How To Eat For Your Heart
Eating right to lower your cholesterol can help minimize your risk for heart disease. Here are some simple cooking rules to follow to keep your meals heart-healthy:
- Stick to leaner cuts meats
- Trim away visible fat before cooking
- Drain fats during and after cooking, especially when frying food
- Choose chicken and turkey over duck and goose meats
- Discard poultry skin before cooking
- Avoid processed meats like cold cuts and canned foods
- Eat more fish, which contain heart-healthy fats
- Use vegetable oils for cooking
- Minimize consumption of dairy fats
- Eat more whole grains
In line with these tips, here are some easy low-cholesterol recipes to follow and add to your weekly meal planning rotation:
Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Recipes
1. Carrot and Ginger Soup
Perfect for when you’re feeling sniffly, this creamy and zesty soup is vegetable-based, so it keeps both calories and cholesterol low.
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 Tbsp fresh ginger, diced
- 1 cup cubed butternut squash
- 4 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 apple, diced
- 2 tsp minced chives for garnishing
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt 4 slices of wholewheat toast
- 1 12 oz can coconut milk
- 1 pear for garnish, diced
Instructions:
Step 1: Sauté Ingredients
In a stockpot, pour in the oil and place over medium heat. Sauté the onions and carrots until soft. Add the garlic, ginger, squash, and apple. Sauté until ingredients become fragrant.
Step 2: Season and Simmer
Add salt and broth, reducing heat to medium-low. Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Step 3: Blend the Mixture
Transfer the mixture to your blender of choice and pulse. Add the coconut milk, then season if necessary.
Step 4: Add Garnishes and Serve
Garnish with pear and chives. Serve the soup alongside the toasted wheat bread.
2. Vegetarian Chili
Meat can bring your cholesterol levels up, but a well-made chili can stand without meat. This vegetarian chili sticks to your ribs with a hearty serving of beans and just enough cheese to make it tasty, without packing on the fat.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 1 15 oz can of chickpeas
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans 4 cups of water, divided
- 1 16 oz can of white beans
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes
Instructions:
Step 1: Sauté Aromatics
Pour olive oil into a pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onions, keep them for 3 minutes or until both are tender.
to combine the ingredients.
Step 3: Simmer and Serve
Pour the tomato paste into the last cup of water and stir until combined. Pour the tomato paste mixture into the bean chili mix. Bring the entire mixture to a boil before reducing the heat. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the mixture is heated through. Serve in bowls and top with cheese.
3. Linguine with Red Sauce
Nothing says comfort more than a heaped plate of pasta in a meaty red sauce. This recipe uses red bell peppers packed with vitamin C, and is a more heart-healthy alternative to red meat.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil Cooking spray
- 1 ½ cups chopped red bell pepper
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 6 oz uncooked linguine
- ⅛ tsp black pepper Sprigs of fresh basil for garnishing
Instructions:
Step 1: Cook Aromatics
Heat the oil in a pan covered with cooking spray over medium heat. Add the garlic and red bell pepper. Cook garlic and bell pepper for 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir occasionally. Set aside to cool.
Step 2: Blend
Pulse the bell pepper mixture with your blender of choice. Add chopped basil, balsamic vinegar, and salt. Blend until mixture is smooth. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides.
Step 3: Cook Pasta
Cook the pasta according to package instructions,
Step 4: Serve
Serve the cooked pasta with the red pepper sauce on top. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves.
4. Chickpea and Grilled Scallops Salad
Spice up your green salad with some grilled scallops. Scallops are full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B-12.
Ingredients:
- 1 15 oz can of chickpeas
- Chopped fresh parsley
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 4 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ lbs sea scallops
- 4 cups baby spinach
Instructions:
Step 1: Preheat Grill and Prepare Vegetables
Preheat your grill to high heat. Combine the vegetables sans the spinach in a bowl, along with 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice.
Step 2: Grill Scallops
Drizzle 2 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp lemon juice over scallops, then season with salt and pepper. Grill the scallops for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Step 3: Serve Salad
Toss in the spinach to the vegetable mixture, add remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Toss and serve with the scallops on top.
