Heart Healthy Recipes

When you make the decision to begin cooking heart smart recipes for your family, you may not know where to start! You know what foods are bad for you and may hurt your heart, but how can you find foods that are actually good for you and can help your heart remain strong? Well, here are a few foods that you can easily add into your diet to make any recipe a heart smart one.

1. Beans- Beans could be considered one of nature’s magic foods. If you eat a good size serving of beans daily, for example 1.5 cups of beans, you can give your body enough daily fiber to considerably lower your cholesterol levels. Beans also provide your body with high levels of folic acid, which keep your arteries clear of homocysteine, a substance that may clog your arteries and lead to heart problems later in the future.

2. Garlic- In any of its many numerous forms, garlic can be a wonderful addition to any heart smart recipe. In addition to its ability to lower cholesterol, garlic can also help prevent blood clots in your body. All you need is a clove of garlic every day to have its full heart smart benefits.

3. Grapefruit- Looking for a fruit that can fill you up while also being nutritionally sound? Grapefruit only has 80 calories for the whole fruit and it packs a nutritional punch. It has large amounts of needed heart healthy nutrients, like vitamin c and folic acid. It also has lycopene, a special antioxidant that can help your body fight off cholesterol damage.

4. Palm Oil- Replacing butter and margarine with palm oil may possible be the best heart smart move you could make. Palm oil is not saturated and it also may help improve your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

5. Onions- Onions also are an easy addition to any heart smart recipe. The onions have a large amount of quercetin which is not only an anti inflammatory but will prevent LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) from sticking to your artery walls and causing them harm. The best onions for this benefit are yellow, red and Bermuda varieties.

6. Green or Black Tea- Bet you didn’t know it but adding tea into your life can greatly improve your heart health. Tea contains antioxidants called catechins and they can prevent your artery walls from having cholesterol build up. Catechins also help your body by lowering the risk of blood clots. If your blood does not clot as much, you will be able to lower your risk of a heart attack. Keep your tea in the fridge for a handy heart smart fix.

7. Tomatoes- Lycopene is a compound that is found in large amounts in tomatoes. It is able to act as a powerful antioxidant because it keeps the cholesterol from sticking to your artery walls. Tomato paste has long been known to have the highest levels of lycopene, so add some to a pizza or pasta dish for extreme heart benefits.