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Strong Hearts Love Longer

February is all about Hearts, Valentine’s Day, and the American Heart Health month. Show your valentine you really care about their heart with meals that make the heart stronger and healthier. All the better for love. It’s amazing what the right food can do for your heart, health, and Love.  

Start your Valentine celebration with an Italian tomato/ basil treat called Bruschetta and a glass of red wine (limit one glass). Red wine has compounds associated with reducing the risk of heart disease.  

Tomatoes and olive oil in Bruschetta give you lycopene, a natural antioxidant, and healthy fat that helps reduce cholesterol. Health is wonderful, but delicious and quick is even better.

Bruschetta: Ingredients:

  • 2 tomatoes. Roma is the best right now

  • ½ onion

  • 4 cloves of garlic

  • 1 bunch of fresh basil

  • 4 Tablespoons of olive oil

  • Loaf of Italian bread

To Make: Dice the tomato, onion, garlic, and basil.  Mix with olive oil.

Cut the bread into ¼ inch thick slices and toast. Heap as much of the tomato mixture as you want on each slice of toast. Serve and enjoy with your wine!

For the main course serve chicken or fish with heart healthy green vegetables like spinach or broccoli.  Skip the red meat. Broil, bake or steam chicken or fish. 

It’s Valentine’s Day. Chocolate is a must-have.

Impress your loved one with mouth watering combinations, so delicious it’s hard to believe they’re loaded with healthy antioxidants that help prevent damage to blood vessels. 

Happy Valentine’s Day from Harvest Home:

Wishing you love and hope you enjoy getting healthier hearts for longer loving.

Valentine Feast

Recipe: Zucchini Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate

  • ½ cup vegetable oil or olive oil

  • ½ cup butter (one stick)

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 3 eggs beaten

  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla

  • 2 cups flour

  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

  • 2 teaspoons baking soda

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/3 cup sour cream or buttermilk

  • 3 cups peeled, coarsely grated zucchini (about 3 zucchini)

  • ½ cup of chopped nuts (optional)

TO MAKE:

  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees

  • Melt chocolate and oil in a saucepan on low heat or in the microwave

  • Whip butter until light and fluffy

  • Add sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat well

  • Add melted chocolate and mix well

  • Sift together dry ingredients and stir in, alternating with sour cream

  • Add zucchini and nuts

  • Pour into two 9” cake pans or  a 13 X 9-inch rectangular pan, lightly greased and floured

  • Bake for 40 minutes.

Check at 35 minutes, best if a little sticky.

TIPS For A Valentine Feast

FOR CAKE:

Zucchini should be cut into fine pieces.  If you don’t have a grater, you can use a veggie peeler and then chop the slices into small pieces. The small pieces make the zucchini “disappear” into the cake.

CAKE TOPPING

  • Top with berries or fruit instead of frosting (Raspberries  are amazing with chocolate)

  • Lightly sprinkle with powder sugar

  • Serve with low-fat ice cream. Vanilla ice cream works well

FOOD TIPS FOR HEALTHY HEARTS

  • Use olive oil instead of butter. The fat in olive oil is good for you.

  • Cut visible fat off meat and chicken. An easy way to cut down on unnecessary fat.

  • Avoid frying when possible. Broil, steam or bake meat and veggies.  Not just better for you, they will taste better.

  • Reduce the red meat you eat. Chicken and fish have less cholesterol and less saturated fat that is bad for your heart.

  • Increase your leafy greens like kale, spinach, broccoli. They are loaded with B vitamins that help maintain our cardiovascular system

  • Keep portions moderate. There’s nothing romantic about feeling overstuffed after a meal.

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Video of the week

Dark Chocolate: The Delicious Way to Improve Your Health