Are you concerned about your heart? Maybe you have a family history of heart disease, or perhaps you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol or high triglyceride levels. The foods you choose to eat on a regular basis strongly influence the health of your heart and blood vessels. The Get Heart Healthy Diet will help you use healthy menu ideas to transform your current way of eating into a plan that your heart will love.

• Your fat intake should be no more than 25 to 35 percent of your total calories. Fat is high in calories, which can contribute to excess body weight -- the more body fat you have, the harder your heart has to work. This diet includes a balanced amount of fat to keep your heart healthy. (If you have or are at risk for heart disease, you may need to cut your fat intake to 20 percent. Consult your physician for guidance.)

• Your saturated fat intake should be no more than seven percent of total calories. Saturated fat is found primarily in animal fats (the skin on poultry, the fat on red meat and foods high in fat, like lunch meats and sausage), dairy products with fat (cheese and milk) and fats that are solid at room temperature such as butter, solid shortening and lard. Saturated fat intake is the greatest contributor to body levels of cholesterol -- the more saturated fat we eat, the higher our cholesterol levels. This meal plan will help you keep saturated fat to a minimum in your diet.

• Soy foods contain beneficial protein -- 25 grams of soy protein per day may help reduce risk of heart disease. Substitute soy milk for skim milk, choose tofu or tempeh daily, snack on soy nuts or enjoy a smoothie made with soy milk and fruit. This diet includes options to help you incorporate soy into your current diet.

• Trans fatty acids are formed when foods are fried (think of french fries and chicken nuggets) or when liquid fats are made into solid fats (like corn oil made into margarine). Snack crackers, cookies and pastries may also contain trans fatty acids. This food plan helps you avoid trans fatty acids by offering meal choices so tasty that you won't miss the extra fat.

• You should eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Don't let that number frighten you; it's as simple as fruit with every meal, two vegetable servings with lunch and dinner, and two glasses of fruit or vegetable juice. This diet makes it easy to eat enough fruits and veggies without thinking twice.

Start eating the breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks that will help strengthen and protect your heart!



BREAKFAST
Option one
1 cup oatmeal (made with skim milk) topped with 1/2 cup blueberries

Option two
Flaxseed Muffins
1 cup mixed fruit salad
1 cup skim milk

Option three
1 cup Cheerios
Skim milk
1 banana

LUNCH
Option one
1 cup water-packed tuna mixed with 1/2 cup chopped vegetables (try celery, jicama, green and red pepper, radishes, carrots) and 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise on a bed of dark green lettuce
1 cup grapes

Option two
Soy Tomato Soup
1 cup carrot, green pepper and celery sticks
1/2 grapefruit

Option three
2 cups black bean soup
Jicama Mango Coleslaw
1 peach

DINNER
Option one
Grilled Salmon with Fruit Salsa
1/2 cup acorn squash (top with a dash of cinnamon and brown sugar)
1 cup steamed asparagus topped with minced garlic sauteed in olive oil
1/2 cup fresh fruit salad

Option two
Spaghetti and meatballs (substitute textured vegetable protein for half of the ground beef to add soy protein to this meal)
2 cups tossed salad with a vinaigrette dressing made from olive oil
1/2 cup pineapple

Option three
Bean tortilla (use a whole wheat soft tortilla instead of a crisp shell to cut down on fat and spread with vegetarian refried beans to reduce saturated fat) topped with low-fat sour cream, part-skim mozzarella and salsa
1/2 cup raw broccoli with a low-fat salad dressing for "dip"
1 pear

SNACKS
Bring your own snacks with you to avoid resorting to vending machines or convenience stores. Remember to choose vegetables and fruit for snacks to count your way to nine total servings per day!