15 Heart-Healthy Dinners in 15 Minutes (2024)

FAQs

How do you meal prep for a heart-healthy diet? ›

Heart-Healthy Meal-Prep Tips

Opt for colorful, fiber-rich veggies, like greens, hearty root vegetables or winter squash, bell peppers and tomatoes. In addition to bulking up meals (which will help hold you over through the afternoon), these vegetables contain heart-healthy nutrients like folate and potassium.

Water is the drink of choice for heart health. If you're thirsty, drink water. When the weather is warm or we're exercising, our bodies need more water than usual. Unflavoured milk, tea and coffee can be enjoyed in moderation.

Is pasta on a heart healthy diet? Whole grain pasta is heart-healthy. Research has shown that consuming whole grains, including whole wheat pasta, can help to prevent heart disease. Even better, tomatoes are also considered to be heart-healthy.

One way to begin is to create a daily meal plan that emphasizes vegetables, fruits and whole grains and limits high-fat foods (such as red meat, cheese and baked goods) and high-sodium foods (such as canned or processed foods).

As long as they're not deep-fried, potatoes can be good for your heart. They're rich in potassium, which can help lower blood pressure, and they're high in fiber, which can lower the risk for heart disease. "They are definitely not a junk food or refined carbohydrate," said Graf.

After only two weeks, both the more-fruits-and-vegetables diet and the DASH diet significantly lowered blood pressure! This healthy blood pressure effect lasted for the whole eight-week study.

What is a good meal plan for someone with heart failure? ›

Choose plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

They contain only small amounts of salt. Choose foods that are low in salt, such as fresh meats, poultry, fish, dry and fresh legumes, eggs, milk and yogurt. Plain rice, pasta and oatmeal are good low-sodium choices.

Eating potassium-rich sweet potatoes helps promote a healthy heart. Higher potassium intake allows you to excrete more sodium lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk for heart disease according to the American Heart Association.

The evidence shows that you can eat lean red meat as part of a heart healthy diet. However, high intakes of red meat increase your risk of heart disease and stroke by 16%₅. Eating up to 100g/d of red meat increases risk of heart disease and stroke by 10-20%₅.

For lean protein, eat foods such as low-fat dairy products, chicken or turkey breasts, fish, beans, nuts, legumes and other types of lean meat.

“In general, I recommend oatmeal as the best option.” He advises a small cup of oatmeal made with water, not milk or butter, and loaded high with berries, plus additional heart-healthy ingredients such as ground flax seed or a few walnuts.