While I KNOW that choosing heart-healthy foods (along with exercise) can naturally lower cholesterol and improve health, it’s startling when you see it in action.
A new breakfast routine has reduced my blood pressure in a matter of weeks. I now eat Overnight No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal (easy and delicious) instead of the 1/2 whole-wheat bagel with a smidge of cream cheese and 1 slice of lox that was my daily breakfast for years. Though I knew 1 small slice of lox packed 1/3-1/2 of the recommended maximum daily serving of sodium (and even posted about it vs oatmeal),
One way to prepare for a week’s worth of heart-healthy meals is to batch cook vegetables, but after a winter’s worth of roasted root vegetables, I’m ready for some spicier fare.
Another way to make it easy to whip up a healthy meal on a busy week night is to make a batch of a healthy ‘sauce’ that you can use all week on salads, vegetables and/or to flavor just about any protein.
With daffodils poking up and then getting snowed on this week, I decided go optimistic and make two sunny sauces: The Green Sauce (which his my current obsession and I’ve doused everything with it) and my friend Sylvia’s ‘Fresh Sauce.’
I’m delighted to announce that we have just launched a total revamp of the Going Lo-Co blog.
Beyond the new, updated graphics, we redesigned key pages to make the site far easier to use. Here’s what’s new:
The RECIPES page is completely changed. It’s now organized into food categories to make it easier to find recipes, and the last category on the page includes a few “How-To’s” that I am always searching for. I’ve already found the page far more useful when I’m in the grocery store trying to remember what I need for a recipe;
If a healthy, easy-to-make sauce that is delicious on just about everything sounds appealing, you must try the ‘Green Sauce’ created by nutrition expert Dana White. (Dana is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer and author with a specialty in culinary nutrition, recipe development and sports nutrition. She is the nutrition expert for Food Network.com and founding contributor for Food Network’s Healthy Eats blog.)
Dana miraculously reverse-engineered my absolutely favorite food item at a local Venezuelan restaurant, and I have now made this three times since she posted THE Green Sauce recipe on her blog, Dana White Nutrition.
A heart-healthy, delicious hot appetizer, Blistered Shishito Peppers are often on restaurant menus—but did you know they are a cinch to make at home? (And if you’re like me and don’t care for bell peppers, know that shishitos are delightfully different: a mild, ‘sweet’ pepper, their flavor is not at all like bell peppers.)
At your next dinner party (or just for fun on a weeknight—they are that easy) serve blistered Shishitos as an amazingly easy, delicious, and far heart-healthier alternative to high-fat cheese and crackers.
Available at local farmers markets, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s,
