Heart-Healthy Food: Burdock
Burdock is a long, brown-skinned root with savory flavor. A winter vegetable, it is good for your heart, rich in minerals and known in many herbal traditions for its blood cleansing ability. Eating it often is also said to increase vitality. Find it in Oriental markets, or grow your own! Remember: whenever possible, eat local, seasonal and organic.
Recipe: Sautéed Carrot Strengthener
This traditional Japanese side dish (called “Kinpira”) can warm you to the toes in cold weather, build your stamina by improving blood quality, and increase your mental clarity.
Ingredients
1 carrot, julienned
1 c burdock, julienned
¼ tsp sesame oil
1 c water (amount used during cooking will vary)
1 Tbsp tamari (soy sauce)
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Directions
1. Slice carrots and burdock in long, thin, diagonal slices, cutting each slice into matchsticks (julienned).
2. Sauté burdock lightly in a sesame-oiled skillet, stirring over medium heat.
3. Add carrot, and fill skillet with 1/2 inch of water. Boil, then cover and simmer 20 minutes.
4. Check it and add water if needed, but let the liquid get absorbed at the end for the best flavor.
5. Sprinkle lightly with tamari (soy sauce) and sesame seeds, and stir. Serve small portions.
Heart-Healthy Food: Salmon
No common fish delivers more of the omega-3 fatty acids that help keep arteries clear and hearts strong than salmon. Omega-3 is composed of unsaturated fatty acids that are thought to reduce inflammation throughout the body, a condition that can damage your blood vessels and lead to heart disease. The past decade has shown that these fatty acids also may strengthen the immune system and eyesight, and even improve mental health.
Whether grilled, seared, broiled or made into burgers or cakes—you can’t go wrong with salmon. Just make sure it is wild-caught, either frozen or fresh.
Recipe: Citrus Salmon in Parchment
Ingredients
4 (4-ounce) wild salmon fillets
3 tsps olive oil
4 (12-inch) squares of parchment paper
1 blood orange, sliced into rounds
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
1 lime, sliced into rounds
1 bunch fresh dill weed
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
Feel free to add a veggie of choice in the parchment paper; it will steam up and cook along with the salmon.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Brush each piece of salmon on both sides with a light coating of olive oil.
3. Fold each sheet of parchment in half and use scissors to round out the corners so that it is almost a circle. Open the sheets back up.
4. Place the salmon fillets skin side down onto the center of each piece of parchment. Sprinkle with lemon pepper, then place a sprig of dill onto each fillet. Cover with one slice of orange, one slice of lemon and one slice of lime per serving. You may add more to taste. Lay another sprig or two of dill over the citrus slices.
5. Fold each piece of parchment up and over the fillets. Holding both edges of the parchment together, roll the edge down making several folds as you go until the fish fillets are tightly sealed in their packets. Place packets on a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish is able to be flaked with a fork. You may need to open one of the packets to check. To serve, place packets onto serving plates and use scissors to cut an X in the center, being careful not to cut the food.
For More Heart-Healthy Recipes:
Check out www.heart.org, as well as The Self-Healing Cookbook, by Kristina Turner.