Happy Valentine’s Week!
There’s no better time than right now to talk about your heart and how to love it (and YOU) a little bit more every day.
Here are five of our favorite heart healthy eating tips that focus on adding in delicious, flavorful foods to your everyday routine. Many of them have multi-dimensional benefits which is super fun and exciting – I mean, who doesn’t love a win win!
With all these ideas, the key is to tune into what sounds and feels good to you, intuitively your body knows best. So always listen to the magic and miracle of that. Pick your top one, two or three and let us know how it goes by leaving us a comment below.
Five Love Your Heart Tips
- HERBS and SPICES: Flavor up your food using fresh or dried herbs and spices. This will help reduce the amount of salt in your food as well as make you feel more satisfied. Rich in phytochemicals, herbs have been known to help with weight control and are also anti-inflammatory. Besides, they taste great!
- LEGUMES: Lentils and beans are magic! Rich in potassium, folate and iron, beans and lentils are known for their heart happy benefits. They help lower blood pressure, They are also extremely rich in fiber. So if I had to pick one thing on this list, this would be my top choice to add in to your diet today!
- FIBER – Yes, the dreaded F word! While we may think we have enough fiber in our diets, it never hurts to add a little more. While fiber may sound scary if you suffer from symptoms of IBS, it may very well do just the opposite of what you think, it may actually help you get more regular! Adding in fiber can be as simple as sipping a cup of water or tea with ground psyllium husks, chia seeds or ground flax seeds, adding hemp seeds to your smoothie, yogurt or sprinkle on avocado toast. Avocado is also high in fiber, so that’s a definite win win!
- EFA’s: Essential fatty acids are just that, essential to the health of not only our heart, but also the membrane of every cell in our body. Foods rich in Omega’s fatty acids help reduce inflammation. Omega 3’s and 6’s both serve a purpose. Sunflower oil, flax seeds, walnuts, wild fish, grass fed meats are all great sources.
- AVOID TRIGGERS: Reduce or avoid inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy and sugar. There are so many delicious alternatives today. Alternatives like vegan cheese that mimics real cheese in look, texture and taste. Alternative sweeteners that taste just as sweet as sugar. And gluten and grain free flours that are deliciously fluffy and flavorful.
XO
Suzie, GF Guru Mama
