3 Heart-Healthy Dinner Menu Ideas

Special occasions like Valentine's Day, an anniversary, or a birthday call for a special meal. Don't think that you can't have a delicious meal just because you or a loved have dietary restrictions due to cardiac disease. Limit the sodium and fats, and follow this general rule of thumb: half your plate should be vegetables, a quarter lean meat, and a quarter starch or carbs.

Heart Healthy Dinner Menu Idea #1:
Grilled chicken, green salad, an herbed dinner roll, and chocolate-drizzled fruit.

Grill boneless, skinless chicken breast seasoned with your choice no-salt seasoning (like Mrs. Dash). Serve with a large salad of romaine lettuce, tomato wedges, cucumber slices, carrot rounds, green pepper, and sliced radishes. Top salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or choose a Heart Smart dressing. Buy (or make) rolls that are already seasoned with Herbes de Provence or Parmesan cheese and garlic. (You can skip the butter with seasoned rolls- they really do taste good without it!)

For dessert, choose your favorite fruit or a variety of fruits, and slice them into finger-food sized pieces. Melt a quarter cup of chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzle chocolate over fruit using a spoon. (Some fruits, like strawberries, can be made ahead. Others, like bananas, should be served immediately- sort of like a skinny version of chocolate fondue.)

Heart Healthy Dinner Menu Idea #2:
Steak, steamed mixed vegetable medley, broasted potatoes, and Knox Blox cut-outs.

Steak? On a cardiac diet? Yes! But before you get too excited, it's actually a small portion of lean steak. (And I do mean small- 3 ounces to be exact.) The leanest cuts of steak have the words round or sirloin in them. Because they're leaner than other steaks, they're a little tougher. Tenderize the steak by repeatedly poking a meat fork all the way through it (all over), then flip it over and do it again. Use a no-salt seasoning like Mrs. Dash or fresh ground pepper and finely chopped garlic.

Steam fresh broccoli, cauliflower and carrots for the vegetable medley. Serve al dente with a sprinkle of Molly McButter. For broasted potatoes, cut potatoes in small cubes and drizzle them with olive oil. Bake in a shallow pan at 350 for an hour (or until golden brown), turning once. The olive oil gives them a nice flavor so you won't need butter or sour cream.

For dessert make Knox Blox according to the directions on the back of the Knox gelatin box. When the gelatin has set, use a cookie cutter to make special shapes like hearts for an anniversary or numbers for a birthday.

Heart Healthy Dinner Menu Idea #3:
Pork loin, squash mosaic, baked sweet potato, and Pudding in a Cloud.

Roast lean pork tenderloin, sprinkled with garlic powder or your favorite no-salt seasoning, in a 325 degree oven until done. Bake the sweet potatoes at the same time, or use the microwave. Steam sliced zucchini, summer squash, and red and green pepper strips with garlic and rosemary until squash is tender. Serve a plate so that half is squash mosaic, a quarter is thinly sliced pork loin, and a quarter is baked sweet potato.

Pudding in a Cloud is classic dessert that can be made healthier by using sugar-free pudding made with skim milk and sugar -free, fat free Cool Whip. Make chocolate sugar-free pudding according to the directions on the package and let it set. When it's time for dessert, line dessert cups with sugar-free, fat-free Cool Whip (covering the bottom and the sides) then spoon pudding in the middle. Viola- Pudding in a Cloud!

Even with the dietary restrictions of cardiac disease, you can have a special meal on a special occasion!Remember, you can mix and match whatever sounds good to you and get more than three different heart healthy meal menus from these ideas!

Sources:
http://www.hearthealthyonline.com/healthy-recipes/dessert-recipes/index.html
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyDietGoals/Healthy-Diet-Goals_UCM_310436_SubHomePage.jsp
http://www.thedietchannel.com/heart-healthy-meats-beyond-chicken
personal experience