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Vitamins and Minerals: Butternut Squash & Sage Beef Stew

By Jiri Kaloc

Vitamins A, D, E, and K make up a group of fat soluble vitamins. They are necessary for healthy bones, eye sight, skin, immunity and the antioxidation ability of the body. Unfortunately, we are quite commonly deficient in them. So, let’s at look some good sources and a healthy recipe that will help you get enough of them.

They can be stored

Fat soluble vitamins can be stored in our fat tissue and we can run on these reserves for weeks and even months. For example, if we store enough vitamin D during summer (the main source is sunlight exposure) we will have an easier time staying healthy in winter. It is also important to have a balanced intake of all four of these vitamins. They can become toxic especially if we have one or two in excess. That’s why we should supplement them with care and only when we know the current levels of these vitamins so we aren’t just stabbing in the dark.

If you want to make sure you have enough fat soluble vitamins you should try and eat 3 egg yolks a day, 100 g of liver a week, plenty of leafy and colorful vegetables daily, fermented foods several times a week, and expose your skin to sunlight every day.

Recipe: Butternut Squash & Sage Beef Stew

This recipe will serve 4-6 people, and every single serving completely covers the recommended daily values (DV) for vitamin A and selenium, and nearly for vitamin B12, niacin (B3), phosphorus, and zinc. It will also give you over 25% of the DV for riboflavin (B2), vitamin B6, iron, and sodium. Overall, it’s a pretty micro-nutrient dense meal, a good inspiration for healthy and tasty cooking.

Also, this is a slow-cooker recipe, so expect the cooking time to be roughly 8 hours. The prep itself shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes though.

Ingredients

900 g beef stew meat
225 g bacon, diced
2 cups butternut squash, diced
1 cup button mushrooms
half yellow onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
half teaspoon garlic powder
half teaspoon salt
8-10 sage leaves, minced
bundle of herbs (rosemary, thyme, and sage)
1 l bone broth
half cup red wine
Instructions

1. Place a large sauté pan over medium heat and cook bacon until crispy. Remove and set aside.

2. Add the beef stew meat to the hot pan with bacon grease, and sprinkle with garlic powder and salt. Brown on all sides in about 8 minutes or so, remove and set aside.

3. Add sage, onion and garlic and let the onions sweat for about 5 minutes, until translucent.

4. Add the bacon, stew meat, and onion mixture to a crockpot along with all the other ingredients and mix to combine.

5. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low.

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