Choosing a Heart Healthy Eating Plan

Do you "live to eat" or "eat to live"?  If you relate to the former, you likely have somewhat of an unhealthy diet and perhaps an unhealthy relationship with food.  This USED to be ME!  In order to try and win back my health, I have had to change my thinking about FOOD itself and how I look at it - certainly NOT an easy change, but a necessary one if I want to live longer and feel better both physically and mentally....

Here are some Heart Healthy tips for transforming your way of eating...

• Choose reduced fat products (non-fat products are NOT better for you - they have to replace that fat with something and that something is typically NOT good for you) and don't overuse them!
• Replace mayonnaise or sour cream in recipes with plain Greek style yogurt - it is thick enough to hold up and doesn't change the flavor of the dish.
• Use reduced fat (1% or 2%) milk instead of whole milk. Going organic (reduced fat) is even better!
• Forget margarine and butter substitutes - would you melt plastic and eat it? Then you don't want to use these products.  Good old fashioned butter is your best bet - consider cutting the measurement of butter in half or try using a light butter or substituting olive oil whenever possible. Use butter sparingly!
• Choose Olive Oil as your fat of choice - your body DOES need fats to function properly - you may as well give it a healthier fat to use!  Olive Oil has lots of mono-unsaturated fats (good fats) and a little bit can go a long way. I use it quite a bit instead of butter.
• Substitute egg whites for whole eggs. Skip the egg substitute products - too many preservatives and other "junk" in them that your body doesn't need!
• Use whole grain pasta instead of pasta made with white flour - make sure to read the label - it should say "Whole grain wheat" or "sprouted grain" - if the word "flour" is within the first 3 ingredients, skip it.  You may have to search for these products, but they are worth the health benefits!  Brown rice and quinoa pastas are great too!
• Choose whole grain breads - the ones with flax seed and whole cracked wheat are a good choice.
• Cut your red meat consumption to once a week or less - if you do eat it more often choose lean cuts like filet mignon or flank steak - buy lean ground beef 96/4 whenever possible or mix fattier ground beef with ground turkey breast.
• Eat more fish!  Most fish is abundant with Omega 3 fatty acids - these are GREAT for your heart and your overall health.  This is really good fat! (example: salmon has a higher fat content than beef, but the fat in salmon is good for you, the fat in beef is not.)
• Fresh is best!  Buy fresh, locally grown produce and eat a lot of it.  Think organic veggies and fruits if you are going to be eating the outer layer; apples, pears, peaches, grapes, berries, lettuce, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc...
• Be aware of your sodium intake!  Your recommended daily allowance is 2400mg - many processed foods contain that much or more!!  It is really alarming when you start looking at the sodium content of foods!  Be aware of sodium content in restaurant food too - ASK for a nutrition profile of the menu - more and more regulations are appearing forcing restaurants to disclose this information.
• Be a wise consumer....READ the food labels!  Skip the fat and calorie content area and go to the ingredients - avoid foods that contain MSG (mono sodium glutamate), sugar and sugar substitutes like Splenda, glucose, sucrose, aspartame, and high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, casein, BHT, food colorings, GMO's (genetically modified).

LOVE YOUR HEART and YOUR BODY and they'll LOVE YOU BACK!!! 
For more information on Living a Healthier Lifestyle check out
www.getthehealthyedge.com