ABOVE PHOTO: Very Vegetable Frittata
These foods can give your heart a better chance
BPT
What’s the biggest threat to our health? It isn’t cancer or even accidents, but heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, one in four deaths in the U.S. is caused by heart disease, which includes heart attack and stroke. This statistic is scary, but the good news is, there is something powerful we can do to prevent us from becoming a victim to this disease.
Even if you are one of the 47 percent of Americans living with a major risk factor, there are preventive measures you can take for a healthier heart, says registered dietitian nutritionist, Dawn Jackson Blatner. All you have to do is embrace some simple lifestyle changes starting with your diet.
“Food is quite literally one of the best medicines out there when it comes to improving our health,” says Blatner. “Studies show us repeatedly that a balanced diet including heart-healthy unsaturated fats, along with multiple servings of fruit and vegetables can give you additional protection against heart attack and stroke.”
Here are five of Blatner’s go-to foods you can easily incorporate into your diet for a daily dose of heart-healthy compounds.
- Fish: Salmon and other fatty fish such as sardines are chock full of omega-3 fatty acids, which lower the risk of irregular heartbeat and help decrease plaque buildup in the arteries. If fish isn’t already in your meal rotation, it’s time to start. Preparation and cooking time for fish entrees is much shorter than that of chicken, beef and pork, making it a perfect weeknight meal.
- Greens: Leafy greens contain nitrates, healthy compounds that not only reduce the risk of heart attack, but can boost survival rates after a heart attack. Plus, spinach, kale and other dark green vegetables have carotenoids, which work to keep blood vessels healthy. So aim to have at least one cup of leafy greens each day, such as scrambled in your morning eggs, a green juice as a snack or a leafy salad with lunch or dinner.
- Nuts: They contain protein, fiber and healthy fat, which work together to keep us feeling full and satisfied. Though high in fat, studies show people who consume nuts on a daily basis are leaner than those who don’t, and staying lean is, of course, heart-healthy. So go ahead and keep almonds, walnuts or pistachios on hand for snacking, and choose those that are minimally processed, avoiding candied or highly salted nuts.
- Dark chocolate: Good news: Eating dark chocolate every day can reduce heart attack and stroke for high-risk patients. The magic compound here is flavonoids, which are beneficial for blood pressure and clotting while also reducing inflammation. If you’re on-board with making chocolate your after dinner indulgence, opt for brands with 60-70 percent cocoa and that don’t contain milk fat in the ingredient list.
- Eggs: Contrary to earlier belief, eating one egg a day has no negative effect on coronary health and can actually reduce the risk of stroke by 12 percent, according to a recent review of 30 years’ worth of scientific study cited on nutraingredients.com. But all eggs are not created equal. Eggland’s Best eggs, for example, offer the benefit of 25 percent less saturated fat, five times more Vitamin D, more than twice the omega-3s and three times more Vitamin B12 than ordinary eggs. Eggland’s Best’s superior nutritional profile is due to its proprietary, all-vegetarian diet. So get cracking and experiment with recipes featuring poached, baked and even hard-boiled Eggland’s Best eggs to serve up heart-healthy meals.
Very Vegetable Frittata
Servings: Serves 4
Prep time: Less than 30 minutes
Cook time: Less than 60 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon port wine (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup plain yogurt (optional)
Pinch each of ground cinnamon and cayenne pepper
Directions:
Heat butter in a Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick 8-qt Stock Pot or 5-qt Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 8-10 minutes.-Add garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook for 1 minute while constantly stirring.
Add squash, vegetable broth and apple to the stock pot. Cover and cook until the squash is soft, about 20-25 minutes. Add the port and turn the heat off.
Cool soup slightly; carefully puree soup with an immersion blender or in batches using a blender or food processor. Reheat the soup in the stock pot and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle into soup bowls. Garnish each bowl with a dollop (or swirl) of yogurt and a pinch of cinnamon and/or cayenne pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.
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