I always take a multi-vitamin, especially this time of year. It just gives me that extra boost that I need on the cool winter days. One morning in particular, I was listening to Canada AM with Leslie Beck, a registered dietitian, and she alerted me to the fact that we can take too much.
According to a recent Ipsos Reid survey, almost 50 percent of Canadians take vitamin supplements, and the average household spends $46 per month on supplements. Health professionals will argue that if you eat a well-balanced diet that follows Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating, there is no need to pop a pill. But according to Beck, the reality is that not everyone eats well every day.
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If you and your family do take a multi-vitamin, here is a safe upper limit and what health problems can emerge if you take too much:
- Vitamin A – 3000 mcg – birth defects, increased risk bone fracture.
- Vitamin D – 2000 IU – bone loss, loss of appetite, headache, fatigue, kidney stones, organ damage.
- Vitamin E – 2200 IU – interferes with blood clotting.
- Vitamin B6 – 100 mg – bloating, depression, headache, nerve damage, bone pain.
- Calcium – 2500 mg – constipation, kidney stones, interferes with mineral absorption.
- Iron – 45 mg – infection, joint disease, loss of hair, organ damage.
- Zinc – 40 mg – anemia, lower HDL, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, muscle pain, suppressed immune function.
Cream of broccoli soup
Dear TEAM: Approximately 10 years back Emmie Oddie had a recipe in her column for cream of broccoli soup. I have since lost my recipe and wondered if it could be reprinted. Another request is for two-hour buns, and cinnamon buns. – L.M., via internet.
Dear L.M.: We went back into Emmie’s column and found a recipe.
Cream of broccoli soup
Start with:
3 cups thin white 750 mL
sauce made from:
4 tablespoons fat 60 mL
4 tablespoons flour 60 mL
3 cups milk 750 mL
11/2 cups cooked broccoli 375 mL
11/2 cups vegetable stock 375 mL
1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
minced onion, if desired
Prepare white sauce by melting fat and stirring in flour; stir in cold liquid until smooth. Cook until thick and there is no taste of raw starch. Add broccoli and stock, reheat if desired, taste and season. If you have a blender or food processor, the broccoli may be chopped prior to cooking or after cooking.
Two-hour buns
2 tablespoons 30 mL
Fermipan instant yeast
4 cups flour 1 L
2 eggs
8 tablespoons sugar 120 mL
6 tablespoons oil 90 mL
3 cups warm water 750 mL
3-4 cups flour 750 mL-1L
1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
Mix yeast and four cups of flour thoroughly. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and oil and add water.
To liquids, add the flour and yeast mixture and beat until well blended. Add remaining flour and salt, mixed. Let rise for 15 minutes; punch down. Let rise again for 15 minutes. Punch down and form into buns.
Place buns on a greased sheet, cover and let rise for one hour in a warm place. Bake in 350 F (180 C) oven for 15-20 minutes. Yields about five dozen buns.
This recipe may also be used for cinnamon buns. Roll dough into rectangles and add your favourite filling and roll up. If dough is moulded into bread, bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Oven chicken fingers
In the Taste of Home on-line newsletter, oven chicken fingers from Mary P. of Charlestown, Rhode Island, were featured as the quick and easy meat dish.
I thought the chicken would be great for kids, and would compliment the soup recipe, or a vegetable tray with dip.
1 cup Italian bread 250 mL
crumbs
2 tablespoons grated 30 mL
Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil 50 mL
6 boneless, skinless
chicken breast halves
In plastic bag, mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, then set aside. In a small bowl, combine garlic and oil.
Flatten the chicken to half inch (one cm) thickness, cut into one inch (2.5 cm) wide strips.
Dip strips in oil and coat with crumb mixture. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Cranberry orange sauce
1/4 cup sugar 50 mL
2 teaspoons cornstarch 10 mL
1/2 cup fresh or frozen 125 mL
cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice 125 mL
1/4 cup water 50 mL
Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add cranberries, orange juice and water.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir three minutes more, crushing the berries while stirring.
Honey mustard sauce
2 tablespoons 30 mL
cornstarch
1 cup water, divided 250 mL
1/2 cup honey 125 mL
1/4 cup prepared mustard 50 mL
Dissolve cornstarch in one tablespoon (15 mL) water in a saucepan.
Add honey, mustard and remaining water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.
Serve with chicken for dipping. Yield: six servings.
Jodie Mirosovsky is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
