Eat Your Way to a Healthy Heart
Heart month is a reminder to keep your heart healthy by choosing a balanced diet. A heart-healthy diet can help you lose weight and lower your cholesterol, blood pressure or triglycerides.
Below, we are sharing a recipe for Warm Green Bean Salad with Toasted Walnuts. Taking just 30 minutes to prepare, this is an excellent meal to prepare for a weeknight dinner. Pack any leftovers for your lunch the next day! Give this recipe a try for the following health benefits:
Among their many health benefits, vegetables and fruits contain fiber, which may help improve blood cholesterol levels and lower risk of hart disease, stroke, obesity and type 2 diabetes. We should aim for at least 5 servings per day of fruits and vegetables. This can easily be achieved by reaching for cut veggies for a snack, and filling your plate with half vegetables at mealtimes.
Nuts contain unsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids and l-arginine, which can all contribute to heart health. Eating nuts has been linked to lower levels of inflammation linked to heart disease, and may help lower LDL cholesterol levels.
One of the best ways to help prevent heart disease is to eat a diet low in saturated fat, and to eat foods high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, including omega-3 fatty acids. Like nuts, fish also contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Pair this salad with a serving of fish such as salmon, tuna, anchovies or sardines.
Warm Green Bean Salad with Toasted Walnuts
INGREDIENTS
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp salt
- * Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp walnut oil
- 12 oz haricots verts, or green beans, stem ends trimmed
- 2 tbsp coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 6 cups mâche, or Boston lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
INSTRUCTIONS
- To prepare dressing: Whisk shallot, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil.
- Cook haricots verts (or green beans), uncovered, in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender; 3 to 4 minutes for haricots verts, 4 to 6 minutes for green beans. Drain, refresh under cold water and pat dry.
- Toast walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.
- To prepare salad: Combine the beans, tomatoes and parsley in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing. Divide mâche (or lettuce) among 6 salad plates. Spoon bean mixture onto the greens, sprinkle with the walnuts and serve.
As a Zest Wellness member, you have access to hundreds of healthy recipes via the Virgin Pulse Nutrition Guide. Browse categories including "Heart-Healthy Dishes"
