February is American Heart Month. For both men and women, heart disease is the leading cause of death. A major way to improve your heart health and prevent heart disease is to eat heart healthy food. Heart healthy foods help with maintaining a low-fat diet and reducing your cholesterol. Low-fat foods include grains, fruits, veggies, and more. Low-fat foods have more unsaturated fats than saturated and trans fats, and are healthier because they help prevent heart disease. Cholesterol is not bad, but having too much cholesterol in your diet is. A high cholesterol level can lead to heart disease, strokes, heart attacks, and other detrimental problems. Some people think that low-fat food cannot taste delicious. In fact, there are several meals that are low in fat, low in cholesterol, and delicious.
Doctors from The GW Medical Faculty Associates (www.gwdocs.com) have teamed up with some of the nation’s finest celebrity chefs and former Food Network host, Marc Silverstein, to produce a cookbook and videos called, "Epicure with the Chef MDs." Their meals and videos allow people to enjoy heart healthy meals. These recipes help people with diabetes, heart disease, food allergies, and those trying to maintain a healthy weight. I was provided with recipes from "Epicure with the Chef MDs" that are sure to help you prevent heart disease while enjoying the mouthwatering meal.
Yellow Tomato Gazpacho with Garnish
• 10 yellow tomatoes, large, cored and squared 4 breakfast radishes, roughly chopped
• 1⁄4 bunch cilantro, picked leaves only
• 1 English cucumber, roughly chopped
• 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
Garnish
• 2 yellow tomatoes, very small dice
• 2 red tomatoes, very small dice
• 2 breakfast radish, very small dice
• 1⁄2 jalapeno, very small dice
1 tsp cilantro, chopped finely
• 4 oz jumbo lump crab meat, picked clean of shell
• 1 lime, juiced, strained to remove seeds
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1. Place all ingredients, aside from oil, in
blender. Blend together until mixture is uniform in color.
2. With blender running, slowly add oil to create a thicker texture.
3. Salt to taste, then strain and serve.
4. Mix all ingredients together in small bowl, salt to taste.
5. Assemble by pouring soup into 4 individual bowls.
6. Place a generous portion of garnish in the center of each.
Fisherman's Stew
Broth
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, medium, diced
• 1 jalapeño, small, diced
• 1 red pepper, medium, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups white wine
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
1. In a large saucepan, sauté the red peppers, jalapeño, onions, and garlic in the olive oil until the vegetables are tender.
2. Add the oregano, bay leaves, chile flakes, paprika, tomato paste, wine, and stock. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Season to taste and chill until ready to use.
Stew
• 1 qt fisherman’s stew broth
• 8 oz potatoes, medium, diced
• 8 oz chorizo sausage, cooked and sliced
• 12 jumbo shrimp
• 12 oz fish - rockfish, cod, haddock
• 18 mussels
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp oregano, chopped
• salt and pepper
4. Combine all of the ingredients in a large pan and bring to a simmer.
5. Cook the seafood until the mussels open. Stir in the herbs.
6. Season to taste.
7. Serve in heated dinner bowls.
Try these recipes and download the cookbook for more heart healthy recipes to eat healthy while enjoying the taste!
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