I'm Seeing RED

Today is National Wear Red Day to support the Go RED for women program. I made broaches for my mom and I this year, red and silver with a heart on them. Every year hundreds of thousands of women die due to heart disease and 90 percent of those deaths were preventable. Scary! I don't want to be a statistic, that's why I am losing weight and making healthier choices. Thirty minutes a day of activity (a walk, dancing with your kids, etc) will improve your heart health. Not smoking and limiting fried foods will also reduce your risk factors.

A couple of months ago I got a recipe from a great blog, Owlhaven. I love, love, love her blog. She has no idea how much I admire her and envy her kitchen. But anyway, she posted a recipe called Thai Beef Chard Wraps. It sounded good and so I tried it out on my family. Course, I changed it up a bit, but the basics were from her. So I gave the link to the original recipe above and below is my own version of it. It is so easy and so YUMMY! It is also very very healthy.

Thai Turkey Wraps

1 lb. of ground turkey breast
1/4 c. of soy sauce
1.5 c of shredded carrots
Olive oil (just enough to keep the turkey from sticking)
Onion flakes (my kids won't eat it if they can see the onion)
Pepper to taste
Crushed red pepper to taste
1 clove of garlic
1 head of red romaine lettuce

Heat oil, onion and garlic in skillet. Add and brown the turkey. Once the turkey is cooked through remove it from the skillet (leave as much of the juice in there as possible). If you don't have a lot of juices then I usually add a little more olive oil and then throw those carrots in. You won't need to cook them for long, you want them to stay a little crunchy. After you get the carrots to your desired cookedness then add the turkey back in. Then add your soy sauce and get everything tumbled together.

I use red romaine instead of chard but really you can use whatever lettuce wrappings you like. I was off the whole head of lettuce and pull all leaves off. I pat them dry and we're ready to wrap.

My kids like this because they get to wrap up their food and they eat so much lettuce, it's shocking really. Usually there is just enough left me the next day for lunch. If I am in a hurry and don't want to wrap them up, I tear up the remaining lettuce leaves, warm up the turkey mix and have a warm "salad" and eat it with a fork.

My version is a little different than Owlhaven's but both are good. I have used different veggies too. The first time I put carrots, cauliflower and red bell pepper in it. That was good too. Be creative and pack those veggies in. My kids love it!

The recipe as it is above the whole pan is only 615 calories, 5 fat grams, 21 carbs, 5 grams of fiber and 116 grams of protein!!! Fabulously good and healthy. The more veggies the higher the fiber without adding tons of calories.

We have enough to deal with everyday with laundry, cleaning, child rearing and blogging to have to worry about heart health or remember to take a hand full of pills. Making some simple changes everyday can add years to your life.

Heart Tip of the Day: Eat chocolate! I love this one, its my favorite heart healthy tip! Dark chocolate has heart healthy "stuff" (I know I am so technical and you are so impressed) and has shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. Milk chocolate doesn't have the same effect, so look for the 60-70% dark chocolate. Satisfy that sweet tooth and don't feel guilty! Remember the old saying "everything in moderation"~~that holds true to this. Over eating anything isn't good for you, so keep that in mind~~even with our beloved chocolate.