October Cooking Demo - Vitamin D and Calcium

_{November 3, 2022}
In October, our incredible Chef, Jason Drago, made his way over to the Chardon Senior Center for another informational cooking demo session. Our goal with these sessions is to provide a nice upscale meal within a fixed income that provides the necessary nutrition for seniors. Jason was asked to generate a menu for the Chardon seniors that focused on vitamin D and calcium intake.

Calcium and vitamin D deficiencies are two of the most common that face seniors. Armed with that knowledge, Jason set out to create a calcium and vitamin D-rich meal. The thought process was to try and incorporate some/all of the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for both calcium and vitamin D into one meal.



"Educating the seniors is always a fun time as they ask questions pertaining to each one's individual cooking habits/methods. This gives us the ability to help each of those individuals create a healthy and nutrient-rich meal based on our special menu," shared Jason.

Vitamin D plays an important role in protecting your bones by helping your body absorb calcium and supporting muscles to avoid falls. Calcium is important to prevent bone loss and osteoporosis. While being out in the sun is the best way for your body to produce vitamin D, there are plenty of foods fortified with it. Calcium is found in more foods than you may think, with dairy products like cheese, milk, sour cream, and their derivatives leading the way.

Our meal consisted of:

• Pumpkin Ricotta Cheesecake
• Skillet-Braised Brussels Sprouts
• Gourmet Mushroom Risotto
• Grilled Salmon with Orange Glaze
• Double Chocolate Mocha Trifle

You can cook this delicious calcium and vitamin D-rich meal too! By clicking the button below, you'll find the full recipes and instructions from our cooking demo.

Happy cooking, and look out for next month's cooking demo!

Recipes