Cuisinart Elite 14 cup Food Processor with 3 work bowls

OR:

The VitaMix TurboBlend 4500 Blender

Giveaway: Averie's having a Naturally Nutty giveaway on her blog...this stuff looks awesome!

Coming up: American Craft Beer Week celebration at the Avenue Pub!

Eat smart,

T.