Finishing up the month with some heart-healthy fare
February is heart disease awareness month and many places,
including the city of Hollister, have had events to highlight the
importance of exercise and eating healthy to keep the heart
ticking.
Before the month was up I thought I would try out some recipes
with the
”
heart healthy
”
moniker and see if they tasted any good. When looking for a few
dishes I discovered a few traits of heart-healthy meals. One, they
tend to be low in sodium, but they make up for the lack of salt
with other fresh ingredients such as herbs or pepper. Second, they
tend to include a lot of whole-wheat substitutions. So if the
recipe calls for pasta, it’s going to be whole wheat pasta and if
it calls for tortillas, it’s going to be whole wheat tortillas.
Finishing up the month with some heart-healthy fare
February is heart disease awareness month and many places, including the city of Hollister, have had events to highlight the importance of exercise and eating healthy to keep the heart ticking.
Before the month was up I thought I would try out some recipes with the “heart healthy” moniker and see if they tasted any good. When looking for a few dishes I discovered a few traits of heart-healthy meals. One, they tend to be low in sodium, but they make up for the lack of salt with other fresh ingredients such as herbs or pepper. Second, they tend to include a lot of whole-wheat substitutions. So if the recipe calls for pasta, it’s going to be whole wheat pasta and if it calls for tortillas, it’s going to be whole wheat tortillas.
A few years ago it was harder to find whole-wheat products that tasted good and had a good texture. Some of the first pastas I tried where chewy and the tortillas sometimes had a chalky aftertaste. But now there are plenty of options on the market that taste just as good as white flour-based products. I like Barilla’s whole grain pastas and Mission tortillas whole-wheat tortillas.
The third thing I noticed is that fish is high on the list of heart healthy recipes so for those who like seafood heart healthy cooking should be easy enough. I don’t eat seafood, so I opted instead for some dishes that include lots of vegetables and chicken breast.
I tried out a breakfast recipe since on the weekends lately I’ve been eating a lot of eggs, pancakes and breakfast potatoes. The recipe below is in the shape of an Egg McMuffin, but with a lot more flavor and a lot more nutritious ingredients. The egg mixture includes whole eggs and egg whites, as well as plenty of fresh herbs to really pack in the flavor. And the Canadian bacon gives it that little extra flavor so it doesn’t taste like diet food. The whole-wheat muffins taste just fine.
The quesadilla recipe didn’t call for low-fat cheese, but that’s all I use at home so I went with that. The real nutritious trick is that these quesadillas lower the amount of cheese and instead fill the tortillas with fresh vegetables such as spinach and button mushrooms. The spices help add in flavor without a lot of fat.
Healthy breakfast sandwiches
Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger
Nonstick cooking spray
4 eggs and 4 egg whites
1/4 c. minced chives
1/4 c. minced parsley
4 whole-wheat English muffins
4 1/2-inch round slices Canadian bacon
1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
Crack eggs and egg whites into a bowl and whisk. Add chives and parsley and stir to incorporate. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Ladle 1/4 egg mixture into skillet and cook, omelet style, until eggs are cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Slide omelet onto a plate and repeat with remaining eggs; cover with foil to keep warm. In same skillet, heat Canadian bacon until warm, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Toast English muffin. Fold omelet in to fit English muffin, then place omelet on 1 muffin half. Top with a bacon slice, then tomato, then top with other muffin half.
Per Serving
Calories 330; Total Fat 13 g; (Sat Fat 5 g, Mono Fat 3 g, Poly Fat 1 g) ; Protein 25 g; Carb 31 g; Fiber 5 g; Cholesterol 245 mg; Sodium 920 mg
Easy chicken-mushroom quesadillas
Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
8 oz. white button mushrooms, (about 3 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. cooked chopped skinless, boneless chicken breast (1 breast half)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 c. baby spinach leaves, sliced into ribbons
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
4 (10-inch) whole-grain flour tortillas
1 c. shredded Mexican cheese mix or Cheddar
1/2 c. salsa
1/4 c. reduced-fat sour cream
Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the mushroom water is evaporated and they begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken, cumin, chili powder and oregano and stir until all spices are incorporated. Add spinach, salt and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.
Lay 1 tortilla on a flat work surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Spoon 1/2 chicken and vegetable mixture on top of cheese, then top with an additional 1/4 cup cheese. Top with another flour tortilla. Heat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Carefully place 1 quesadilla in pan and cook 3 minutes. Using a large spatula, gently flip quesadilla and cook an additional 3 minutes until lightly browned and cheese is melted. Repeat with second quesadilla. Slice each quesadilla into quarters. Place 2 quarters on a plate with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 2 tablespoons salsa.
440 calories, 16 g. fat, 23 g. protein, 46 g. carbs
