Heart Healthy Spicy Chicken Soup in a Crockpot

Use this chicken broth to transform
just about any crock pot soup recipe
into "heart healthy"!

Easy to make, tasty to eat, good for your heart - a Crockpot Spicy Chicken Soup!

Ingredients (with potassium/sodium/fat counts):
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (520/280/0)
- 1.5 cups 505 Southwestern Green Chile Sauce (1520/1520/0)
- 3.5 cups [no sodium added] frozen corn (588/35/3.5)
- 1 4oz can hatch chiles (600/300/0)
- 3 garlic cloves (36/3/0)
- 1 (14-15oz) can [no sodium added] diced tomatoes (2200/40/0)
- 24 baby carrots (576/192/0.3)
- 6 scallion green onions (552/32/0.4)
- 1.5 cups water (0/0/0)
- 1 potato (515/5/0.1)
- 1 large chicken breast (440/120/5)
- 1 cup fresh cilantro (521/46/0)



Preparation:

1. Cook the chicken breast (i.e., toss it on your Foreman Grill and it will be done by the time you process the rest of the ingredients).
2. Toss the water, salsa (green chile sauce), broth, diced tomatoes, hatch chiles and frozen corn into your crock pot.
3. Dice the garlic, carrots, green onions, cilantro and potato in a food processor and add to the crock pot.
4. Shred the (cooked) chicken breast in a food processor and add to the crock pot.
5. Cook on Low for 4.5 hours and tada: Heart Healthy Spicy Chicken Soup!

Analysis - the above recipe makes 8 servings:

• Potassium: 8068mg or 1008.5mg per serving.
• Sodium: 2573mg or 321.7mg per serving.
• Fat: 9.3g or 1.2g per serving
• Total (per serving): 1008.5mg Potassium, 321.7mg Sodium, 1.2g Fat [a 3:1 health ratio]

You will find this soup to really hit a homerun with your taste buds - it is delicious! You can experiment with different salsas to alter the flavor; but I have found the 505 Southwestern Green Chile to be an excellent choice.

Brown Rice & Broccoli - A Heart Healthy Side Dish

An easy & tasty side dish to have with any meal: Brown Rice & Broccoli delivering a 7:1 to 3:1 health ratio!

The Ingredients:

1. 1 cup (after cooked) Brown Rice - try any of the "10 minute boil in a bag" varieties for easy prep.
• 115mg potassium, 0mg sodium, 1g fat.
2. 1 cup steamed Broccoli.
• 261mg potassium, 20mg sodium, 0.2g fat.
3. [optional] 1 tbsp Heart Healthy Salsa.
• 40mg potassium, 40mg sodium, 0g fat.
4. [optional] 1/8 cup Low Fat (2%) Mozzarella.
• 20mg potassium, 90mg sodium, 2.5g fat.

The Results:

• Brown Rice & Broccoli: 376mg potassium, 20mg sodium, 1.2g fat
  19:1 health rating!
• Brown Rice, Broccoli & Salsa: 416mg potassium, 60mg sodium, 1.2g fat
  7:1 health rating!
• Brown Rice, Broccoli & Mozzarella: 396mg potassium, 110mg sodium, 3.7g fat
  4:1 health rating!
• Brown Rice, Broccoli, Salsa & Mozzarella: 436mg potassium, 150mg sodium, 3.7g fat
  3:1 health rating!

I like adding either mozzarella or salsa (or both) to the brown rice and broccoli mixture. While the straight rice & broccoli is a 19:1 health gem, I find I need the salsa and/or mozzarella flavoring to make this taste great.
Easy to make, tastes great and a potassium:sodium health rating worth adding to any meal. This 7:1 to 3:1 side can join with any healthy main dish to deliver a meal your heart will love!

Healthy (Tilapia) Fish Tacos

When you see fish tacos at a restaurant, you probably think: not heart healthy. Here's a way to make great tasting fish tacos with a 3:1 heart healthy potassium:sodium ratio.

Fish Preparation:

• Spray both sides of a (4 oz) filet of frozen tilapia with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (or similar spray) and sprinkle a teaspoon of garlic powder on the top of the filet.
• Cook the filet for 6-8 minutes in your George Foremann Grill (or similar grill).

Tacos (2 total):

• Start with 2 soft corn tortillas (slightly warmed in a toaster oven or microwave, if desired).
• 1 teaspoon of heart healthy salsa on each tortilla [2 tsp total].
• Split 1/8 a cup of low fat (2%) mozzarella across both tortillas.
• Split the (just cooked) tilapia across both tortillas [just cooked means the fish is warm and heats the salsa and mozzarella].

That's it, you have 2 great tasting tilapia fish tacos! The nutrition profile:

• Potassium (mg): 40(tortillas) + 26(salsa) + 20(mozzarella) + 424(tilapia) + 33(garlic) = 543mg.
• Sodium (mg): 10(tortilla) + 26(salsa) + 90(mozzarella) + 64(tilapia) + 2(garlic) = 192mg.
• Fat (g): 1(tortilla) + 0(salsa) + 2.5(mozzarella) + 2.8(tilapia) + 0(garlic) = 6.3g.
• Total: 543mg potassium, 192mg sodium, 6.3g fat - a 3:1 potassium:sodium ratio.

Note that the potassium:sodium ratio is technically 2.83:1 - I'll round that to 3:1 given how good these tacos taste ;-)   Seriously, though, what I do is add a serving of my Vegetable Medley to the 2 tacos to make a complete meal. The nutrition profile of the meal (2 tacos + salad) is as follows:

2 tacos + vegetable medley (w/out mozzarella) meal:

• Potassium (mg): 543(tacos) + 888(salad) = 1431mg.
• Sodium (mg): 192(tacos) + 55(salad) = 247mg.
• Fat (g): 6.3(tacos) + 1.2(salad) = 7.5g.
• Total: 1431mg potassium, 247mg sodium, 7.5g fat - a 6:1 healthy meal!

2 tacos + vegetable medley (w/ mozzarella) meal:

• Potassium (mg): 543(tacos) + 908(salad) = 1451mg.
• Sodium (mg): 192(tacos) + 145(salad) = 337mg.
• Fat (g): 6.3(tacos) + 3.7(salad) = 10g.
• Total: 1451mg potassium, 337mg sodium, 10g fat - a 4:1 healthy meal!

Good tacos, good salad ... Happy & healthy heart! Enjoy...

The Perfect (Heart Healthy) Baked Potato

Looking for a great recipe for your heart healthy diet? Bring baked potatoes into your menu.

The USDA nutrition facts on a (raw) baked potato: 610mg potassium, 8mg sodium, 0.16g fat - that's a whopping 76:1 potassium to sodium ratio with almost zero fat! Incredible!

Ok, I know, eating a raw baked potato is not that exciting. So, let's dress up a baked potato into a heart healthy (high potassium, low sodium, low fat) treat with some of the following additional ingredients:

• Add an 1/8 to 1/4 a cup of low fat (2%) mozzarella cheese.
• Add a tablespoon or so of a low sodium salsa of your choosing.
• Add a 1/2 to 1 cup of steamed broccoli.
• Add a 1/2 to 1 cup of potassium rich vegetable medley.

Note: DO NOT add butter to your baked potato - you may as well kiss your heart goodbye by destroying the potato in this way. Add the low fat mozzarella cheese directly to the potato (before the other ingredients) and it will serve the same purpose as butter (but taste better and feel better).

Topping your baked potato with a selection of these ingredients gives you a ton of flavor with a wonderful potassium:sodium gift to your heart:

Ingredients	P(otassium)/S(odium)/F(at) Counts
Baked Potato	610mg P, 8mg S, 0.16g F	610mg P, 8mg S, 0.16g F	610mg P, 8mg S, 0.16g F	610mg P, 8mg S, 0.16g F
1/4 cup Low Fat Mozzarella	40mg P, 180mg S, 5g F	40mg P, 180mg S, 5g F	40mg P, 180mg S, 5g F	40mg P, 180mg S, 5g F
1 TBSP Low Sodium Salsa	40mg P, 43mg S, 0g F	40mg P, 43mg S, 0g F	40mg P, 43mg S, 0g F	40mg P, 43mg S, 0g F
1/2 cup Steamed Broccoli	130mg P, 10mg S, 0.1g F
1 cup Steamed Broccoli		261mg P, 20mg S, 0.2g F
1/2 cup Vegetable Medley			424mg P, 6mg S, 0.6g F
1 cup Vegetable Medley				848mg P, 12mg S, 1.2g F
Nutrition Facts	820mg P, 241mg S, 5.26g F	951mg P, 251mg S, 5.36g F	1114mg P, 237mg S, 5.76g F	1538mg P, 243mg S, 6.35g F
Potassium:Sodium Ratio	3.4:1	3.8:1	4.7:1	6.3:1

Summary: dress up a baked potato with low fat mozzarella & salsa for flavor, veggies for flavor & potassium and wind up with a tasty 3:1 to 6:1 high potassium/low sodium/low fat treat for your heart healthy meal.

Consider this... If you use 1/8 a cup of mozzarella (instead of 1/4) and do not find this as a sacrifice to taste, then your baked potato treat is a whopping 5:1 to 10:1 treat!

Revised Nutrition with 1/8 cup of Mozzarella instead of 1/4
Nutrition Facts	800mg P, 151mg S, 2.75g F	931mg P, 161mg S, 2.86g F	1094mg P, 147mg S, 3.26g F	1518mg P, 153mg S, 3.85g F
Potassium:Sodium Ratio	5.3:1	5.8:1	7.4:1	9.9:1

A Potassium Rich Vegetable Medley

Taking my background research in beans, frozen veggies and salsas, I created the following recipe for a delicious and heart healthy vegetable medley.

Preparation:

1. A can of high potassium/low sodium black or kidney beans: 2400 mg potassium, 35 mg sodium, 3.5 g fat.
2. 2/3 cup of (steamed or boiled) high potassium/low sodium lima beans: 640 mg potassium, 3 mg sodium, 0.5 g fat.
3. 1 cup of (steamed or boiled) high potassium/low sodium peas: 350 mg potassium, 8 mg sodium, 0.6 mg fat.

Mix these 3 ingredients and place in a sealed tupperware container to refrigerate between servings. The mixture should remain fresh for at least 7-10 days and yield about 4-5 servings.

Serving:

1. Roughly 1 to 1-1/4 a cup of the bean/pea mixture (about 1/4 of the preparation): 848 mg potassium, 12 mg sodium, 1.2 g fat.
2. 1 tablespoon (or less, depending on preference) of a low sodium salsa of your choosing (I like a corn relish or mango/peach salsa, among others): 40 mg potassium, 43 mg sodium, 0 g fat.
3. 1/8 a cup of low fat (2%) mozzarella cheese: 20 mg potassium, 90 mg sodium, 2.5 g fat.

Mix the bean/pea selection, salsa & mozzarella and serve cold.

That's it - a small amount of preparation for 4-5 servings and then a quick "mix & serve". What do you get? A delicious potassium rich vegetable medley to add as a salad component to any meal. The final analysis of each serving: 908mg potassium, 145mg sodium, 3.7g of fat - a 6:1 potassium:sodium recipe that is low in fat and tasty to eat!

A variation I often do on this recipe: skip the mozzarella and mix just the beans, peas and salsa. The result: 888mg potassium, 55mg sodium, 1.2g fat - a 16:1 tasty potassium:sodium recipe!

Read the Labels: Salsa

If you are like me, spicy foods are a central part of your eating habits. I like to add salsa to just about everything I eat; from traditional tacos and quesadillas to the less traditional salads and grilled cheese sandwiches.

So, what happened when I embarked on my high potassium/low sodium focus? Would salsa survive? Fortunately, the answer is, "Yes, salsa can be a part of any high potassium/low sodium heart healthy diet AS LONG AS you read the labels."

This can best be demonstrated by example. Lets look at a selection of salsas and a 1 tablespoon serving of each:

• [good] Santa Barbara Salsa's Mango and Peach Salsa: 42.5 mg sodium, 0 g fat.
• [good] 505 Southwestern Green Chile Sauce: 47.5 mg sodium, 0 g fat.
• [good] Archer Farms Corn Relish (available at Target): 42.5 mg sodium, 0 g fat.
• [average] Kroger Tomatillo Salsa Verde (available at King Soopers): 90 mg sodium, 0 g fat.
• [bad] Pace Picante Sauce: 125 mg sodium, 0 g fat.
• [bad] Texas Pepper Works Barn Burner Salsa: 190 mg sodium, 0 g fat.

Note that these counts are for 1 tablespoon - I found this is what is a typical serving for me. Some people may go upwards of 2 tablespoons a serving, if so then double all the counts. In addition, the potassium count for salsa is generally 1/2 to 1 of the sodium count (i.e., typical store bought salsa has a 1:2 to 1:1 potassium to sodium ratio). Not surprisingly, the salsas with lower sodium tend towards the 1:1 ratio - meaning they are a "net neutral" addition to your diet.

So, what does all this mean?

1. [store bought] Salsa is not a vehicle for you to increase your potassium to sodium ratio.
2. Used in moderation, a low sodium salsa can contribute flavor to your diet with a pretty neutral impact.
3. Read the label: if you want to keep salsas, you must use the "good" or "average" sodium varieties.

Conclusion: Keep salsa as a component of your diet, for flavor, but only when you choose the brands low in sodium. That is, a small sodium contribution of the right salsas can be offset by other high potassium ingredients (black beans, corn tortillas, etc); thus allowing you to keep the flavor while staying healthy.