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To Protect your Heart
More about Omega-3’s
Recipes

You can’t change your genes but you can change your lifestyle. What you eat and drink can make a difference in your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, blood pressure, blood sugar, and chronic inflammation – all factors that can contribute to heart disease.

To Protect Your Heart:

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1.  Eat lots of bright-colored and strongly flavored vegetables and fruit.

Especially: dark green leafy vegetables, all broccoli, garlic and onion family vegetables, squashes, yams and sweet potatoes, berries, citrus fruits and tomatoes.

What You Get: Fiber, vitamins A, C and E, potassium, folate and other B vitamins, and “good” carbs. Also, a variety of phytonutrients that can lower “bad” cholesterol and blood pressure, keep chronic inflammation at bay and act as anti-oxidants.

2.     Make at least half of your grains each day whole grains.

Especially: Oats & barley to lower “bad” cholesterol. Limit refined grains (white flour, sugars) even more to lower triglycerides. Look for at least 3 grams of fiber per slice of bread or other grain serving and 5 grams or more in servings of packaged cereals.

What You Get: Fiber, B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, and many other minerals, phytonutrients. Many whole grains are also prebiotics that feed probiotics (the “good” gut bacteria). You also get “good” carbs and plant protein.

3.     Eat fish for omega-3 fats at least twice each week.

Especially: Wild-caught salmon, tuna (light), sardines, herring, mackerel, lake trout.

Also include plants high in omega-3 fats.

Especially: Ground flaxseed, flax oil, walnuts, organic* canola oil, hempseeds, pumpkin seeds, organic soybeans* and foods made from them. (*Choose organic to avoid GMOs)

4.     Eat 3 cups (or more) of beans, dried peas or lentils each week (or foods made from them).

What You Get: Fiber, B vitamins, potassium, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, and other minerals, omega-3 fats (soybeans), a variety of phytonutrients including plant sterols and stanols that can help lower cholesterol.

Note: if you don’t eat beans often start slowly to allow your body to adjust. Soups are a great way to ease into eating more beans. Drink extra water to help with the extra fiber.

5.     Eat a variety of nuts and seeds. Each variety has important nutrients for your heart.

Especially: walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, flaxseed, hempseeds (non-psychoactive kind), pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds.

What You Get: “good” fat, protein, fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamins K & E, selenium, iron, zinc, and other minerals. Also omega-3 fats (walnuts, flax, hemp and pumpkin seeds) and many beneficial phytonutrients.

6.     Eat mostly the “good” fats (olive oil, fish, nuts, seeds, and avocados).

Limit saturated fat from animal foods and tropical oils (meat, cheese, full-fat dairy foods, palm kernel oil).

Avoid trans fat (partially hydrogenated oils) added to foods (fried foods and many processed, packaged foods).

Note: if you have high cholesterol the AHA recommends limiting cholesterol from food to no more than 200 mg/day (1 egg yolk has 212 mg).

7.     Limit salty foods.

Most of the excess sodium we get is not from the salt shaker but from restaurant and processed foods. Learn to use herbs and spices to flavor foods with less salt at home and read the packages of foods you buy. Aim for less than 2,400 mg/day of sodium (1,500 or less if you have high blood pressure or a family history of this condition).

8.     Drink alcohol – including red wine, in moderation.

While there are some heart benefits with moderate alcohol consumption, especially red wine, there may be other health risks (breast & other cancers, high blood pressure, blood sugar imbalances). Moderation is considered no more than one drink (12 oz. beer, 5 oz. wine, 1 ½ oz. spirits) per day for women and two or less for men.

Remember it is your overall diet that matters most so don’t get hung up on every detail. Try your best to eat well most of the time and enjoy your food all of the time.

More About Omega-3s

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Whether you are trying to improve your memory, protect your heart, lower your triglycerides, or decrease chronic inflammation related to any number of other afflictions you have probably been told to eat more fatty fish and perhaps even to include ground flaxseed in your daily regimen. The research in many areas is promising and as usual, the marketing of foods based on this research is often confusing or misleading.

So, a few things to know:

• The omega-3 fats in fish and plant sources such as flaxseed and walnuts are not the same
• The omega-3s in fish or fish oil supplements are “ready to go” with EPA and DHA, the two compounds that have been widely studied for heart, depression, and inflammation benefits
• Plant foods with omega-3s have ALA that our bodies must convert to EPA & DHA. This conversion process isn’t very efficient and though we will get health benefits from the ALA too, if you are specifically trying to lower your triglycerides or fend off the seasonal blues you may need more than plant sources
• Recommendations for EPA + DHA are for between 500–1,800 mg/day and for ALA 1,000–3,000 mg/day
• A good general approach is to eat 2-3 fish meals per week (a tuna sandwich counts) and include plant sources of omega-3s throughout the week (walnuts on oatmeal, ground flax mixed in yogurt)
• 3 ounces of Alaskan salmon has roughly 1,700 mg of EPA + DHA and 1 ounce of walnuts (14 halves) has 2,574 mg of ALA
• Many foods that are now fortified with omega-3s are made with plant sources (such as soy, canola, algae, etc.) so they do not replace fish (or fish oil supplements). There are sea plant sources of DHA (good for brain and inflammation) but not EPA (heart benefits)
• In addition to ground flaxseed and walnuts other plant sources include hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, purslane, soy foods, and canola oil
• Foods from animals that have been allowed to forage natural grasses and seeds (wild bison, grass fed beef and poultry, eggs from grass fed chicken, etc.) are additional sources of omega-3s (and likely the way many of our forebears not living on the coast used to get these important fats before animals started being forced to eat grain instead!).

Recipes

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Cucumber & Red Cabbage Salad
Al’s Caribbean-style Red Snapper
Grilled Veggies
Oat & Fig Squares

Cucumber & Red Cabbage Salad

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I must confess that aside from dill pickles, I’m typically not much of a cucumber fan. A few years ago during a visit with Jed and Dale at the Cosmic Apple Gardens in Victor, Idaho I enjoyed some delicious cucumber slices fresh from the garden and they sent me home with a couple of them. I realized that I used to love the cukes from my Mom’s garden but the ones in the store are often flavorless by comparison. The next evening I was in a hurry to prepare something to accompany grilled fish and new potatoes so I came up with this delicious, simple recipe. I’ve since made it and added shredded carrot and some fresh chopped basil or cilantro (whatever I have on hand).

Serves 2
1 cup thinly sliced cucumbers, cut into 1-inch strips
1 / 2 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 / 2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
pinch coarse sea salt
Toss in a small bowl and allow flavors to blend while you prepare the rest of your meal.

Al’s Caribbean-style Red Snapper

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One of the things I love about shopping at our local Jackson Whole Grocer is getting great ideas for preparing fish. I love fish but I tend to stick to salmon and tuna both at home and when I go out. I recently bought some delicious red snapper and asked Al at the Jackson Whole Grocer meat counter what to do with it. Al was the head chef at Off Broadway Restaurant for many years and is and excellent resource for ideas. This is the recipe he gave me off the top of his head. It is simple and delicious.

For 1 pound of Red Snapper:
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar (could cut this down a bit if desired)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (the reduced sodium version is fine)
~ 1 teaspoon fresh grated gingerroot
Dash nutmeg
Dash allspice
Mix ingredients and pour over fish. Marinate for 1 hour (or more).
Place fish in a baking dish and pour marinade over the fish. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes (may need a few more minutes for a very thick fillet).
(Serve atop whole grain pilaf or other whole grain rice with assortment of steamed vegetables – if there is a little of the marinade left it makes a delicious sauce to drizzle over the veggies.)

Veggies on the Grill

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Grilled veggies are catching on these days but I’ve found many clients haven’t discovered the special wok you can place on the grill. It is a square metal tray about 3” deep with small holes in the bottom and sides. You can use almost any kind of veggies (see below for tips & ideas) and they taste great hot or cold.

Here are some cooking tips:

• Cut pieces roughly the same size and make sure they cook about the same. (Ex. potatoes will take longer than mushrooms, bell peppers and zucchini or summer squash are a good match so if you want to combine them with potatoes cook the spuds for 5 minutes or so before adding the peppers and zucchini.)
• Toss them lightly in olive oil (or a low fat dressing of some sort) to prevent sticking and turn them frequently with a spatula so they don’t burn
• Grilled veggies have flavor of their own – sometimes I just add some salt & pepper to the bowl before tossing them lightly in oil or dressing. For different flavors though you can add any mixture of spices – Mexican or southwestern, Cajun, Mediterranean, curry, or any combination you like.
• When cooking potatoes, turnips, beets, yams, or other starchy vegetables if you add these to the wok first and close the lid on the grill for 5-10 minutes (depending on the size of the chunks) this will steam them a bit and enable them to cook faster.
• If you want the veggies to cook fast – cut them small! Beware that you do need to turn them often and watch them more closely if they are small.

Ideas for meals with grilled veggies:

• Toss with cooked pasta, rice, quinoa, orzo, cous cous, quick cooking barley and add protein (lean meat/poultry, beans, nuts, Feta or other strong cheese)
• Make fajitas with veggies including portobello or shitaake mushrooms – whole wheat or corn tortillas, fresh salsa and chopped avocado
• Combine with ground lean meat or turkey to make tacos
• Serve over fresh greens with grilled fish/poultry/lean meat
• Toss with black beans, fresh corn cut from the cob and serve over greens or make a whole grain burrito
• Spice with Cajun seasoning and serve with grilled shrimp and whole grain rice (brown, wild) or barley

Oat & Fig Squares

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Figs were a favorite in ancient Roman and Greek cultures, touted not only for their wonderful flavor but their health benefits. We now know that figs are full of powerful antioxidant compounds called polyphenols – even more than red wine, tea and most vegetables. They are also a source of dietary fiber, potassium, calcium, iron, small amounts of omega-3 fats, the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, as well as phytosterols that can block cholesterol absorption. No wonder one of the Ancient Grecian kings ordered his citizens to eat figs daily!

Unfortunately, in our modern culture figs are commonly consumed smothered in refined flour and sugar. This recipe incorporates figs, oats, whole-wheat pastry flour and a small amount of honey to make a delicious, nutritious treat. The serving size is a small 2x2 square due to the high fiber content and I recommend enjoying it with a tall glass of water or hot tea.

Oven 350°
Yield: 16 squares (8x8 pan)
Ingredients:
1 1 / 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 / 2 cup rolled oats
1 / 2 teaspoon baking soda
1 / 4 teaspoon salt
1 / 4 cup melted butter
1 / 4 cup milk (any kind)
1 / 4 cup honey, liquid form
24 Mission figs + water to re-hydrate

1.     Place dried figs in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. After water has boiled turn off heat and allow figs to soften.

2.     In a small bowl mix melted butter, honey, and milk. Set aside.

3.     In a medium size bowl combine whole-wheat pastry flour, rolled oats, baking soda, and salt.

4.     Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.

5.     Lightly grease an 8” x8” baking pan.

6.     Place figs in a food processor or blender and add 3 tablespoons of the water used to re-hydrate the figs. Puree until smooth.

7.     Place slightly more than half of the dough in the pan and spread evenly across bottom of pan.

8.     Spread the fig mixture evenly on top of the dough. Add remaining pieces of dough on top of the fig layer allowing some of the fig layer to show through. Pat the dough lightly so it lays flat.

9.     Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool in pan on a wire rack. When cool cut into 16 squares.