Heart disease is no joke. Whether you’ve recently been diagnosed or simply want to make sure you’re doing all you can to prevent it, it is important to realize that half your battle is in the kitchen. Some of the food choices we make on a regular basis cause our bodies to react in strange ways – retaining salt and fluid, clogging our arteries, and so on. Here are some cooking tips to help you better safeguard the health of your heart.

Create a Weekly Meal Plan

One of the hardest parts of sticking to a healthy diet is planning what you’re going to eat from one meal to the next. While it’s always easy to run through a fast-food line, gorging on sodium-laden foods, it isn’t as easy to look in the fridge and decide what to make. Start each week by spending some time writing out a specific meal plan. What will you have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day? Make a trip to the grocery store and purchase the healthy ingredients you’ll need. The more you plan, the easier it will be to make healthier choices for your heart. [Read more…]