Pamper Someone Special with Brunch in Bed

Ditch the humdrum and do something extraordinary: pamper someone with brunch in bed. Brunch is a festive meal perfect for many of life’s special occasions, including graduations and wedding celebrations. But don’t wait for an upcoming event to share this pleasure – brunch in bed can be the perfect way to give someone a little extra tender lovin’ care right now!

Giving someone brunch in bed alone says you care, but here’s a vegetable frittata recipe that will show just how much! Its goodness earned it the Grand Prize in the Build a Better Brunch recipe contest sponsored by the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association and Healthy Aperture. Making this will ensure your loved ones are getting the delicious dairy foods that provide a myriad of health benefits, including strong bones.

Together the skim milk, low fat yogurt and Swiss cheese in this recipe all deliver a unique combination of nutrients necessary for a healthy body: calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin and niacin. Enjoying dairy foods with your meals is an excellent and inexpensive way to meet daily protein needs necessary for maintaining or increasing skeletal muscle mass and improving body composition (increasing skeletal muscle and decreasing body fat). Dairy with meals also helps meet the requirements for important nutrients many Americans are lacking: calcium, potassium and vitamin D. Given the multiple benefits of dairy, it should not surprise you that recommendations are for 3 servings a day.

If I haven’t given you enough reasons to make this vegetable frittata here’s one more: convenience. Prepare this dish a day ahead; then reheating is all that’s necessary the day you serve it!  This recipe makes six servings. In the event you have any leftovers, savor them for lunch on a meatless Monday or simply eat breakfast for dinner.

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Guest Blog by Diane Boyd, MBA, RD, LDN

Diane Boyd has a background in clinical nutrition. She began her career as a hospital based registered dietitian providing medical nutrition therapy and eventually became the chief clinical dietitian at a teaching hospital in Michigan. She currently has a private nutrition practice in North Carolina where she specializes in medical nutrition therapy, weight management and eating disorders. She is the consulting nutritionist for Cape Fear Sports Enhancement and promotes nutrition via workplace programs and freelance writing. Her passion for fitness and eating well fuel the work she truly enjoys.