Tag Archives: fix it plan diet

Chicken … er, I mean CHICKPEA Salad!

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Heart healthy Chickpea Salad on Toast

This delicious plant-based salad is much like traditional chicken salad.   In fact, after I mashed the chickpeas I got this lovely aroma that was remarkably like chicken!  Bill didn’t believe me until I made him stick his nose in the bowl too and he was equally surprised and agreed.  Of course it doesn’t have the texture of chicken salad but it does have a similar flavor and a lovely texture with a lot of crunchy veggies.

It lends itself to all kinds of possible variations I think using different spices such as tarragon or curry, sweet pickle instead of dill (or even jalapeno!), grapes instead of red pepper, etc. Continue reading Chicken … er, I mean CHICKPEA Salad! →

Reversing Heart Disease and An Anniversary To Celebrate

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Well trumpets please, today is an important day!

It marks the 5-year anniversary of Bill’s “event.”  He prefers “event” to heart attack, and says it was the whack upside the head he needed to realize it was time to up his game.

reversing heart disease fixitplan

Five Years Ago Today …

Chugging along back then, Bill was overweight, struggling with uncontrolled blood pressure (though recently on BP medication),  his cholesterol was somewhat elevated along with his LDL and triglycerides.  Even though we thought we ate pretty good, and even though we exercised 2-3 times a week, his heart attack fired the warning shot.   We had work to do!

We are SO fortunate to have been in the ER checking out the chest pain we hoped was  heartburn because he had the heart attack right then and there!  Blessfully resulting in no permanent damage to his heart.  I’ve told this whole story here in:  “The Beginning.”

We desperately wanted to know “CAN THIS BE FIXED?  HOW?”

Continue reading Reversing Heart Disease and An Anniversary To Celebrate →

Chana Masala

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“Quick & Easy Chana Masala”
from Oh She Glows

heart healthy chana masala over rice

I just made Chana Masala for the first time, and I’m so happy to have discovered this recipe because it’s exceedingly heart healthy and delicious!   A dish popular in India and around the world, made with chickpeas, onions and spices, it’s flavorful and satisfying.  Chickpeas are loaded with protein and cholesterol-lowering fiber, and are a great source of folate, manganese, iron and magnesium.

“What you eat can fuel or cool inflammation.” 

~Harvard Health Publications

Plus this dish contains garlic, ginger and turmeric–some of the top anti-inflammatory foods and spices!  We know inflammation plays a role in heart disease, heart attack and Continue reading Chana Masala →

Potato-Leek & Broccoli Soup

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Creamy, Delicious Soup ~ Gluten-free and Dairy-free Too!

Have you figured out by now  I love soups and other one-pot meals?  Plus, these types of meals always mean leftovers… and yep, we love leftovers!

This was originally.. simply.. Potato-Leek Soup.  Bill is not super fond of pureed soups but being an agreeable sort he ate it and said he enjoyed it.   Later that same week on a cool, rainy night I was re-heating some for dinner and remembered I also had steamed broccoli leftover from the night before.  It just seemed brilliant to throw it in the soup, and voila! … Potato-Leek & Broccoli Soup was born.  I love this comforting soup and so does Bill.

Since his heart event I had put aside recipes that call for dairy milk or cream to avoid the saturated fat, preferring the fat in our diet come from healthier sources such as nuts, seeds and olive oil.   This is especially true since I’ve learned dairy fat is also inflammatory, which is known to cause plaque buildup in our arteries.   But recently I’ve discovered the magic of cashew cream!  Oh the possibilities!  Now those creamy, rich and delicious recipes we used to love are back on the table. Continue reading Potato-Leek & Broccoli Soup →

Curried Carrot Soup

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Curried Carrot Soup

Curry became one of my favorite spices this past winter, largely due to this recipe!  Such a simple soup, yet so warming and comforting.  My dear friend Dayna shared it with me one chilly night as she was savoring a big bowl.  She had asked her husband-to-be to pick up some carrots on the way home, and boy did he! Continue reading Curried Carrot Soup →