It’s Ann here today. Andy is in OurLittleCorner with milk and crackers.
We all need a touch of something sweet now and then, especially during the holiday season. Fran’s Caramels look fantastic – even D-lectable, but I have a sweet that’s even better than Fran’s that I’d like to recommend. Why is it better? Because it’s actually good for you! And only one a day is recommended, so you won’t overindulge!
As many of you know, I was an English teacher/social studies teacher/gardener – but not a nutritionist/doctor/dietition, so I don’t pretend to be an authority on supplements, but I do read a lot and try to use reputable sources.
According to the NIH.gov, “Vitamin D is found naturally in a few foods, such as the flesh of fatty fish, fish liver oils, beef liver, egg yolks, and cheese. In American diets, fortified foods (e.g., milk, breakfast cereals) provide most of the vitamin D.”
People can get some of their daily vitamin D through exposure to sunlight, although the season, time of day, length of day, cloud cover, melanin content of the skin, and other factors can affect ultraviolet radiation exposure and vitamin D synthesis.
According to Yale Medicine.org, “Just being outdoors, you get a fair amount of sun exposure and some sun-related generation of vitamin D. Because skin cancer, particularly melanoma, can be such a devastating disease, it’s best to use sunblock when outdoors in strong sunlight for any prolonged length of time. Because this may limit the amount of vitamin D you get from sun exposure, make sure your diet includes sources of vitamin D from foods or supplements.”
Harvard Health Online has an excellent explanation of what exactly Vitamin D is – and how we get it and why we need it.
A 2025 article in Prevention.com lists the following possible health benefits of D3:
- Strong bones
- Improved immunity
- Better heart health
- Boosted mood
- Strong muscles
Who can’t use all of those? But the real reason I’m all in is because I’m slightly addicted to the gumdrop-like berry flavor of these gummies. How many times do you actually look forward to taking your supplements? How many times do you have to stop yourself from enjoying just one more? It’s kind of like “have your cake and eat it too”or having two good things at the same time.
BUT – in case you aren’t really into healthy berry-flavored gumdrops – AND in case eating the flesh of fatty fish or taking fish liver oils or eating beef liver doesn’t appeal – AND if you’re not getting much sun exposure this winter, here’s a holiday-ish recipe that’s got a ton of egg yolks AND evaporated milk which is fortified with Vitamin D.
May the dessert boost your mood, if nothing else.
Our wish (among many) for the New Year: Don’t Be D-ficient!
And we (roughly) calculate you may get 23% of your daily Vitamin D requirement from just one nice-sized piece of this flan. Go for it!
Easy Mexican Flan
- 8 eggs
- 2/3 c sugar
- 1/2 tsp Diamond kosher salt
- 3 c evaporated milk (2 12-oz cans)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 c light brown sugar or 1/2 c dark brown muscovado sugar, if you can find it and like the more exotic flavor
- cubed or sliced and lightly-sugared mango to serve along side (optional but D-lish)
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Beat eggs until well blended. Add the 2/3 c sugar and salt, then beat in the evaporated milk and vanilla.
Sprinkle brown sugar evenly into the bottom of an 9″x 5″ loaf pan; gently pour the custard mixture over the brown sugar. Place the loaf pan into a larger 9″x13″ baking pan; put the pans into the oven and then add hot water to the outer pan until it reaches about 1/2 way up the sides of the loaf pan.
Bake the flan for 70-75 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the flan from the oven and let it cool in the water bath. After the flan cools, refrigerate it overnight. When ready to serve, run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn the flan out onto a small platter. Slice and serve.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Great recipe for flan! Will try it.
Regarding other delights, the ’53 – ’54 Desoto used that tune as their lyric: It’s delightful, it’s delovely, it’s Desoto! Sadly, the car designed to fill a perceived niche between Dodge and Chrysler didn’t survive the era (like the Edsel soon after).
Andy here: The Edsel is an interesting case. It was largely designed based upon a national survey of car buyers about preferences in cars. The problem was that it was a random sample and not aimed at people in the market for a car. Big mistake. I don’t recall any jingos in the ads for the Edsel, but I do recall folks saying it looked like a ford sucking a lemon.