I picked up a teriyaki bowl from Pei Wei last week on a quick lunch break and of course, had to chow down on the fortune cookie first and foremost. There’s something about eating the cookie first that I can’t resist, and while the fortune is usually some condescending, uninspiring sentence about a surprise we both know isn’t coming, this one particular cookie truly did give me some food for thought (reminds me of lyric bread for those of you who are fans of Hung).
My message read: “Good food brings you good health”
This got me to thinking about one of life’s greatest battles (or at least mine): how to make good food that can be good for you.
Good food may bring good mental health or comfort, but your waistline, and in my case cholesterol, can pay the price. On a recent checkup with my doctor I learned that I’m not doing so hot in the “good” cholesterol department, or HDL. I was shocked by this revelation! I’m a healthy person, always have been, or so I thought. But as it turns out all that butter and oil I’ve been pouring into my cooking repertoire isn’t tasting so good anymore.
I’m not a dieter, thankfully God (and my Mother) have blessed me with good genes, so i’ve always lived by the motto “everything in moderation”. It worked for Julia Child, I figure why not me? So as I think about the long term effects bad cholesterol can bring, I know that I need to make some modifications to my diet and my cooking to make sure I really am a healthy person.
While in no way do I claim to be a doctor or a certified nutritionist, I have reached out to my good friend Google to find some tips for making heart healthy modifications that won’t sacrifice good food.
Whole grain is a hot buzzword at the moment, but not all products actually contain whole wheat. When reading ingredient labels, make sure the first ingredient listed is “whole grain flour” or “whole wheat flour”. ”Unbleached wheat flour” is not the real deal, neither is something listed as multi-grain. How to use it:
- Switch your white rice for brown rice or wild rice
- Toast a whole wheat baguette or roll to make fresh croutons
- Use whole wheat flour instead of white flour in your favorite baked goods
- Take another look at whole wheat pasta, it’s come a long way from it’s first attempt and now most popular brands carry a whole wheat version that tastes more like the “real thing”
Sweet potatoes contain a ton of fiber and are rich in vitamins A, C, and E. Consider switching out your idaho for a sweet potato in almost any recipe. While they have a hint of sweetness, most people think of them tasting like dessert because of popular toppings like brown sugar and marshmallows. Sweet potatoes can handle a savory dish, try one of these preparations:
Flaxseed is a sneaky but effective ingredient that adds Omega 3 fatty acids and fiber to almost any dish. Found in the cereal or health food aisle in your grocery store, the ground version has little to no taste and is almost unrecognizable when added to cereals, yogurt parfaits, and even cookies. Try sneaking this heart healthy ingredient using the following substitutions:
- Replace highly processed flour: Flaxseed is typically 40% fat, but you can replace up to 15% of the flour in recipes with milled (ground) flax without adjusting the amount or kind of fat. Ground flax actually enhances the flavor, appearance and food value of baked goods. Flaxseed contains NO GLUTEN for those with gluten intolerance. Increase yeast by 25% when replacing flour with ground flax.
- Replace fat: Include the good fats in flax in your recipes by substituting 3 Tbsp. of ground flaxseed for 1 Tbsp. of margarine, butter or cooking oil. Flax can be substituted for all or part of the fat, depending on the recipe. Remember that baking with flax as a fat substitute will cause baked goods to brown more quickly.
Black Beans are rich in B-complex vitamins, niacin, folate, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and soluble fiber. Whew did you get all that?! Not to mention that are a filling protein that can take the place of meat in many dishes. Other than the traditional black bean soup, try incorporating these heart healthy beans in a new way:
- Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad: Use as a garnish for taco’s, top over some brown rice, or mix with lettuce and grilled chicken for hearty and protein packed meal.
- Black Bean Croquettes: Perfect as an appetizer or side dish, these croquettes have the appearance and crunch of the fried classic but take a much healthier approach.
- Black Beans and Rice with Cilantro Pesto: This is a new spin on a classic latin dish, consider using brown rice instead of long grain for an extra boost of fiber
Steamed vegetables are a great alternative to those sautéed in butter and oil, and so simple to prepare. Glad and Ziplock brand bags now sell “steam fresh” baggies that steam vegetables right in the microwave. I use the Glad brand personally and they rock! Toss in broccoli, corn, carrots, cauliflower, or green beans in the bag with salt and pepper and they come out perfect in 3 minutes! Plus, steaming in the bag locks in all the nutrients that can be lost in alternate cooking methods.
Not all Oil is bad for you, the key is to know the best kinds to use. Oils rich in omega-3′s and low in saturated fat are key, but depending on what you’re preparing you need to make sure you are using the right oil for the desired smoke point (the temperature at which the oil begins to smoke). Use this guide to ensure you have the right oil with the most heart health benefits:
- Browning, Sauteing, or Baking: Canola Oil is a great all purpose oil that has a medium to high smoke point and is full of good fat
- Stir frying: Try Peanut or Sesame Oil, both have high smoke points that can handle your wok, and are good for you
- Dressings and Marinades: Cooking with oil can dimish some of it’s flavor, so save your flavorful oils like Olive, Grapeseed, and Flaxseed for salad dressings or marinades. All three have omega-3′s but do not hold up well with high temperatures.
Lean Meats are always the best choice whenever possible. Chicken, turkey, and fish are the most popular lean meats, but not all of them are created equal.
- Chicken: Make sure you stick with white meat over dark. Use ground chicken as a substitute for ground beef in hamburgers or sauces.
- Turkey: Just like chicken, stick to the white meat, and when buying ground turkey, make sure it’s ground white meat. Often times grocery stores grind up a mixture of white and dark and package it as ground turkey.
- Fish: The best heart healthy choices are salmon, trout, and tuna are some of best fish in the sea!
- Garlic! This magical bulb adds so much flavor to food that we sometimes forget we don’t need all that extra butter and oil. Consider adding garlic to your dishes to kick up the flavor without the fat. Plus, garlic helps lower cholesterol and fight high blood pressure.
Morale of the story: Healthy cooking and eating is important, without some oversight our poor choices can catch up with us quickly and force us to cut out all the good stuff permanently. Will I never use butter, eat white bread, or eat fried foods? No. But what I am committed to doing is finding ways to make smarter choices when preparing meals. And if anything, this post should show you that you can still make great food while using heart healthy ingredients, and it’s not all “diet food”. If you haven’t done so recently, I encourage you to get your cholesterol checked and see where you fall, you may be surprised at what you find.
Have any other heart healthy cooking suggestions, please comment and share!
Sources:
http://www.wetv.com/fitness/10-swaps-to-make-your-heart-healthy.html
http://www.thedietchannel.com/A-Guide-to-Healthy-Cooking-Oils.htm
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NAH/is_4_33/ai_100732358/pg_3/?tag=content;col1
http://www.healthycookingrecipes.com/natural-health-fitness/lower-cholesterol-food-diet.html
Tara O'Keeffe