Today, I got my lab results. Turns out, my blood lipid levels are within normal range (phew), fasting glucose is excellent (thank goodness), but my vitamin D level is not so good.

The normal healthy range for vitamin D is 32 - 100 ng/mL and mine is 17ng/mL.

I've been recommended by my doctor to take 2000 IU of vitamin D3 twice daily for 4 months, and then have my blood levels rechecked.

I was really shocked when I got this news - I'm not really sure why, it makes total sense. Being a dietitian, I thought I was a glowing example of pure healthiness, I guess not.

The only few food sources of vitamin D are; fortified milk, oily fish (tuna, salmon, sardines, and mackerel), and egg yolk - which I hardly eat. So, I get little to no vitamin D in my diet and witness the sun shining, maybe 4 months out of the year. Even when I am in the direct sun, I am likely wearing sun screen. I guess this means vitamin D supplementation for life!

On a more positive note, I joined boot camp - SWL Booty Camp to be exact. These days, my body is in real need of a kick start. I am feeling really depressed about the job hunt, and not motivated to do much - I'm now blaming it on my low vitamin D level. From now on, that will likely be my excuse for everything. Just blame it on the vitamin D. The boot camp runs Monday - Thursday at 7:00 am for 50 minutes x 4 weeks. This, combined with my 3 days/week of yoga, and 3/week of rock climbing, I'm going to be sore. Here is a link to the boot camp, if you're interested.

My friend Emily gave me a recipe for cottage cheese pancakes. The recipe called for lots of eggs, and I only had 2, so I tweaked it a bit. Hope you like.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Lemon Recipe (serves 4)

Ingredients
2 lemons, grated and squeezed
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tbsp canola oil
1 cup flour

1. Grate the lemon zest into a bowl, with the lemon juice, egg yolks, powdered sugar, cottage cheese, and oil and combine. Next, stir in the flour. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs whites. Gently, fold them into the cottage cheese mixture. Cook on medium heat, in a pan with lots of butter.