Sticking to healthy eating habits can prove beneficial in many ways. If you need to adhere to a nutritious diet for health reasons, it can be hard to make creative and healthful meals every single day. Instead, use these 3 dinner recipes for optimal heart health to cut out the recipe research.
Salmon en Papillote
As one of the best proteins for heart health, salmon is a staple that everyone should add to their diet. It is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids which help fight free radicals in the body. Free radicals can lead to inflammation, which leads to many diseases such as heart disease and stroke. They also help to lower blood pressure and triglycerides.
Salmon en Papillote is little parchment pockets stuffed with salmon and veggies. It is an all-in-one meal! All you have to do is season the salmon, lay it on a bed of veggies, wrap the parchment so that it is airtight, and bake! The healthy baked fish and veggies are perfectly cooked in the end, and no effort is required!
Salmon en Papillote
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- 1 6-oz. Salmon filet, skin removed
- 1 small summer squash, sliced thin
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 4 slices of lemon
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt-free dried Herbes de Provence
- 1 light splash of vegetable broth
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Ready a sheet of parchment paper that is 12-14 inches long. Fold it in half and cut a half-heart shape, or question mark shape, using as much of the paper as you can. When you unfold, the parchment should look like a 10-12 inch heart.
- Remove your salmon from its packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired. Avoid salt if instructed by your doctor.
- Next, slice the summer squash and either shred or julienne the carrots. You’ll need the carrots to be cut into small pieces so that they cook at the same time as the salmon. Also, slice your lemon.
- Open the parchment fold and choose a side to place your salmon. Place the summer squash and carrot in a mound in the middle of one side of the fold. Place your salmon on top of the vegetable bed and drizzle the oil and dried herbs on top. Place the lemon slices on top of the salmon and drizzle with some vegetable broth to help the salmon steam in the oven.
- Fold the blank side of the parchment over the salmon so that it is inside the parchment heart. Starting at the top, fold the parchment paper on top of itself 1-inch along the edge. Continue this motion. After each new fold, start another fold about 1 inch below the last. When you reach the bottom, fold the last underneath the parchment pocket. This will create an airtight seal.
- Place the parchment pocket on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. The pocket will puff up in the oven as it cooks. After 15 minutes remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, cut into the top of the pocket with a sharp knife, revealing the perfectly cooked salmon. Serve hot.
Mediterranean Chickpea Stew
Everyone needs a hearty go-to dish for those busy weekdays. There is nothing like a warm, comforting bowl of stew after a long day. Even when you are eating a heart-healthy diet, you can still enjoy food that comforts you.
We’re leaving the meat behind and swapping in chickpeas for this fabulous and easy Mediterranean Chickpea Stew. It is a saucy stew packed with heart-healthy vegetables, herbs, legumes. Add some dark leafy greens into this stew for even more heart benefits! Regular consumption of leafy greens has been shown to lead to a 16% lower incidence of heart disease.
Mediterranean Chickpea Stew
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced small
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups fresh spinach, lightly chopped
- Salt and black pepper, to taste (omit if you cannot have added salt in your diet)
Instructions:
- To a stockpot or large Dutch oven, add your olive oil. Turn the heat on to medium heat and allow to come to temperature for 2 minutes.
- Add the onions, carrots, and bell peppers to the shimmering oil. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables start to soften. This will take about 4-5 minutes.
- When the veggies are soft, add the garlic and tomatoes. Allow the moisture to cook off from the tomatoes and continue stirring for another 2-3 minutes. The garlic will become very fragrant.
- Next, add the vegetable broth. Bring the mixture back up to a simmer. Once simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the bay leaves, basil, turmeric, and chickpeas.
- Cook this mixture at a simmer for 15-20 minutes until the chickpeas start to soften. Stir occasionally.
- In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired.
- Serve warm.
Baked Chicken Meatballs with Pesto and Zucchini Noodles
Swapping out red meat for lean meat is a great way to make healthier meals. As long as the protein is cooked well, you will not miss the red meat! Instead of making beef meatballs with pasta, try making a few nutritious ingredient swaps.
Baked Chicken Meatballs are juicy, tender, and flavorful, especially when served with a homemade healthy pesto sauce. Zucchini noodles are used instead of pasta, keeping this dish light and heart-healthy. Zucchini is rich in potassium, which promotes healthier blood pressure.
Baked Chicken Meatballs with Pesto and Zucchini Noodles
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the Meatballs:
- 2 slices whole-grain bread, cubed
- 3 tablespoons milk (for dairy-free use equal amounts of unsweetened plant milk)
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (for dairy-free use equal amounts of nutritional yeast)
- ¼ cup grated onion
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground chicken
- Salt and black pepper to taste
For the Pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (for dairy-free use equal amounts of nutritional yeast)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
For the Zoodles:
- 3 large zucchini, spiralized
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add all meatball ingredients into a bowl. Use a fork to mix everything well. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired.
- Using an ⅛-cup measure, scoop equal-sized meatballs into a baking dish. Roll each ball between your fingers to clean up the edges. Repeat until all of the meatballs have been rolled.
- Bake the meatballs for 25-30 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Do not overbake or else they will dry out.
- While the meatballs bake, make the pesto. Add all of the pesto ingredients aside from the oil to your blender. Blend on high until you have a homogeneous green mixture. With the blender on low, slowly stream in the olive oil. This will allow the oil to emulsify in the sauce. Taste for seasoning and set it aside.
- Finally, make the zoodles. Toss the zucchini with a little oil and place it in your steamer basket. Steam for 5 minutes until tender but not mushy.
- When you are ready to serve, spoon some zoodles onto a plate. Top the zoodles with your meatballs and drizzle some pesto all over the top. Top with additional pine nuts or basil is desired.
Conclusion
Committing to a healthy diet can be daunting. If you need to change up your lifestyle to favor your heart, these 3 dinner recipes for optimal heart health will get you started. Incorporating items like salmon, leafy greens, lean chicken, carrots, and squash will greatly improve your health and well-being. After all, a healthy stomach leads to a healthy body.
