I have been wanting to use that post title for a long time! I love a good cheesy pun. After my heart attack we almost completely eliminated red meat from our family menu, and began substituting ground turkey for ground beef in favorites like spaghetti and meatballs or tacos  . . . you know, foods kids like. […]

In honor of Valentine’s Day, today’s post is all about chocolate. If you already ate all the chocolates in your Whitman’s Sampler, don’t worry: chocolate can be good for your heart. According to the Cleveland Clinic (the nations #1 heart hospital, so you can trust me here), the cocoa bean is rich in a kind […]

The year of my heart attack, my friend Heidi sent me a jar of this granola for Christmas. Her card said she thinks of me every time she makes it because its main ingredients — oats, flax, almonds, canola oil — are all heart-healthy all-stars. Scott and I stood in the kitchen that night eating […]

Yes, you’ll miss out on a few tasty things when you are eating heart healthy (like my former love, alfredo sauce), but when dark chocolate and red wine are not only not forbidden but actually encouraged for heart health, well, it’s hard to feel sorry for yourself. The Cleveland Clinic (ranked the nation’s top heart […]

Since my heart attack, I have occasionally eaten ice cream (I think about six times in a year-and-a-half), we have had beef about that many times too, and at Christmas I ate cookies made with butter, but there are some foods that just seem beyond the pale, just too far for this heart patient to […]

I bought a big, beautiful cauliflower at the farmer’s market on Saturday. I love roasted cauliflower so much that when I saw this recipe on Closet Cooking, I wanted to try making it heart healthy right away. I made this for lunch today – for just me. Easy and delicious! Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup […]

There is so much to say about living with heart disease. It’s medical. It’s emotional. Physical. Mental. It’s about food. Exercise. Nutrition. Awareness. Research, medication, procedures, surgery. It’s about life and loss and broken hearts. Hope and goals. Empowerment and letting go. The idea of writing about heart disease from A to Z occurred to […]

I have a new love of my life: these spicy and sweet curried nuts. I can’t get enough of them. I made them first for my heart party (um, I mean wine-tasting party) and I’ve made five batches since. I’ve finally given in and started doubling the batch. Although I can’t stop eating them, I […]

A modification of banana bread, using oil and Egg Beaters instead of butter and eggs. I made the batter ahead, scooped it into muffin papers, and froze it. Christmas morning all that’s needed is an extra 5 minutes in the oven and we have fresh, no-work muffins. These pass the heart-test, but that doesn’t mean […]

I’ve been making this recipe for years. It is creamy, yummy, and light, and a bit different from the usual ranch-based veggie dip. 1 garlic clove, minced 1/3 cup chopped cilantro 16 oz. can butter beans, rinsed and drained 3/4 tsp. cumin 1 tbsp + 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice 3-4 tbsp. olive oil salt […]