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Heart Healthy Recipes, Issue #010 - Featuring Blood Pressure Lowering Recipes
February 12, 2018

Welcome to Heart Healthy Recipes' monthly newsletter. In this issue we are featuring some of the top foods that seem to help lower blood pressure and recipes that contain these foods. We have been researching foods that help lower blood pressure and came up with over 40 top foods. In the next couple of months we will be highlighting different ones. In this issue we are focusing on dark-chocolate, mangoes and heart-healthy Omega-3 oils.

Mediterranean Cod

The Omega-3s in cod fish help lower blood pressure, which can help reduce inflammation, lower your risk of heart disease and help improve over-all heart health. Also, as mentioned in last month's newsletter, broccoli, tomatoes, and onions help regulate blood pressure. The red peppers in this recipe are an excellent source of vitamin C, which has been shown to get your blood pressure into a healthy range and improve cardiac function.

Recipe Ingredients:

8 oz. fresh or frozen broccoli

8 oz. fresh or frozen green beans

½ cup pearl onions

1 red pepper

14 oz. stewed tomatoes

½ teaspoon dried basil

1 pound cod fillets, cut into serving pieces

½ cup orange juice, divided

2 tablespoons flour

¼ cup sliced black olives

Recipe Instructions:

Combine vegetables, tomatoes and basil in large skillet. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Place cod on vegetables. Pour ¼ cup orange juice over fish. Cover and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until fish is tender and flakes with fork. Remove cod and keep warm. Blend flour with remaining ¼ cup orange juice; stir into skillet. Cook until liquid is thickened and vegetables are coated. Serve fish with vegetables; sprinkle with olives.

Complements a side dish of rice or couscous.

Makes 4 servings.

Mango Salsa

Sweet mangoes are a great source of both fiber and beta-carotene, both having effective blood pressure lowering characteristics. The mango is abundant in potassium, which helps assist in maintaining a healthy heart rate and keeping blood pressure regulated. Along with the mangoes, this recipe also contains red bell peppers and onions which provide blood pressure lowering nutrients. Again, bell peppers are a great source of vitamin C, containing even more than citrus fruits. Research reveals that vitamin C reduces blood pressure in patients with hypertension.

Recipe Ingredients:

½ cup jalapeño jelly

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2½ cups peeled, pitted, and diced mango

1¼ cups minced red bell pepper

¾ cup finely chopped red onion

¼ cup minced fresh cilantro

1 jalapeño chili, seeded and minced

salt and pepper to taste

Recipe Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill in refrigerator.

Dark-Chocolate Crisps

Dark-chocolate is a yummy, heart-healthy treat which is considered one of the top foods for regulating blood pressure. Dark-chocolate contains 60 percent more cocoa solids than regular chocolate. It has been shown to lower blood pressure due to the high content of flavonols, specifically phytochemicals that act as antioxidants. Flavonoids have the ability to improve endothelial function, which has been linked to regulated blood pressure according to researchers at the University of Manitoba.

Converting unsweetened dark-chocolate to semi-sweet is healthier and retains more of the antioxidants. It is important not to add too much sweetener to dark-chocolate especially refined sugar. This sweetener will actually send blood sugar very high. We recommend healthy sweeteners such as coconut sugar.

Caution: Heart patients struggling with arrhythmias should consult their doctor or health care provider before eating chocolate and cocoa due to varying amounts of caffeine.

Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*

2 cups homemade crisp rice cereal*

1 cup shredded coconut

Recipe Instructions:

Melt chocolate chips*(see attached homemade recipe) in heavy saucepan over low heat. Mix in homemade crisp rice cereal* (recipe provided below) and shredded coconut. Drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let harden.

Makes about 3 dozen individual treats.

*Homemade Dark-Chocolate Chips

Dark-Chocolate Chips - Recipe Ingredients:

6 oz. unsweetened dark-chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons organic coconut sugar

Dark-Chocolate Chips - Recipe Instructions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Over the stove on low heat melt the chocolate and vanilla extract until completely melted. Stir in the coconut sugar. If not sweet enough, increase coconut sugar by ¼ teaspoon until desired taste is reached. Keeping in mind that the antioxidants of dark-chocolate are more powerful if using less sugar. Pour the chocolate liquid onto the parchment lined baking sheet and spread, but not too thin. Freeze for about an hour and then break or roughly chop into chunks.

Makes about 2 cups.

Tip: Let the chocolate harden completely before transferring them to an airtight container.

*Homemade Crisp Rice Cereal

Crisp Rice Cereal - Recipe Ingredients:

1 cup white Basmati rice or Jasmine rice

1½ cups water

coconut oil or grape seed oil

¼ cup yogurt

Crisp Rice Cereal - Recipe Instructions:

Combine basmati rice and water in pot. Stir in yogurt and leave covered overnight (or for 6-8 hours at room temperature). Bring pot to a boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove pot from heat, fluff rice with a fork, set lid ajar and let cool. Spread cooled, cooked rice on cookie sheets thinly so that the rice is no more than ¼-inch thick. Preheat oven to 275°F (135°C) and dry the cooked rice for 2 hours. Remove dried rice from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Heat small pan filled with ½-inch of coconut oil to 375°F (190°C) using a frying thermometer. Crumble the rice into chunks and then carefully spoon several into the frying oil for about 30-45 seconds. The rice will start popping. Remove lightly browned rice from hot oil which takes less than a minute, with a stainless steel slotted spoon. Place rice on a large plate covered with paper towels to soak up excess oil. Repeat until all the dried rice has been crisped. Once cooled, break the homemade rice crispies into individual grains and store in a glass-covered container and refrigerate.

Recipe Notes: It is best not to use wild rice or brown rice for this recipe.

Heart Healthy Tips:

EXERCISE:

Going for brisk walks helps the whole body including the heart. If possible, walk outside, to help avoid indoor air-pollution, even if you live in the city. Also, if in the city, look for a near-by park to walk in. All of the cells in the body need oxygen to rejuvenate, live and thrive. Walking 30 minutes, five days a week has shown to reduce cardiovascular disease. Also check with a trusted health care provider before starting a new exercise program.

If a current heart patient, check with your physician or local hospital for a Cardiac Rehabilitation program.

Nutritional Supplements:

We at Heart Healthy Recipes realize that sometimes it is difficult to receive all the complete nutrition that is needed for health from food. We encourage you to consider supplementation as well.

If considering supplements, we recommend USANA for high quality. USANA has an antioxidant that is formulated with OLIVOL®. OLIVOL® is an olive fruit extract ingredient unique only to USANA that is rich in hydroxytyrosol and verbascoside. A study from Spain showed that hydroxytyrosol may be effective in reducing levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol. Oxidized LDL cholesterol is considered a cause of atherosclerosis and general cardiovascular disease. OLIVOL® also contains the benefits of olive oil mentioned in previous newsletter.

USANA offers a 10% discount with first-time orders, plus an additional 10% if signing up for their monthly Preferred Customer auto-order program.

For current prices and to become a Preferred Customer, which is free and can be cancelled at any time, please visit:

USANA PC Enrollment Form

USANA also offers quality Omega-3 and CoQ10 supplements which studies have shown to help keep the heart healthy.

Vita-Antioxidant™ - multi-vitamin containing heart-healthy Olivol® - Product number 103 (106 is without Vitamin K)

BiOmega™ - Omega-3 - Product number 122

CoQuinone® 30 - CoQ10 - Product number 123

For more heart-healthy recipes, please visit:

https://www.hearthealthyrecipes.com
Medical/Nutritional Disclaimer: Heart-Healthy-Recipes' Newsletter and Heart-Healthy-Recipes.net website offers informational service only and the information contained in this newsletter is not intended as professional nutritional or medical advice. The content in this newsletter should not be used solely during a medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health care provider regarding any course of medical treatment.
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