Easy Easter Strata Layered with Flavor and Nutrition

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Do you have company coming for Easter or do you need to take a dish to brunch? This recipe for Cheesy Broccoli and Tomato Strata can be made a day ahead and refrigerated until you’re ready to bake it. A strata is like a casserole except the ingredients are in layers. In this strata, there’s a layer of Italian or French bread followed by a layer of broccoli, shredded cheddar or provolone cheese, tomatoes, onions and basil. You pour the egg and milk mixture over the layers, top with a little more bread and end with a final layer of the egg/milk mixture. Sprinkle some fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese on top and it’s ready to go. I serve it with pasta sauce on the side. Besides being flavorful, the strata is healthy.

For most people, taste is the number one reason they choose a food. Nutrition, convenience and ease of preparation come after taste. When I choose a recipe for you and for the website, I want something with great taste, that’s easy to put together and that’s good for your body. Let’s take a closer look at the Cheesy Broccoli and Tomato Strata and see what perks it offers your health.

A recent study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that regularly consuming tomatoes and tomato products such as tomato juice and ketchup helped to lower both the total cholesterol and the lousy LDL cholesterol levels. Tomatoes contain a number of beneficial nutrients such as vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and lycopene which gives the tomatoes their brilliant red color. The researchers suggest that when tomatoes products are consumed regularly, the blood levels of these nutrients are increased and there is a synergistic effect…that is, these nutrients work together as a team for the health benefits.

Another study in the journal Hypertension followed about 30,000 women over 10 years and found that women with the highest average intakes of low fat dairy (between two and ten servings per day) were 11% less likely to develop hypertension…aka high blood pressure…than the women who consumed less than one half serving per day. What’s the secret in low fat dairy? Two of the important nutrients that seem to help regulate and lower blood pressure are the calcium and vitamin D. This strata recipes calls for both fat free milk land reduced fat cheeses. Give me a high-five for the strata. Enjoy!