As part of our commitment to help you improve your heart health, the American Heart Association has developed recommendations for how to enjoy a heart-healthy diet and lifestyle. The effects of small daily decisions add up over time, so it’s important to focus on the ways you can make better choices, more often.
No matter what your eating habits are, every day presents you with new opportunities to choose foods that will nourish your body and foster better health. To be sure you include enough nutrient-rich foods and limit foods that are low in health benefits, keep in mind the following guidelines and number of servings (based on a daily 2,000-calorie diet) as you plan your meals. And, to help you focus on healthy foods in your slow cooker, we’ve offered some solutions below.
Include a wide variety of VEGETABLES and FRUITS, especially those that are deeply colored—they have the highest concentrations of nutrients. Aim for 4 to 5 servings of vegetables and 4 to 5 servings of fruit per day.
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Slow cooking is a great way to enjoy root vegetables, such as beets, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and turnips. To get started, try Balsamic-Glazed Beets with Toasted Walnuts and Crock-Roasted Carrots and Parsnips with Cumin-Yogurt Sauce. The slow cooker is a perfect place to cook hearty fruits for nutritious and delicious side dishes such as Autumn Apple-Pear Sauce, breakfasts such as Apple-Maple Oatmeal, and desserts such as Sugar Plum Pears.
Eat high-fiber WHOLE GRAINS rather than refined grain products as often as possible. Serve whole-grain breads, pastas, cereals, and side dishes for the benefits of fiber and other important nutrients. Try to be sure at least half the grains you eat are whole grains (check that the labels on grain products list a whole grain as the first ingredient). Aim for 6 to 8 servings per day.
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Use your slow cooker to experiment with barley, farro, millet, quinoa, wild rice, and other less common varieties of whole grains. Try Double-Mushroom and Barley Soup, Cinnamon Quinoa with Peaches, and Wild Rice with Harvest Vegetables.
Include FAT-FREE, 1%, and LOW-FAT DAIRY products daily. Milk, cheeses, and yogurt are some examples. Limit whole-fat dairy products, such as whole milk and full-fat cheese, and compare labels for sodium levels. Aim for 2 to 3 servings per day.
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Even dairy products can be included in slow cooker meals. Recipes such as Rustic Two-Cheese Ratatouille, White and Greens Lasagna, and Tapioca Pudding with Blueberries are easy ways to incorporate low-fat dairy products into your diet.
Eat FISH, especially fish high in omega-3 fatty acids. Seafood is a good source of protein and is low in saturated fat. Try different types of seafood and preparation techniques for variety. (Children, pregnant women, and those concerned about mercury should avoid fish with the highest mercury contamination—for example, shark, swordfish, tilefish, or mackerel. Remember, however, that for most people, the benefits of eating fish outweigh the risk.) Aim for at least 2 servings each week.
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Since many varieties of fish are delicate, they don’t need much time in the slow cooker. In fact, often within as little as an hour or two a fish dish can be complete; it’s the perfect choice when your time is limited. Salmon fillets are high in omega-3s and make excellent choices for slow cooking, so consider trying Salmon with Cucumber-Dill Aïoli or Salmon Fillets with Pineapple-Melon Relish.
Choose LEAN POULTRY and MEAT. For poultry, choose white meat most often, discard all visible fat, and don’t eat the skin. Lean cuts of beef (sirloin, round steak, and extra-lean ground beef) and pork (tenderloin and loin chops) are also heart-healthy if you discard all visible fat before cooking them. Aim for no more than 2 servings per day.
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Browning poultry and meats before adding them to the slow cooker will deepen their color and enrich the finished dish by intensifying the flavor. Try this flavorful cooking technique with recipes such as Chicken and Bean Soup with Lemon and Basil and Brisket with Exotic-Mushroom and Onion Gravy.
Add LEGUMES, NUTS, and SEEDS to your diet. Legumes, such as dried beans and peas, lentils, and unsalted peanuts and low-sodium peanut butter, are a great source of fiber and meatless protein. Nuts and seeds are rich in monounsaturated fats, which may help keep blood cholesterol levels low when these fats are part of a diet that also is low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Aim for 4 to 5 servings each week.
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Nutritional powerhouses, legumes are a natural for the low, steady heat of slow cooking, which renders them tender but not mushy. Try Greek Lentils, Smoky Split Pea Soup, and Pistachio and Pumpkin Seed Snack Mix for just a few among many of the fiber-filled, delicious recipes offered.
Use liquid vegetable OILS and spray or light tub MARGARINES. Vegetable oils such as olive and canola provide heart-healthy unsaturated fats. When you can’t use an oil, use fat-free spray margarines or light tub spreads that are lowest in saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium. Avoid butter and stick margarines, and limit cakes, cookies, crackers, and other commercial products made with partially hydrogenated trans fat or saturated fat. Aim for 2 to 3 servings per day.
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Slow cooking can intensify the flavor of fats, so use good-quality heart-healthy oils, such as canola or corn oil in Shrimp-and-Fish Bayou Gumbo or olive oil in Artichoke-Lemon Chicken, for prep steps such as browning foods before putting them in the cooker.
Cut back on SODIUM. Most of the sodium you eat comes from packaged and processed foods. Compare the food labels of similar products to find the ones with less sodium, choose low-sodium or no-salt-added products, and beware of high-sodium restaurant meals. Limit condiments that are high in sodium. When cooking, use little or no salt. Aim to eat no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Look for “hidden” sources of sodium in soups, beverages, sauces, breads, and other packaged foods and find lower sodium substitutes. Use your slow cooker to create healthier options such as Thai Coconut-Chicken Soup and Warm and Spicy Tomato Punch.
Limit ADDED SUGAR. Keep your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages to no more than 450 calories or 36 ounces per week. (If you need fewer than 2,000 calories per day, avoid these beverages altogether.) Also, avoid sugary foods that are low in nutrients but high in calories. Most women should aim to eat no more than 100 calories a day (about 6 teaspoons or 25 grams) from added sugars and most men, no more than 150 calories (about 9 teaspoons or 38 grams).
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Read ingredient lists and choose products that don’t list sugars in the first four ingredients. Common sugars include corn syrup, concentrated fruit juice, honey, sucrose, or fructose. Try Chai Tea and Decadent Chocolate Pudding Cake.
Cut back on SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, and dietary CHOLESTEROL. A diet high in these fats increases your risk of heart disease. Saturated fat is found primarily in foods from animals, such as meats, poultry, and whole-fat dairy products, or in tropical oils. Trans fat is present in manufactured foods that include partially hydrogenated oil. Cut back on trans fat by reading labels when choosing snacks, sweet treats, and fried foods. Common high-cholesterol foods include whole milk, full-fat cheese, egg yolks, and shellfish. Limit your intake of saturated and trans fats; aim for no more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol per day.
SLOW COOKER SOLUTION: Cut down on saturated fat and cholesterol by using more vegetables and healthy oils, using less poultry or meat, and choosing vegetarian entrées, such as Spicy Vegetable Curry, once or twice a week.