Five tips for Heart Healthy Cooking

HEART HEALTHY COOKING:

Make your favorite recipes heart healthy by following these simple steps

•  Substitute a lower fat ingredient for a higher fat one . (Try skim milk instead of full cream milk)
• Choose Unsaturated fats. Use oil instead of butter, shortening (Shortening is any fat that is solid at room temperature) or ghee
• Use less of the high fat ingredients. Use less meat, eggs or cheese than what the recipe states. Use only part of the fat or oil called for
• Remove the fat. Trim visible fat and skin. Refrigerate curries, gravy, soup or stew until the fat rises to the top of the bowl and skim it off
• Change the cooking method. Steam boil, roast or microwave without adding fat. Saute with water, juice or broth instead of oil

A Guide to Healthy Food Choices

Guide to food choices

Cultivate the habit of reading the food label on commercial food packages, to get information on the amount and type of fat and sodium in contents

Food group	Food allowed	Food to avoid /limit
Milk & Milk products	As desired – skim milk and productsLimit – Low fat milk & products Cheeses with < 10% fat, Ex Cottage cheese, paneer	Whole milk and milk productsAll other cheese & cheese spreads Cream
Meat, Fish, poultry and alternativesMax 120g/day	Fresh or frozen fish, shell fish, poultry, lean meats. Egg whites. Whole egg or yolk – 2/week. Organ meat – 90g in place of one yolkDry peas, beans, lentils, dhal, grams, tofu, Limit – Unsalted nuts and canned fish in water	All cured and pickled meats and fishProcessed meats such as sausages, luncheon meat, corned beef, canned fish in oil, salt fish
Fruits and vegetables	Fresh and canned fruit, vegetables and juices	Vegetables and fruit fried or in butter sauces or in mayonnaise / oil type dressing, pickles, coconut
Breads and Cereals	Indian breads made without ghee & oil, pasta.Bread Breakfast cereals Unsalted crackers Whole grain products, plain rice	Butter nans, parathas, pooris, baturas, crisp dosas.Cereals with coconut, salted biscuits, crackers and snacks. Biriyani and fried rice
Soup	Homemade, fat free	Commercial soups, bouillion (soup) cubes
Fats & oils(Max 1-2tbsp/day)	Peanut butter, soft margarineCanola, peanut or gingely oil	Butter, ghee, hard margarines, lard, shortening, regular commercial salad dressingsBlended vegetable oil, coconut oil, palm oil
Sweet	Jelly, popsicles, pudding made with skim or low fat milk, jam, honey, sugar syrup, boiled sweets	Ice cream, chocolate, doughnuts, high fat cakes, pastry.Indian sweets made with ghee or dalda Sweets made with coconut or butter
Miscellaneous	All spices and herbsMineral and soda water Coffee, tea, cooca, limited – ketchup 1 tbsp/day	Ready-made sauces – soy, chili, oyster, meat tenderizer, ajinomotoReady mixes

A Testimonial from a Fan

Dear Sir,

It is with great humility that i type this message to you. You may not know me…for it was in my 11 th standard that i first met you when you had operated on my dad… CABG for Mr.Srimurugan at MMM… Just one look at you that day was all it took for me to decide that I want to become a cardiac surgeon and help people like my dad who were suffering from heart ailments.

Your philosophy of ever reaching out to the needy as a service to God reached me really deep sir, right then. And after 11 years, here i am sir…Doing my MCh Cardiothoracic Surgery at Sri Jayadeva govt. institute of Cardiology at Bangalore.

I was doing my MS at Chengalpat Medical College, when you had given that wonderful interview for our college magazine. I always keep telling everyone around me that you are my role model sir..because you always are and will be. I always keep those words of mother Theresa which you have framed in the hospital very close to my heart.

Thank You for everything sir.

You really are a mountain of inspiration.

Yours sincerely
Balaji