Heart Healthy Menu Help

16 years ago

Hi CF Friends I need you help. My DBIL just had a heart attack. THey were able to find the blockage and put a stent into open the artery. We are hoping and praying that he will recover fully. Now for the hard part. Ron is 6'5" is very overweight, has very poor eating habits, smokes a pipe and is going through enormous stress with his job. And I don't think has excercised a day in his life! I want to help my SIL help him. I want to help her with meal/menu planning. I do this for several people but have never really had to deal with heart healthy menus. I thought I'd start with all of you and see if you have any favorite heart healthy dishes that I could pass along. TIA Gina

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Comments (12)

canarybird01
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Gina first let me say I've so very sorry to hear about your BIL's illness. I do hope he will be able to effect a change of lifestyle and diet enough to help him fully recover. We have all heard so often about the dangers of being overweight combined with stress and lack of exercise and it unfortunately is all too true. I have always kept this in the back of my mind when planning meals and tried to keep active, even if only going for a 30 minute walk on a daily basis.

I'll have a look and see if I can help with the diet. I've been trying to do heart healthy menus for a long time and started exercise and dance classes last year in May, going 4 times a week and walking to and from there.

I bought myself a blood pressure monitor while on holiday in Canada this summer and am taking readings every few hours. Happily I'm far below what I thought I was...keeping my readings below 140/80. I go tomorrow to the doc for an ECG and X-ray as part of a long-needed checkup. I had a blood sample taken yesterday which will also be part of my overall reading.

You will probably already have heard about the DASH diet which is a plan to reduce blood pressure through choosing the right foods. I bought that book this summer. But I also have many other recipes which may be of interest to you. I'll go through them this week and hope to offer them to you. Your BIL will have to lose weight.....there is no other option to reduce the strain on the heart. Every extra pound makes the heart work harder. Try looking up the books on The Glycemic Index as well. I have posted several of recipes from those and will repost them for you in the next days.

I sincerely hope you are able to help with diet suggestions to your SIL and that you will receive many responses as well from others here on the forum.

Good Luck!

SharonCb
lindac
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
With a little ingenuity it's very possible to keep a fairly normal diet and still cut way down on the unhealthy fats, salt and sugars.
Simple suggestions are broiled chicken breast and salmon, use egg beaters, use lots of lemon juice in lots of things and lots of herbs and pepper instead of salt.
She's going to have think differently about the food she makes.
Linda C
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You're already received some very sound advice... While I can't suggest any cookbooks, I can offer some of the tips I've learned since hubby had his heart attack and strokes ( high blood pressure and high cholesterol )... First things first... If he's unable to go back to work you are going to be under a LOT of stress... Try to finds ways to cope... You won't be much help to him if you get sick too... (ask me how I know) What I found to be the most valuable was keeping track of every thing he ate for a week or two... Every slice of bread, every sip of pop, everything... I made up a chart and kept track of the sodium and fats... ( I used a booklet called Nutritive Value of Foods from the U.S. Publishing Office that I picked up years ago. ) It wasn't all that hard, since he's home all the time, and I found out that I was actually keeping him below his limits ( had him down to 500 mg of sodium and 15 to 20 g of fat a day, way too low for a man )... Check with your hubby's doctor or a good nutritionist to find out his limits... After you find out his limits and total up what he eats you'll be able to cook healthy for him... Try not to refer to it as a diet.... It's best if you think about it as healthy eating, cutting back on the bad stuff and increasing the good stuff... Cut back to 3 or 4 oz, total, of meat a day and double up on veggies & fruits... If he has favorite foods that he says he can't live without, that are bad for him, just limit the amounts or how often he has them... Totally eliminating something will only make him want it more and create more problems, mainly resentment and anger towards you. Keep plenty of fruits on hand for snacking, cut it up if you have to... Within a few weeks he'll head for the fruit instead of looking for the chips... Fruit juice, with all its calories, is better than pop or coffee ( a lot of caffeine is bad for heart patients ).... Only buy frozen or canned veggies without any added salt... My hubby will only eat canned and I was lucky enough to find a Save-A-Lot store that carries them, for a lot less than the regular chain stores and the quality is just as good or better... Hunt's sells a lot of tomato products without salt, including ketchup... Herb-Ox Low Sodium beef bullion is passable but the chicken is lacking... Read the labels of everything you buy, twice... Read it the first time to check the fat and sodium content then read it again for the serving size, low fat - low salt isn't necessarily so... Take the cooking sprays for example, a serving is a 3 SECOND blast, by the time you say it you're already over the 3 second limit... ( I dab a paper towel with canola oil and wipe the pans with that )... Healthy breads aren't all that healthy for heart patients, the mushy white stuff only has 135 mg of sodium per slice and I've seen 'healthy' bread with as much as 450 mg per slice... You have to really read the labels! You can 'fry' healthy with water... I buy pork loins and beef roasts, trim off the fat and grind it up for patties and 'fry' them with a bit of water... Cover the meat, let the steam do its thing and cook a bit more with the cover off to brown... For 'fried' potatoes I parboil them in the microwave then brown in a frying pan with 2 teaspoons of canola... You have to keep turning or flipping them so they brown evenly but most of the time they look like real fried potatoes... French fries don't work as well... I stay away from prepared foods, as much as possible, because of the fats and sodium... But making everything from scratch can truly be a huge pain, especially when things go wrong from lack of salt or are too dry because you've cut the fats too much... Look for recipes that don't call for much of either ( there's 2,132 mg of sodium in 1 teaspoon of salt, it doesn't matter which kind.. watch out for baking soda, baking powder, MSG, soy sauce, anything that has sodium in the word )... Some times you can substitute apple sauce for some of the fats but don't try removing all of it... MAKE SURE HE TAKES HIS ALL HIS MEDICATIONS! If all your efforts fail to get him on the right track ask him if he'd like to have another heart attack or perhaps a stroke and become totally depend on you for all his daily needs. Rita Above all cultivate your sense of humor, you'll need it to get you through the tough times.
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When you say "rich tomato basil soup" do you mean rich with cream? or only with flavor? How about roasted veggies...red and green peppers, chunks of sweet onion maybe chunks of eggplant maybe zucchini, and a few asparagus spears for good measure..slices of baby bella 'shrooms...toss with EVOO, some Kosher salt...a bit of garlic ( if there is not a lot in other dishes) a bit of sugar, balsamic...and oregano...or parsley or rosemary or any herb that blows your dress up. How about a side of mushroom risotto....? Oven roasted potatoes are always wonderful.....and can go into the oven before the meat. If your soup is broth based....how about that spinach dish ( the name escapes me!!) spinach, cream, lots of fresh grated parm....bread crumbs and baked...has a woman's name!! AARGH it's hell to get old! Peas in a little butter, oregano tarragon sauce....thickened just a tiny bit with corn starch....neeed a recipe....give a shout. What are you saucing the beef with?....could I suggest a blue cheese/walnut sherry sauce?? Linda C
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I'm mostly vegetarian. I don't much care for meat, don't like to digest it, and don't like the taste. When I do eat meat it is poultry or fish. I use bacon occasionally as a flavoring, more often pancetta or proscuitto. My "problem food" is evil cheese. I just love the stuff and can't get enough of it. Cheese has some kind of addictive chemical in it I read. I have to work really hard to limit my consumption of cheese. The kinds I like are full of saturated fat. I do mix the fatty kind with lower fat kinds to try and mitigate some of the damage. I have no heart or cholesterol problems, and have been in generally good health my whole life. I have fairly decent genes. But I think the main issue with eating for health is to eat a balanced diet. It does no good to eschew red meat and then eat tons of sugar and fatty junk foods, which is what I see some young "vegetarians" doing. And these sugary drinks also are terrible for your health. I would be much more concerned about someone eating lots of sugar and junk foods than occasional red meat or eggs. I think that is what does people in, a diet of very little fruit or vegetables, and high in the saturated fat, including bacon, sausage, etc. I don't see a problem with maybe two strips of bacon if you're eating it with whole grain waffles topped with fresh fruit and yogurt. But that's now how most people eat. They eat processed foods. Also, a huge culprit in our national heart disease epidemic is lack of exercise. We lead such sedentary lives that it's almost impossible to control one's weight just with diet. I would say it's not beef per se that is killing us, it's how we raise the beef, how we cook it, and how much of it we eat, and what else we eat (or don't eat) along with it. For most of time, red meat was an occasional treat, and sausage was used as a flavoring for potatoes or beans, and it was a struggle to get ENOUGH calories for folks, not what we're facing today. Most people ate some kind of grainy gruel every day, not the rich dishes that have survived in the cookbooks and literature. My dad's four main food groups are meat, fat, sugar and white carbs. He always goes shopping and lays in a supply of junk food when he comes to visit me. Also suggests that we go out to eat all the time. Once Christmas I cooked and ate like he likes just to keep the peace. I felt really bad after a week of it. Poor sleep, and generally sluggish with mild digestive upset all the time. Of course I guess one's body does kind of "adjust" over time. Anyway, dad had been plagued by digestive problems all his life, and has clogged arteries, yet for whatever reason, cannot change his eating pattern, even though it makes him suffer. He's kind of like an alcoholic. He thought he could get away with it when he was younger because he was an athlete and not overweight. He's still only a little bit overweight, but has terrible acid reflux along with colon and artery problems. Shy of genetic conditions, I would say my dad is fairly typical of what's out there. BF's co-workers are dropping like flies now that they are in their late 50's and sixties. They all smoke, drink and eat like my dad, and are overweight. I would say eating a lot of red meat is in most cases part of a general pattern of poor health habits. Folks here are probably not typical American eaters.
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Have you tried the EnerG products? They are at health food stores and some grocery stores carry them. There is a product called EnerG Baking Soda (no salt), EnerG egg Replacer (no fat, cholesterol and 5 mg. sodium). I also use Fetherweight baking powder (no salt). My Dad is on a low salt diet (500 mg./day) because he has heart and kidney failure. His problems were started from diabetes. The Dr. told him to make his own bread. Some sandwich buns have almost 500 mg. of sodium. You cannot buy any prepackaged foods, everything must be homemade.
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dedtired
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The hospital where I work posts a heart healthy recipe each month. This month it is a Fish Taco. They also support the Mediterranean diet.

Here's this month's recipe:
Recipe of the Month: September 2007

Fish Tacos

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 small red cabbage, thinly shredded (about 2 1/2 cups)
4 scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 jalapeno, chile halved lengthwise, one half minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound tilapia fillets (or other firm white fish) cut into 16 equal strips
8 flour tortillas (6-inch)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine sour cream and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Transfer half the mixture to another container; set aside for serving. Toss cabbage, scallions, and minced jalapeno with remaining sour-cream mixture. Season again with salt and pepper.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil and remaining jalapeno half over medium-high heat; swirl to coat bottom of pan. Season fish on both sides with salt and pepper. In two batches (starting with larger pieces), cook fish until golden brown on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Discard jalapeno.
Meanwhile, warm tortillas according to package instructions.
To make tacos, fill tortillas with slaw, fish, and cilantro leaves. Drizzle with reserved sour-cream mixture. Serve immediately.

Here is a link to the Mayo Clinic's info about a Med. diet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mediterranean Diet
Terri_PacNW
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Pam, I was going to suggest the Mediterranean Food Style too.
Flavorful, fresh and good fats..

Here's a few places to check out for heart healthy recipes.
Heart Healthy Way

Mayo Clinic Heart Health

Food Tv Heart Health

Heart Healthy Recipe Booklets
ritaotay
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi Gina!

Although I can't furnish you with recipes I can offer some suggestions... Since a blocked artery caused the heart attack than means he'll have to cut down on the bad fats as well as sodium... The first month or so I went overboard, cutting out just about all fats and anything with salt... Hubby was mainly eating fruits and oatmeal... Needless to say that wasn't good, he wasn't getting all the things his body needed to stay healthy and became as weak as a new born kitten...

I contacted a dietician and she told me hubby could have as much as 60 g of fat, the good kind, and 2000 mg of sodium a day ( depends on weight and height )... The only fats he should stay away from are saturated and trans fats...

I came up with the idea of keeping track of everything I feed him, the amounts, the fats and the sodium and that turned out to be a life saver... ( I disregarded keeping track of his cholesterol because new studies state that it's the bad fats and genes which clog the arteries. ) You'll really be surprised on just how much one can eat, without gaining weight, if you cut back of fatty foods...

After the first few days I knew I was going way overboard, he was only getting 20 to 30 g of fat and 900 mg of sodium... Hardly enough to sustain a 5'6", 150 pound man... After the second week I had a good handle on just how much I could feed him and still stay within the guidelines...

Now for the suggestions... Read the labels, REALLY read them... If something says fat free make sure you check the serving size... Cooking spray for example, it says no fat but a serving size is a spray lasting for 1/3 of a second!.. How does one time 1/3 of a second??? By the time you count to 1 you already have 1.5 g of fat and if you want to coat the whole pan we're talking close to 4 or 5 g of fat and the scary part is that, with some sprays, a good part of that is saturated fat!!! For me, a much better and cheaper way is to dab a paper towel with canola oil and wipe the pan until you only see a sheen and no droplets, no saturated fat, in fact only a trace of any fat.

The same goes for salt, READ the labels... Hidden sodium and fats are really high in convenience foods, cake mixes, prepared goodies, Hamburger Helper, canned stews, chili and such, as well as restaurant food... So far I've found No Added salt canned veggies ( hubby prefers canned to frozen, why I don't know! ), tomatoes & tomato sauce and even no salt ketchup all at the local store. I picked up some no sodium baking powder at the health food store.

On your meats, if you trim off all the fat you can see, beef and pork aren't really all that bad... Two & a half oz of pork only has 3.4 mg of saturated fat, 2.8 oz of lean beef only has 2.7 g of saturated fat while a chicken drumstick has 3 g of saturated fat... ( facts from USDA book Nutritive Value of Foods )... If you want to use ground chicken or turkey grind it yourself, when you buy it in the store they include the skin and fat....

It's really hard to tell a man he can only have 3 or 4 oz of meat but he'll complain less if you really fill him up with other foods... Low fat low salt foods... Example, 4 oz of baked chicken ( skin removed), cup of peas, cup of creamed corn, two medium potatoes ( no skin, boiled ), cup apple sauce, two slices of store bought bread and 12 oz of apple juice... Total fat 9 g, total sodium 474 mg. ( close to 300 mg was from the bread alone )... If I could find no salt bread I could feed hubby 4 meals a day just like this and still stay within his limits... ( if he could eat that much... lol )

A few hints... I still give hubby 'fried' potatoes BUT I 'fry' them in water and add 1 tablespoon canola oil... As the water boils away the potatoes cook and the oil starts to brown them... You have to keep flipping the potatoes to get a nice 'fried' color... I still drain the potatoes on paper towels... I grind my own beef and pork for hamburgers and patties then 'fry' them, covered, in a little bit water until cooked then a few minutes without the cover to brown them up a bit... Some times they're a bit on the dry side but a squirt of no salt ketchup or a thick slice of a juicy tomato fixes that...

Above all tell your sister-in-law to cut back on his fats and make sure he takes all his meds, every day... He has to get his HDL's up and the only way to do that is quit smoking ( very important for a heart attack patient ), some sort of exercise for 30 minutes a day and cut way back on the bad fats... She doesn't need the added stress of taking care of a hubby who has had a stroke.

Rita
User
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hopefully Diane will pipe in , she is very good at keeping her husband on a heart healthy cooking.

Tell your DSIL to buy a few heart healthy cookbooks, there are also a ton of heart healthy web sites.

I don't do as well as I should but the basics are very simple....as low fat as you can go, not no fat , low fat. Try and avoid all those low fat products, you don't need to do that.

Tell her to find out which fats are good and which are not ie trans fat free marg vs butter. Also choose low sodium products. Read all those labels and tell him to get off his butt!!! A nutritionist is a great source of help.
eandhl
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think your SIL will find lots of info on Heart Health diets but one thing jumps at me in your post. Enormous stress at work! This could be doing as much damage as his poor eating and lack of exercise. Trying to find a way to cope better with the stress would help him.
The things we did - cut out cheese, olivio instead of butter. Also only buy salt free crackers now. We eat lots of fresh fruits/veggies, chicken, fish, beans & tofu.
His cardiologist will offer Cardiac rehab, he should go. Included in the exercise are a few classes, diet is one.
Wishing him a speedy recovery. Also warn you SIL she will probably worry more than ever, i.e. he went to the mens rm and gone a few seconds to long.
craftyrn
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Rita's given you alot of good hints--& as she said he needs a certain amount of fat to be healthy,porportion size is VERY important.

couple I can add:

It's very important for him to follow up with a Cardiac Rehab program-- keep after the doctor if he doesn't set one up. And his wife should go along for the class part of the program.
Don't use a salt substitute unless cleared by doctor.

Use a luncheon plate instead of a dinner plate-- we "eat" with our eyes first & servings on a luncheon plate look like
like "more".

Broil ,grill or roast !!!

To start do mostly "plain"-- a piece of meat, couple of veggies, couple of servings of fruit--- gradually add the sauces etc into the diet maybe once a week.

At first don't have chips, cookies,snacks in the house--no temptatiom then. Have both of you ( or the entire family) eat the same way Hubby has to--- if you just have to have that donut do it when he's not around.

Use canola oil, 1 % milk, lean cuts of meat
There's not too many "lo fat" products that don't taste icky-- I found it better to do without .Except the 1% evaporate milk's ok for cooking in place of cream.
Stay away from canned, boxed and "meal mixes" that are frozen.Fresh is best.

Use herbs, spices, lemon & lime juice-- No Grapefruit or it's juice ( interfers with cardiac meds).

Herb ox makes a very low sodium( salt)instant boullion in chicken & beef , there's lo sodium canned tuna & no added salt canned tomatoes.

Diane
obxgina
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you all so much for always being here for me! My SIL is running on shock and adrenelin right now. She is a school teacher, just back to school. They have been dealing with work issues for months.The company my BIL worked for was bought out and for months he's been on a roller coaster of not knowing if, where or when he'll have a job. A move out of state is most likely in their future. I think my SIL will benefit greatly also with a change in eating etc. she is very overweight as well. But I'm afraid she will be overwelmed by all the changes. I want to help her in anyway I can. I'm going through family recipes that I know they like and revamping them to be healthy. I feel helpless living so far away, but at least I can do this. Thank you again for all you good thoughts and help. Gina
ritaotay
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Gina I applaud you for being so concerned about your sister-in-law and one way you can really help her is to not forget her... Just calling once in a while to gab will give her the added strength she's going to need... It doesn't have to be every day or even a long call, just a few minutes of talking about anything other than her hubby's problems will take her away long enough to allow her to 'recharge her batteries'...

A few other things come to mind... If he's on Coumadin he'll have to watch his vitamin K intake, can't have large amounts of foods with it ( no more than 7 tablespoons of canola oil a week, most oils )... Check with the doctor before using salt substitutes, the high potassium content interferes with some meds... Same goes with over the counter cough medicines, check with the doctor or pharmacist first...

And one last suggestion, if you're going to pass all the info in this post on to your sister-in-law it might easier for her if you print it out and have her read it at her leisure, then have her double check with her hubby's doctor... I would have liked to have had the info handy but info overload isn't too good either... ( I found about most of it from looking up my hubby's meds on the internet and checking out 2 or 3 sites on each one, many, many hours of reading... )

Wish her and him good luck from me...

Rita

Thank you Diane... I'm glad you mentioned the HerbOx, I've used the regular bouillon for years because it didn't contain MSG... I was really happy to find the sodium free at my local store.
Terrapots
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
One thing I can add to the good suggestions above are to try to include as many foods that are high in fiber with lots of water. Eating plenty of vegs and fruits helps add fluid in the diet and the fiber helps absorb fats and speeds their exit and out of the arteries. This should also help with losing weight and keep hunger in check longer. It's a good bet a vegan diet would not be the #1 choice but the more you lean this way the better. Good luck, it's difficult to change ones lifestyle.
ritaotay
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Gina, I just ran across this site and it has a lot of easy to understand information about sodium, fats and cholesterol... When you go to the site click on the All About Sodium 'button' on the lower right... It has everything you wanted to know about the salt in food and then some.... It even shows you how much sodium is in drinking water... lol

They have printable charts that will really come in handy for your sister-in-law... They show how much of which kinds of fat, sodium, potassium and even vitamin K and a few other things that are in foods...

I spent about 2 hours on that site and still haven't checked out everything, ( small fonts... lol ), but I found it to be very informative, easy to understand and helpful... The site also has some tasty sounding recipes and tells you where to get the low sodium ingredients ( either locally or on the internet )...

All the info is free, you don't have to register or buy anything but they do have items for sale...

Rita

Here is a link that might be useful: MegaHeart

Heart Healthy Menu Help

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