Live Well: Cooking for Heart Health

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet helps reduce blood pressure by focusing on foods that are high in fiber, magnesium, calcium, and potassium, while limiting red meat and other foods that are high in fat, sodium, and sugar. In general, the diet encourages higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans (legumes), nuts, seeds, monounsaturated oils, fish, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products.

Ready to try it out? Here are a few recipes to get you started!

Caprese Chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 3

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts
2 roma tomatoes
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or goat cheese
½ cup balsamic syrup
2 tablespoons basil
Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Start by pounding your chicken breasts thin between two pieces of plastic wrap. Trim off any fat.
2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Salt and pepper chicken breasts on both sides and place in hot skillet. Cook for about 4-6 minutes per side depending on how thick they are. You want to get some good browning on each side.
4. When chicken is cooked through, drizzle with the balsamic syrup, and top with the mozzarella and tomato. Turn off heat, put lid on and let the cheese melt for a minute of two.
5. Serve with more balsamic syrup if desired. Top with basil.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 443
Total Fat 14g
Cholesterol 174mg
Sodium 498mg
Carbohydrate 20g
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 56g

Holiday Cobb Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

3 tablespoons apple cider
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup crumbled bleu cheese
1 pkg. (9 oz.) hearts of romaine
2 cups cubed roasted turkey
2 cups cooked brussels sprouts, sliced
2 cups cooked sweet potatoes
1 large tomato, cored and cut into
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 apple, cored and diced
1 cup blackberries

Instructions

1. Make a vinaigrette by combining apple cider, lemon juice, honey, lemon zest, salt and pepper in small bowl.
   Whisk in olive oil and bleu cheese.
2. Toss hearts of romaine with vinaigrette.
3. Arrange romaine on large serving plate. Arrange turkey, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, avocado, apple and blackberries in long, narrow rows on top of the romaine.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 538
Total Fat 26g
Sodium 368mg
Carbohydrate 31g
Dietary Fiber 7g
Protein 46g

Oven-Roasted Salmon With Charred Lemon Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lemon
2 bulbs fennel, thinly sliced
2 small red onions, thinly sliced
2 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and pepper
1 ¼ pounds skin-on salmon fillet
1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard
3 cups baby arugula

Instructions

1. Heat broiler. Cut pointed ends off lemon, halve crosswise, and place on a
   rimmed baking sheet, center cut sides up. Broil on top rack until charred,
   5 minutes; transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F. On rimmed baking sheet, toss
   fennel and onions with 1 ½ tablespoons oil and ¼ teaspoon each salt
   and pepper; arrange around edges of sheet. Place salmon in center of
   sheet and season with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Roast until
   vegetables are tender and salmon is opaque throughout, 17 to 20 minutes.
3. Juice charred lemon halves into a small bowl and whisk in mustard and
   remaining tablespoons oil. Remove baking sheet from oven and fold
   arugula into vegetables. Drizzle charred lemon vinaigrette over fish and
   vegetables and gently toss vegetables.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 305
Total Fat 14g
Sodium 400mg
Carbohydrate 14g
Dietary Fiber 5g
Protein 31g