Happy Valentine's Day! Heart Healthy Meals with D & Tips
It's Valentine's Day! What better day to kick-off some self-love and take care of you and your loves with some quick, easy and delicious heart healthy food. D and I demonstrate how to make Apple Bread Pudding and Blackened Fish with Kiwi & Strawberry Salsa using recipes from the American Heart Association's website. To view the full recipes and ingredients, please visit: https://recipes.heart.org/en/recipes/apple-bread-pudding
https://recipes.heart.org/en/recipes/blackened-fish-with-strawberry-kiwi-salsa
Heart disease is the #1 killer of men and women in the United States. I think all of us know someone that has been affected by a heart related ailment, which includes, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke. We can't change our family history, but, we can try to improve our lifestyle to create a longer and healthier life! Doctors and specialists have determined there are simple ways we can reduce our risk of heart disease primarily consisting of the 5 items below:
1. DIET - I can't emphasize enough, how important it is to feed your body with fuel foods. I define fuel foods as those items which fuel your body and help build a better, healthier you. Keep your diet and food content as simple as possible. The more things that are done to a food item down the line (dipped, fried, smothered, etc.), the more processed and unhealthy it becomes. You should stick to a low fat, low cholesterol diet, and before you pick up the salt shaker (automatic reflex), taste your food first and try to minimize your salt intake.
2. KEEP IT MOVING - Exercise, exercise, exercise!!!! Don't let the word overwhelm you. The definition of exercise is any activity requiring physical effort. You do not have to be at a gym or somewhere special to move your body and workup a good sweat. Think of ways you can easily incorporate movement into you everyday life and as you become accustomed to that particular activity, try to increase the time frame monthly. At least 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise is a great way to keep your blood pressure down and within a normal range.
3. DE-STRESS, NAMASTE! - Incorporate stress reliving techniques and activities into your daily life. Finding time to reflect or meditate is a great way. Recognizing stress triggers and when you need to take a moment, just breathe for a few seconds before moving into panic mode. Yoga of course is one of my all time favorites and is an essential part of my self-love/me time.
4. WEIGH IN - Every now and again, get on the scale and make sure you are staying within the weight range which is healthy and appropriate for your age, height and body type. I know just thinking about getting on a scale triggers some stress for you, but, you can't fix it if you don't know where you are and where you need to be.
5. NO SMOKING - Do we really need to keep telling people about the dangers of smoking?? Really??? Come on people, drop the bad habit!
