February is Heart Healthy Month, so reap the benefits of heart healthy living and eating with these top tips.
4 Top Tips for Heart Healthy Living and Eating All Year Long
February is Heart Healthy Month. You might think that it is difficult to eat and live lean but really it isn’t. The fact is, being heart healthy is simple and easy. And, with these tips, you’ll surely reap the benefits all year long.
Statistics show that over 715,000 people have heart attacks each year and over 600,000 people die each year of heart disease. With statistics like this you should head for your pantry and throw out all that junk food.
Why? Because the majority of the food we feed our families is laden with preservatives, saturated fats and artificial ingredients–things that negatively affect our heart health.
But all is not lost. It’s easy to make the change with these four heart-healthy solutions:
1. Eat a Heart Healthy Diet
One of the best things that you can do for your heart is to eat plenty of vegetables and if possible, buy organic.
Buying organic ensures that you don’t ingest any pesticides that might normally be present in conventional produce.
When purchasing fresh produce, be sure to wash all fruits and vegetables.
Remember, most produce gets handled quite a bit from the fields to your table, so you only want to eat clean fruit and veggies.
Still, many people grouse that it takes too much money to eat healthy, but the truth is the United States alone spends over $312.6 billion to deal with cardiovascular disease.
In fact, trainers like Bob Harper knows that diet trumps exercise and is the most important factor for not only losing weight but also staying heart healthy.
Check out these rad red ideas:
1. Put out a tray of “red”: tomatoes, red bell peppers, and radishes for your family and friends.
2. Make heart cookies and decorate them using red icing. Give these to your loved ones and friends and even co-workers with the words: “I HEART You!”
3. Make heart healthy sandwiches with lean turkey, mustard, lettuce, tomato on whole grain bread. To spruce up your sandwich, use a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Just be sure to press down hard in order to make sure that the cutter goes through both pieces of bread.
4. Make your meals at home whenever possible. That way you’re in charge of the salt and fat.
Try This: Make your favorite version of a hamburger at home using lean beef. And, don’t forget to load it with lettuce, heart healthy tomatoes, fresh chopped onions and more. Not only will you find that your hamburger is cheaper to make, it’ll taste even better knowing you’re taking charge of your health.
Can’t forego the fries? Crinkle cut some carrots, jicama, and zucchini, instead. Serve it up with low-fat dill dip. Doing this, you will be adding a bit of crunch to your diet, plus increasing necessary vitamins to keep you and your kids’ bodies healthy.
Need some inspiration for heart healthy recipes? Here are just a few:
Roast Lemon Chicken
Fruity Ricotta Smoothie
Zuppa Toscana or Kale Soup
What if you NEED a night out? Go ahead and do it. Just be sure to choose items that highlight vegetables, a bit of protein, and low carbs. Pass on the bread.
2. Exercise Daily
It only takes about 30 minutes per day of exercise to keep your heart healthy. But you have to be doing moderate-intensity exercises and keep your heart rate up. If you miss a day, get back in the swing and start over. But the key here is to keep moving. This is where we can take stock of our own children’s exercise, too. Have we allowed them to become couch potatoes or are they outside and taking advantage of sports and games meant to strengthen not only their heart muscle but all muscles in their bodies?
Heart Healthy Exercise Tip for Families
Opt for activities that you and your family will be more inclined to do on a regular basis. Hiking in the woods, running on the beach, and swimming are just a couple of ideas. And, what’s more is that these activities do not require any fancy exercise equipment. So what are you waiting for? Get moving!
Step Up for Heart Health {Video}
Taking care of your heart is as easy as putting one step in front of the other. Do the Heart Walk!
3. Monitor Your Risks
Monitoring your risks includes not smoking, limiting alcohol usage, managing cholesterol levels and medication (if needed), controlling diabetes and blood pressure.
And, of course, always check with your personal doctor when changing medications, starting an exercise program, or if you notice a change in your health. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
4. Wear Red
Wearing red during the month of February is great way to show support for heart health. But you don’t have to stop there.
Sport some “red” throughout the year and celebrate your love for your heart.
American Heart Association Resources
But what if you find yourself at a loss for what to make or don’t even know where to start for living heart healthy?
RELATED: American Heart Association Website
Well, the American Heart Association has got you covered with a plethora of published “heart healthy” inspired manuals and amazing cookbooks for home cooks and chefs of all levels.
These four cookbooks are my favorite because they accentuate the positive when it comes to eating healthy, plus the recipes vary from quick and easy to low and slow (think: Insta Pot) to great food storage tips (which we all need to know).
Go Fresh: A Heart-Healthy Cookbook with Shopping and Storage Tips
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