February is Heart Month and the American Heart Association wants you to practice heart health, that includes changing your lifestyle and diet so says celebrity chef and author Ingrid Hoffman.
"80% of heart disease and stroke is lifestyle related, how scary is that? But we've got the solutions! I try to tell people that eating healthy should never be boring," said Hoffman.
Ingrid prepared two delicious heart healthy meals from recipes she found at recipes.heart.org.
"We've got these delicious black bean tostadas with chicken, veggies and an avocado cream. It doesn't have sodium because when you have all the flavor from the herbs and veggies, you don't need to add salt. We have an amazing spinach dip with a tiny bit of feta, yogurt and sour cream. It doesn't have to boring for it to be clean and delicious, 80% of these deceases are preventible," said Hoffman.
Not only are these meals tasty to eat, they’re a breeze to make.
"This took 5 minutes to make, the only thing chopped is the tomato and onion, the rest I did in the processor. The avocado with a little bit of yogurt, sour cream and then beans I drained the liquid and added lemon and garlic in the blender. The tostadas are bought low carb, low sodium at the supermarket," said Hoffman.
And ladies, listen up. When it comes to heart health, it’s not just what you eat, it’s what you drink, specifically soda.
"Post-menopausal women are the most at risk of stroke due to soda consumption. Changing soda for fizzy water is a healthy alternative. I put 5 strawberries in the blender and a little bit of stevia, sometimes I add lemon or an orange slice and with that you immediately kill that yearning," said Hoffman.
For more heart healthy meals, go to recipes.heart.org. And to follow Ingrid, check her out on Instagram at ingridhoffmanofficial.