healthy heart recipes. What everybody tells you - lifestyle, exercise and diet are the keys to fighting heart diseases. What few people tell you - how to modify your diet to achieve it. What nobody tells you - tasty Healthy Heart Recipes to actually implement this! If you are looking to kick start a heart-healthy lifestyle, then this section is just perfect for you, packed with healthy heart recipes full of heart-friendly ingredients, made with smart cooking methods, using minimal fat and lots of whole grains.
Firstly it is very important to know heart health supportive ingredients so that you can include them in your regular diet.
Foods that support Heart Health
Sr.No | Ingredients | Active Compound |
---|---|---|
1. | Dark green leafy vegetables | Vitamin E, Beta-carotene, Flavonols, |
2. | Whole Grains | Fibre, Phytonutrients |
3. | Soya Proteins | Isoflavones – Genistein and Daidzein |
4. | Beans | Soluble fibre, Phytosterols, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper and Folate |
5. | Garlic | Allyl Sulphur Compounds - Allicin and Ajoene |
6. | Nuts – Walnuts and Almonds | Omega-3 fats, Oleic acid, Magnesium and Copper. |
7. | Flaxseeds | Omega-3 fats, Soluble fibre |
8. | Yoghurt and milk | Probiotics, Casein and Calcium |
9. | Green tea | Polyphenols – Flavonols (Catechins) |
10. | Apple, Guava | Fibre – Pectin |
11. | Oats | Fibre – Beta glucan |
12. | Turmeric | Curcumin |
13. | Methi seeds | Diosgenin and Titogenin |
14. | Yellow-orange colored vegetables and fruits | Beta-carotene, Vitamin C |
Foods that need to be avoided for a healthy heart.
Sr.No | Ingredients |
---|---|
1. | Full fat dairy products |
2. | Butter |
3. | Margarine |
4. | Cheese and Mayonnaise |
5. | Biscuits and Bakery Products |
6. | Processed Foods |
7. | Alcohol |
8. | Carbonated Beverages |
9. | Deep Fried Foods |
10. | Sweets and Desserts |
11. | Egg yolk |
12. | Refined carbohydrates |
Healthy Heart Recipes with Whole Grains
To live a healthy life style you need to eat the right foods. Let’s start with eating whole grains like Jowar, Bajra, Oats and Barley. Full details are found on List of Best Grains and Cereals for Healthy Heart. Then you can choose the correct Legumes for a Healthy Heart. Choose from Moong, Rajma, Toovar Dal etc as these are rich in protein and help control the cholesterol levels. Combining cereals and legumes will not only make the recipe tasty but also will increase the nutritive value of it. Barley and Moong Dal Khichdi and Oats Idli are two perfect examples of how you can include this combination.
Low Fat Indian Healthy Heart Recipes
Opt for low fat options like Low Fat Paneer, Low Fat Milk and Low Fat Curds as they are far healthier than the full fat version for those with Heart issues. Here is the logic for Low Fat Dairy Products Eat High Fibre Foods for a Healthy Heart Fruits like Apples, Oranges, Peaches etc. Eat Green Healthy Heart Vegetables like Broccoli, Spinach, Kale as they are low in Calories and high in Fibre.
You can try our low fat recipes like Sprouts Dhokla and Dal Pandoli which are yummilicious steamed snacks with the goodness of green leafy vegetables. Soya Methi Garlic Naan is a unique recipe yet tasty, naans are often loaded with fat but this one is low in fat.
High Fibre Healthy Heart Recipes
Start your day with fibre rich breakfast like Quinoa Veg Upma, a healthy alternative to rava upma. Masala Karela where karela is combined with cauliflower and it beautifully masks the bitter taste of karela making it palatable even for kids. Chick Pea Mushroom and Barley Salad has an exciting texture and flavour, being fibre rich and also contains heart healthy ingredients like kabuli chana and barley.
Have Bhaja Moong Dal Shobji Diye with Jowar Pyaz Ki Roti to make your meal charged with fibre. Read our article on Fiber for Healthy Heart to get a clearer picture on what all to include in your diet to make it fibre rich.
From breakfast to dinner (and snacks in between) your entire day can be with healthy heart recipes.
Enjoy our healthy heart articles below.
Healthy Heart Accompaniments (20 recipes)
Healthy Heart Breakfast (25 recipes)
Healthy Heart Dals & Kadhis (31 recipes)
Healthy Heart Desserts (17 recipes)
Healthy Heart Drinks Beverages (19 recipes)
Healthy Heart International Recipes (26 recipes)
Healthy Heart Rice, Khichdi and Biryani (25 recipes)
Healthy Heart Rotis & Parathas (33 recipes)
Healthy Heart Salads Raitas (58 recipes)
Healthy Heart Soups (25 recipes)
must have Breakfast Recipes for Indian Heart patients | Healthy heart Indian breakfast recipes. Your overall diet can have a big impact on your heart health, so right from the start of the day you should be mindful of what you eat. Your breakfast should be high in fibre, low in cholesterol and fats. These heart-healthy breakfast recipes are all designed to help start your day on a perfect note.
From a hearty breakfast at the table to something you can have on-the-go, from elaborate choices to those you can whip up in minutes, you are sure to find what you want. You will be amazed to see how many deliciously heart-friendly choices there are.
Healthy Heart Veg Indian Breakfast Recipes, Healthy Roti’s
Try making healthy rotis like the Beetroot and Sesame Roti an ideal breakfast recipe loaded with fibre and also a feast to the eyes as it has gorgeous red colour. Bajra Peas Roti can be combined with your favourite Healthy Heart Accompaniments to increase its nutritive value.
Having Bajra Roti in your breakfast can top up your nutrients required for heart health like magnesium, phosphorus and zinc. These recipes are nutritious and easy to make.
Healthy Heart Veg Indian Breakfast Recipes, Healthy Oats Recipes
Innovative recipes can be prepared using oats. Traditional recipes can be made by replacing ingredients like rice, semolina etc with oats to make it heart healthy.
Ever thought you could make idlis using oats? You must definitely give a try to Oats Idli a fibre rich recipe good for lowering your cholesterol levels. Strawberry Steel Cut Oats with Tea Masala is a satiating fibre rich whole grain recipe, it gets its unique peppy taste as strawberries are combined with tea masala.
Apple Cinnamon and Oats is an easy to make breakfast recipe to soothe your stomach early morning, it’s loaded with nutrition being composed of dates and apples which give natural sweetness, walnuts and almond milk. Sounds tasty!
Idlis and dosas for a healthy heart breakfast
See why buckwheat is good for a healthy heart South Indian breakfast? Buckwheat keeps your heart healthy and high in fibre and diabetic friendly. Buckwheat is a rich plant based source of protein and excellent option for Vegetarians.
If your vegetarian, this is the perfect source of protein and this buckwheat dosa is cooked every week in my house and way healthier than the classic dosa recipe and read why is dosa healthy to understand the subtle difference between usage of rice and dropping it.
Whole Oats have an antioxidant called Avenanthramide (a polyphenol from oats) which helps lower blood pressure levels which in turn is good for the heart. Enjoy our gluten free fibre rich oats dosa recipe. A good variation to this is the oats mutter dosa recipe.
Barley is diabetic and pregnancy friendly. A high fiber diet for years has been paired with reduced risk of heart disease. The fiber (2.73 g) from barley helps reduce blood cholesterol levels. Enjoy this mysore barley dosa recipe made with urad dal. There is also the barley idli which uses par boiled rice.
Maize flour rotis, parathas for a healthy heart breakfast
Maize flour is a good source of magnesium which is necessary for maintaining a steady heartbeat and normal blood pressure.
The fibre binds with the bile salts and throws it out of the body, which helps in reducing the cholesterol from the body and good for heart.
Try two flour combo of makkai ka atta and whole wheat flour in methi makkai ki roti recipe where methi is an excellent source of iron and Vitamin A. Parathas are a must for Punjabi breakfast and makai mooli methi paratha recipe is perfect and gluten free. Tikkar is a famous Rajasthani roti made from makkai ka atta and whole wheat flour, loads on onions and spices.
Raitas for a healthy heart Indian breakfast
Use low fat curds (without any sugar) in this mixed veggie raita. High fibre beetroots make a good beetroot, cucumber and tomato raita. Jamun is a blessing for diabetics due to the enzyme jamboline and used with low fat curds to make jamun raita.
What causes your heart to not work correctly?
There are 5 basic reasons why we have heart issues.
1. Belly fat : The more belly fat you have, the higher the risk of a heart attack. This shows wrong food habits, bad quality vegetable oil, sugar, maida, cornflour excess etc create this problem. High blood pressure in a major problem for your heart and also uncontrolled diabetes. Your diabetes is not solved by just popping pills.
You need to change the way you eat. Wrong foods eaten lead to the inflammation of the arteries of your heart. Blockages in the arteries Blockages lead to heart attack and that is so easy to fix as simple as eating healthy. Remove inflammation in your body.
2. Eating processed foods : Avoid junk food and follow simple basic home cooked food. Stay away from refined vegetable oils. Opt for unfrefined oils like olive oil, coconut oil. You could also have cold pressed peanut oil in your cooking as that is available in India.
Eat a healthy pyaz wali bhindi sabzi instead of going for a deep fried option. Also remember to wash your hands before you eat as they can carry infections. Your hands have opened doors, pressed lift buttons etc where others with infection may have touched them before. Thats how a virus can spread.
3. Always be active and get your exercises in : Yes, want a healthy heart then put in the effort. Even if you have a one hour workout and you are sitting for the next 9 hours, then your one hour workout is almost useless. Inactivity, sedentary lifestyle or sitting too long is the number one cause of inflammation and poor blood circulation in your system.
Your heart needs two things, the right nutrients (eating wisely) and oxygen and both these are carried by your blood circulation. Blood circulation happens with movement. If your are in your office, then try and sit on a stool without a back rest and that will make you use your core and fire up your body. That is why we find new age workers wanting to stand at times the whole day while working at their desk.
Blood circulation is at its lowest when we are sitting or sedentary. 2 hours of watching TV may reduce heart healthy by 13% to 15% says Harvard study.
There is a way to watch TV. Get up from your TV or pause and walk around or even better do some basic exrecises while watching TV. If you had an active day then nothing will happen by watching TV for 2 hours.
4. Smoking and Stress : The two s's. Common senses is stay away from your puff. Regarding stress, more stress makes more cortisol which creates more inflammation. That swells your arteries over time and leasds to a heart attack. Sort your stress out.
5. Lack of sleep : Your body needs 8 hours sleep. Sleep depravation and inflammation are linked with one another. If you are sleep deprived, then you are compromising your heart health. Stress is also a big issue for heart attack. More stress makes more cortisol which creates more inflammation.
Happy Cooking!!!
Enjoy our other healthy heart breakfast recipes and healthy heart recipe articles below.
Healthy Heart Accompaniments (20 recipes)
Healthy Heart Dals & Kadhis (31 recipes)
Healthy Heart Desserts (17 recipes)
Healthy Heart Drinks Beverages (19 recipes)
Healthy Heart International Recipes (26 recipes)
Healthy Heart Rice, Khichdi and Biryani (25 recipes)
Healthy Heart Rotis & Parathas (33 recipes)
Healthy Heart Salads Raitas (58 recipes)
Healthy Heart Soups (25 recipes)
Healthy Heart Starters Snacks (60 recipes)
Healthy Heart Subzis (41 recipes)