Mother's Day Brunch

Picture Source: http://www.65plushearthealth.com/images/page-photos/heart-health2.png

Is your mom at risk for heart disease? 

Prevalence:

• Worldwide, 8.6 million women die from heart disease each year, accounting for a third of all deaths in women. Three million women die from stroke each year. Stroke accounts for more deaths among women than men (11% vs 8.4%) with additional risk for CHD unique to women related to oral contraceptive use in combination with smoking.
• 8 million women in the US are currently living with heart disease; 35,000 are under age of 65. Four million suffer from angina.
• 435,000 American women have heart attacks annually; 83,000 are under age 65; 35,000 are under 55. The average: 70.4.
• 42% of women who have heart attacks die within 1 year, compared to 24% of men.
• Under age 50, women’s heart attacks are twice as likely as men’s to be fatal.
• 267,000 women die each year from heart attacks, which kill six times as many women as breast cancer. Another 31, 837 women die each year of congestive heart failure, representing 62.6% of all heart failure deaths.
  
  
  Source: http://www.womensheart.org/content/HeartDisease/heart_disease_facts.asp

On this Mother's Day, show your mom how much you care by choosing to protect her heart! 

Heart-Friendly Gift Ideas for Mom:

• Something to calm her: massage, facial, or pedi/mani
• Something to encourage movement: pilates or yoga classes
• The gift that keeps giving--a compost, working in a garden is healing
• Feed her feather friends--a hummingbird feeder or bird seed

And if you wish to feed her, show her you care with a Heart-Friendly Menu:

• Spinach & Feta Frittata or Blueberry Pancakes 
• Fresh Fruit Salad sprinkled with flaxseed and honey (Strawberries, Blackberries, & Raspberries + 1tsp flax & honey)
• Carrot/Ginger/Orange Mimosas (juice carrots, ginger, and an orange then serve w/ a splash of Champagne) 

Picture Source: http://dbm.thewebconsole.com/S3DB402/images/Berries.jpg

Enjoy and celebrate the health of your mother's heart for the years to come!  

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, mother-n-law, grandmothers, & sisters--I love you all and wish for a heart-friendly day for you! 

A Leftover-Inspired Frittata

There is something so simple about frittatas and filling! I had a little more ground beef that I needed to use before my 3-day window for food safety was up; thus, I had to get creative again. So, spinning off my idea from the other night I decided to do an Italian rendition with my beef mixture. Most of all, I hope my ideas allow you to be more creative with your next batch of leftovers!

Empanada filling--take two!

Frittata Italiano

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups ground beef, cooked

1/2 pkg of mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced

1 Tb. olive oil

6 eggs, or 1 1/2 cup egg substitute

3 oz goat cheese

Bruschetta Mixture (see recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F. In a heavy skillet heat olive oil and add bell peppers and mushrooms. Sauté for 4 minutes. Add ground beef and heat for 2 minutes. Whisk eggs and pour over eggs. Top with crumbled goat cheese. Allow to cook over medium heat for 3 minutes and then finish in oven for 5-10 minutes or until middle is set. Serve with Bruschetta:

2 Tomatoes, chopped

1 cup Parsley, chopped

1/4 Red onion, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 Lemon, juiced

Salt to taste

Mix & Serve!

Step by Step to a Fabulous Frittata (Quick Dinner Alert!)

After another long day I came home and began my rummage through my fridge...hmmmm.....eggs, veggies, prosciutto, goat cheese, milk...ooo la la--time for a frittata! My first experience with a frittata was at my dear friend Kathie's home. I walk in and on the counter is a beautiful circle egg dish loaded with thinly sliced zucchini. It looked a little like an omelet, but it was at room temperature. It was fabulous! Kathie's family is from Italy, and her mother, Maria is a culinary goddess! That day we enjoyed zucchini frittata and apricots for lunch. The simple things in life! For me, I am forever thankful for my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) goodies which constantly add variety to my life! Frittatas-- a great way to curve your hunger in under 15 minutes!
Wendy's Wednesday Night Frittata
Serves 2 or 1 with leftovers
Ingredients:
1 small potato
2 Tb canola oil
2 broccoli crowns
2 oz prosciutto or ham
4 eggs
1/3 cp crumbled goat, feta, or favorite cheese

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350*F
Step 2: In a heavy skillet or cast iron pan heat oil over medium high heat. Add cubed potatoes and allow to brown on each side (about 10 minutes)
Step 3: While waiting for your potatoes to cook steam your broccoli in the microwave for 3 minutes with 1/2 cup water or in a pot. Drain and chop the florets.
Step 4: Cut up your prosciutto and add prosciutto and broccoli to potatoes
Step 5: Whisk eggs and pour over potato mixture
Step 6: Crumble cheese over top and bake for 5 minutes or until set.
Step 7: Allow to rest for 3-5 minutes before cutting into wedges. Serve!

Serve with fresh fruit and a glass of milk! Well, I did and it was FABULOUS!!! Let me know if you decide to fix it! Be creative and avoid limiting yourself to only certain vegetables! Spinach, peppers, onions, garlic, or squashes all work! Add a splash of fresh herbs, too--darn, I wish I would have thought of that earlier! I was too hungry to think at the time. Enjoy!