Recipes for High Blood Pressure:
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When it comes to finding recipes for high blood pressure, there are numerous options on the web. The American Heart Association and other nonprofit organizations provide excellent resources online that focus on recipes that are great for those who have high blood pressure. You can find these easily.
What if you want to change your recipes for foods that you like in order to make them better for blood pressure?
If you are not looking for a whole new high blood pressure diet, but you do want to make the foods that you are currently eating better for you, the good news is, you can do that.
One of the first places to start is with seasoning. For example, sodium is very bad for those who have high blood pressure. Reduce the amount you eat to no more than 1500 mg per day (you do need some in your diet). Instead of flavoring food with sodium, try seasoning products that are made without any salt at all. Use herbs and spices to add flavor without salt.
On the other hand, there are plenty of things you should introduce into your diet that will help you improve your health:
- Instead of using a lot of butter or vegetable oil in a pan to fry something, use extra virgin olive oil or non fat sprays, and decrease the amount you use.
- Add more garlic to your dishes. A clove a day will help to reduce your blood pressure naturally.
- Eat more fish. Fish that is high in DHA is important for maintaining a healthy heart and can help to reduce your blood pressure.
- Eat more vegetables. If you do not like them, cut them up very small and add them to soups and stews. You still get the nutrition from them but you do not see or taste them.
- Switch to whole grains instead of eating foods that are high in white carbs. Whole grain breads, pasta, rice and others are critical to heart health. You are not likely to notice a taste difference here at all.
Focus on Foods You Like
If you do not like one food, try something new. Best of all, try to add new foods to your diet, too. Do not think of what you lost but what you are gaining by trying new things.
Take the time to adjust recipes for high blood pressure instead of giving up foods that you like. In most cases, you can find alternative solutions.
RECIPES-FOR-HIGH-BLOOD-PRESSURE
Grapefruit, Avocado and Watercress Salad
Seafood Salad
Slow-Roasted Beets and Arugula Salad
Grapefruit, Avocado and Watercress Salad
This fat burner fruit is a great addition to any recipes for high blood pressure.
As an added bonus the avocado beefs up the greens and makes you feel satisfied and fits into any diet that is part of recipes for high blood pressure that is very low in salt.
Grapefruit has a compound that helps to regulate insulin, a fat-storage hormone. This dessert was served at a party I attend and I asked for the recipe knowing that it would fit into any diet or treatment of high blood pressure.
I tried it at home and found it to be very satisfying.
Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
| 4 large grapefruits | 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil |
| 1/2 cup organic raw cane sugar | Freshly ground white pepper |
| 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar | 2 bunches watercress, tough stems trimmed |
| 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard | 2 large ripe but firm Hass avocados, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes |
| 1 small clove garlic, minced | 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint |
| Dash coarse sea salt |
Using a serrated knife, cut a disc off the top and bottom of two grapefruits, exposing flesh.
Set each on end and cut downward, following contours of the fruit to remove all skin and pith. Then cut each into four even rings and place on a parchment-lined platter.
Warm a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add sugar to a bowl, dredge the grapefruit slices in sugar, and move them back to platter.
When skillet is pipping hot, pan fry slices for 2 minutes on each side, until they are golden and caramelized. With a spatula, transfer slices back to the platter and refrigerate until cold.
Juice the remaining grapefruits and pour that juice into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer reducing juice to 3 tablespoons in 8 to 10 minutes.
Immediately transfer the juice to an upright blender and set aside to cool.
Make the vinaigrette by adding vinegar, mustard, garlic, mint and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to blender. Slowly add olive oil while blender is on.
Optional: Add salt and pepper to taste.
Combine watercress, avocado and enough vinaigrette to lightly coat salad in a large bowl. Gently toss and serve with two grapefruit slices one each plate.
Per serving: 389 calories, 48 grams carbohydrate, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 23 grams fat, 4 grams protein, 256 milligrams sodium.
Note: Only 3 grams of the total fat in this dish are the bad saturated fat.
Additional grapefruit recipes for high blood pressure:Why you need grapefruit: Eating half a grapefruit before each meal may help you lose weight. You can also peel and segment, cut into chunks and add to spinach salad. It is also great with shrimp.
Seafood Salad
This lip smacking salad can be part of your diet for high blood pressure.
Bye-bye bowls of boring salad. Most people resign themselves to eating iceberg lettuce and also knowing that after eating the last tomato they will still be hungry.
You will be satisfied with these recipes for high blood pressure.
Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
| 1 lb lump crabmeat, picked clean of shell and cartilage | 1 tablespoon Hot Sauce |
| 1/2 lb cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped | 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder |
| 2 tablespoons minced onion | Juice of 1/2 lemon |
| 2 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper | dash of salt |
| 1/2 cup light mayonnaise | 6 large cooked tails-on-shrimp peeled and devined |
| 2 tablepoons sweet hot jalapeno relish | 6 parsley sprigs |
Mix crabmeat, shrimp, onion and bell pepper in a bowl and set aside.
Combine the mayonnaise with the relish, mustard power and hot sauce in a small bowl, blend and then add lemon juice and salt to taste.
Pour the mayonnaise mixture over the crabmeat mixture, gently stirring to combine.
Then put an equal portion of salad in each of 6 martini glasses and place a whole shrimp and a sprig of parsley on top of each one and service.
Per serving: 196 calories, 4 gram carbohydrate, 167 milligrams cholesterol, 9 grams fat, 25 grams protein, 546 milligrams sodium.
Including this in your recipes for high blood pressure is a must.
Slow-Roasted Beets and Arugula Salad
Roasted vegetables is a great addition to recipes for high blood pressure.
Including salads as part of your daily food plan, can help in the treatment of overcoming high blood pressure.
Dark, leafy greens like arugula are a great place to get iron and potassium, and of course beets are high in folic acid and fiber.
Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
| 4 medium-size beets, stems trimmed to 1 inch |
| 4 cups arugula, stems removed, rinsed and patted dry |
| 1/2 bottle red-wine vinaigrette |
| 1/8 cup crumbled goat cheese |
| 1/8 cup walnut halves |
| Salt and black pepper |
Preheat your oven to 350F.
Wash the beets well for this recipes for high blood pressure. Use beets of similar sizes because different size beets will cook at different rates. Trim the roots and stems without piercing the skin - tears allow color and nutrients to escape.
Place the beets on a sheet of aluminum foil, fold into an airtight packet, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake until tender, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Cool, remove skin, and cut into cubes.
Cover and chill until ready to prepare salad.
Toss arugula with the vinaigrette and divide between four salad plates.
Crumble the goat cheese evenly over the top of each salad.
Sprinkle beets and walnuts over the four salad plates, add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately. Delicious.
Per serving: 126 calories, 12 gram carbohydrate, 3 milligrams cholesterol, 9 grams fat, 3 grams protein, 280 milligrams sodium.
Ways to Spice Up Any Salad
Opt For Unusual Greens
Experiment with arugula (which has a peppery taste), endive (which can taste bitter) or spinach. You can combine different types of greens in your salad, choose whatever you like and mix with any food you are eating for recipes for high blood pressure.
Toss In A Special Ingredient
Add as much color as possible but do not forget about flavor. For adding great flavors think of dried cranberries, jerk chicken, curried shrimp, grilled or roasted vegetables, mango or papaya.
Make Your Own Dressing
You can whip together your own delicious topping.
Mix three parts oil, (consider olive, walnut or flaxseed) with one part vinegar, (red wine, apple, raspberry or tomato) or citrus juice (try mandarin orange, lemon, lime). Then add a little brown sugar, and herbs like cilantro, oregano or sea salt to taste.
Make It The Main Course
Instead of relegating salad to a side dish, make it the main dish and include a lean meat or tofu. No one needs to be hungry while on a diet and food can be flavorful at the same time.
If you are having a small dinner party you can offer your guests an array of salads to pick from over the course of dinner, and ending with a fruit salad for dessert.
All these salads can be included in any diet, help in the treatment of overcoming high blood pressure and is part of my recipes for high blood pressure.
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