9 Foods To Help Your Heart

What you eat can help your heart. Foods that are rich in fiber, omega-3 fats and antioxidants top the list of foods to include. Incorporating these foods into your eating routine can help to lower your total cholesterol, increase healthy (HDL) cholesterol and drive down lousy (LDL) cholesterol levels. Try these quick ideas:

Flax: Opt for ground flax seed or liquid flax seed oil. A favorite liquid flaxseed oil is Barlean's Omega Swirl Flaxseed oil, it tastes SO GOOD and is great on plain yogurt, in smoothies or as a topping for oatmeal.

 

Brown rice: When you're out to eat ask for brown rice instead of white rice, there is more fiber and nutrients! And when cooking at home trade-in white rice for whole-grain brown rice or brown rice blends.

 

Walnuts: The nut that is loaded with the most heart helping omega-3 fat are walnuts. Try adding them to quick breads or muffins, oatmeal, salads and trail mix for heart helping crunch.

 

Quiona: This seed cooks up similar to brown rice and is full of fiber and a complete source of protein. It works great as a stand-in for rice with stir-fry or in grain based salads like tabbouleh.  

 

Oatmeal: Start your morning with a bowl of hot oatmeal! If you are short on time, cook up a batch of oatmeal and then store in an air tight container and heat your portion of oatmeal every morning. Try topping oatmeal with fresh fruit to limit the amount of added sugar.

 

Berries: The bright red and purple colors of berries are linked to helping heart health and they go great in a salad or as a side dish at most meals. Try adding a serving of fruit to every meal!

 

Salmon: Some fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring and sardines have heart helping fats. The American Heart Association recommends having heart healthy fish two times per week.

 

Avocado: A fruit that is rich in monounsaturated fats which can help boost healthy (HDL) cholesterol levels. Try using avocado as a spread on sandwiches instead of mayo, adding avocado to salads and serve guacamole as a dip for sliced veggies or multi-grain tortilla chips.

 

Beans: All types of beans are full of fiber which helps to lower cholesterol levels, add in beans to soup, salads and rice dishes to increase the fiber. If you're worried about kids picking them out, opt for light colored beans like pinto beans to help them blend in better.

  

Put These Products In Your Cart

Sometimes at the grocery store, you may see new products yet wonder, how do they taste and are they really healthy options? If you are like me and love to try new products, here is a product round up of some tasty (and nutritious) new products out that I discovered this past weekend at the annual Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics conference.

happy family - happy creamies
I tried the Carrot, Mango & Orange flavor, they were so delicious! These snacks are made with 50% vegetables, coconut milk and have no added sugar! Quick tip: Mix these with whole grain cereal for a great on-the-go snack.

Another great product from this company is their happy squeeze line which includes varieties like: coco strawberry (made with coconut milk) and fruit & veggie twist (apple & purple carrot).

Quaker Oatmeal - Real Medleys
What is awesome about these little cups of oatmeal, all you have to do is add water and they have pieces of dried fruit and nuts in them! Plus they are made with whole rolled oats. The type pictured left includes cherries and pistachios. Each serving has 290 calories and 5 grams of fiber.

Other flavors in this line include: peach and almond, apple walnut and summer berry.



Odwalla Smoothies for Kids

These drink boxes are something even your children will be excited about! Each box has the equivalent to a 1/2 cup of fruit and no sugar added. They are available in Strawberry Banana Jungle, Mango Pineapple Island and Grape Berry Prairie flavors and they taste GREAT! They are available in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. When you send these for lunch they are recommended to no be left unrefrigerated for longer than 12 hours and try freezing them first for more of icy texture at lunch time! 

 

Please note: the above products were on display at the conference and I received samples of the products to try, although I do not receive endorsement from any of the above products or brands. 

Cooking with Kids - Try it!

My tip of the day is if you have kids in your life, cook with them! The kitchen can surely get a bit messy but it is totally worth it. Frequently I cook with our three and one year old and we make everything from oatmeal at breakfast to quinoa for dinner. Five of the best parts:
1. You get to spend time with your children.
2. It makes meal preparation more eventful.
3. It will get them excited about the meal.
4. They will be more likely to eat what you make.
5. You can answer 1000+ questions about the foods (e.g. where does oatmeal come from?).

Need a recipe to try? Grab my Grilled Asparagus and Quinoa Salad recipe.

The only downside is more cleanup but get them to help with that too! Share your cooking with your kids story with me via my Web site, click here.