Carol's interest in heart-healthy eating stems from her own high cholesterol level which she was able to lower with guidance from the American Heart Association's dietary guidelines and her own healthcare provider. The American Heart Association's variety of cookbooks helped teach her how to eat with her heart in mind.
According to Carol the new cookbook the American Heart Association Meals in Minutes, "is valuable because the recipes are designed to teach cooks on the go how to get the most out of their minutes with heart-healthy food that really tugs at your heartstrings--it is eye-catching, delicious and has incredible aroma."
Q: How does the food we eat affect our risk of heart disease? Can eating a heart-healthy diet improve already diagnosed heart disease?
A: With the risk factors we can control in our quest to lower our risk of heart disease, a heart-healthy diet is a great place to start. We have a choice every day on what our meals are. Fried items, such as chicken fried steak, can be modified to a more heart healthy choice. Try the Crispy Chicken with Creamy Gravy on page 146. The recipe is not deep fried; instead, we use skinless chicken and enhanced fat-free gravy.
Q: What are the basic ingredients of a heart-healthy diet?
A: Key factors in the American Heart Association's dietary guidelines include:
- Eat a variety of foods, including plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products, to get a balance of nutrition.
- Choose a diet low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol.
Page 5 includes other recommendations that are key to reducing blood cholesterol and preventing or controlling high blood pressure.
The Healthy Heart Food Pyramid on page 8 is my favorite reference. It is a visual guideline that will help organize what food groups and number of servings the American Heart Association recommends. For example, in the lean meat category, we recommend no more than 6 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry and seafood per day.
Q: What should we look for when grocery shopping? Does heart-healthy mean vegetarian eating? Is red meat out? What about fats in foods? Don't we need some fat in our diet?
A: Choose a variety of vegetables and fruits. Red meat can be part of a heart-healthy eating plan. Just select lean meats, such as pork tenderloin, skinless chicken breasts, eye of round beef, and lean ground beef. For meats, respect your portion size (one serving is 3 ounces cooked, about the size of a deck of cards), and trim all visible fat before cooking the meat. When using ground beef, choose the leanest; after you brown the ground beef, rinse it in a colander with hot water to remove excess fat.
It is important to enjoy a variety during the week, balancing your meat choices--chicken, turkey, seafood, lean pork (such as pork loin or tenderloin) and beef. We also recommend getting no more than 30 percent of your weekly calories from fat and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat (which is the hardest on your heart). It's important to read the labels on the packaged foods you purchase as well. Look for foods low in sodium, saturated fat and cholesterol.
An easy reference tool is to look for food with the American Heart Association heart-check mark. Products bearing this mark meet the American Heart Association's and the FDA's standards for being heart healthy and are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.
The American Heart Association Meals in Minutes Cookbook offers more tips on shopping with your heart in mind. We have even included several of what we call shopping cart recipes--they use no more than six ingredients, and you can whip up dinner in a hurry. My favorite is Orange-Barbecue Chicken Chunks on page 150. It uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts or turkey breast tenderloins, with all visible fat removed, plus barbecue sauce, all-fruit marmalade and powdered ginger for a little kick.
