Moving Closer to Heart Smart

Rob began cardiac rehab this week and had his first nutrition class.  He learned that trans fat and saturated fat are to be avoided.  Sugar matters less than calories. Keeping an eye on sodium is important.  Toward our quest to being heart smart, we've added a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. We have a lot of farmers in our area so local, fresh produce is fairly easy to get and reasonably priced. 

There were lots of things that we did before we discovered Rob's heart issues.  We always eat whole wheat bread and skim milk.  I make lots of things from scratch and try to avoid processed foods.  We grow our own meat, beef and chicken, and eggs. 

The main things we are doing differently are increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables, reducing the amount of meat, and exchanging oil for our beloved butter whenever possible.  Rob has traded carbonated beverages for Crystal Light and green tea.  He's also dropped processed meat.  Seeing him eat veggies sandwiches is something surprising and new.  He even enjoys them. 

In addition to increasing our fruit/veggie intake, we are adding more fish to our diet.  The recommendation is to have fatty fish at least once a week.  We had sushi for lunch this week and stocked up on salmon at the grocery store.  We all love fish so this is one diet recommendation that will be a pleasure to follow.

Good for the Heart

Rob's appointment with his cardiac surgeon was last week.  He is doing great and ready to move onto the next step of healing; cardiac rehab and lifestyle change.  While the past month created lifestyle change by necessity from here on the changes be made or maintained by choice.  While Rob's coronary artery disease won't be cured by making lifestyle changes, he does have the power to slow it down and keep himself healthier with his day to day choices. 

Becoming a non-smoker was an obvious change that needed to be made.  The time Rob spent in the hospital and physically recovering enabled him to move through the physical addiction of smoking fairly easily.  The change in his normal routine enabled him to continue his non-smoking habit even after he began to feel better.  Our prayer is that over the next few months, years, decades, smoking will continue to be abhorrent and not even offer temptation.

Adding routine exercise to life was a gradual thing.  As part of his after surgery routine, he was expected to walk a little each day.  He began walking indoors, then in our driveway, and finally down our road.  His walking time increased from three minutes to thirty minutes.  While the walking was good it didn't really meet his desire for building strength.  His arms and chest are feeling flimsy by his standards.  He's hoping that the rehab program will address those issues and he'll start feeling like himself again.  I enjoy the walks because it makes me exercise and it gives us time together to talk. 

Diet changes are something we weren't concerned with during the first part of  Rob's recovery.  When we left the hospital we were told that Rob could eat whatever he liked.  The tricky part of that direction is that for the first two weeks he didn't really feel like eating anything.  He lost about twelve pounds.  Now that his appetite is back he is to start a diet that is low in cholesterol, fat and salt.  While I don't fry food very often (practically never), I do tend to make things that aren't totally healthy, especially for breakfast.  Plus there's the fact that we love dessert.  So, my biggest challenge right now is to figure out what a heart healthy diet looks like for my family.

We made a good start yesterday.  I didn't buy any coke at the store.  I did stock up on fruit.  Our fridge is full of vegetables already.  And, for dinner, I made pizza dough with whole wheat flour.  Everyone noticed the difference but said that the change in the pizza dough was worth the added health benefits.  Rob even opted to leave pepperoni totally off of his pizza and didn't seem to mind.

My prayer is that we'll be able to find new ways of eating that will be as satisfying and so much healthier than the old ways.  And since CAD is genetic, I'll be helping my husband stay healthy now and giving my children a leg up on their adult health.  That's good for all our hearts.

Monday Munchies: Pizza Dough

There is something about writing a recipe for something I make regularly that is a challenge.  What comes naturally in the kitchen requires thought on paper.  This is the recipe for pizza dough that I make every Saturday evening.  This dough can also be left to rise and used for bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc.  I've done all those things with it and more but most often it's used for pizza.  For me, making it is much easier than writing it down.

3/4 c dry milk
approx 2 c warm water
1 T yeast
2 1/2 T sugar
2 T oil
6 c flour

Put 3/4 c dry milk into a large measuring cup.  Add warm water until level is 2 cups.  I use warm tap water the key is to get the water warm enough to grow the yeast but not so warm as to kill the yeast.  For me, my tap water left to run awhile is perfect temperature.  If the water is warm to the touch but not hot enough to burn it should be about right.  Add 1 T yeast and 2 1/2 T sugar to milk and stir. 

I use yeast in a jar, hence the measurement.  If you are using packages of yeast, just one package will do.  If you are going to use your dough for something besides pizza dough, i.e. if you intend to let your dough rise, this is where you let the yeast mixture rest.  Within 5 minutes or so the yeast mixture should start to increase or bubble a bit.  This is called proofing your yeast.  For pizza that step doesn't matter so much but for rolls or other baked items it matters a great deal.

Measure four cups of flour into a large bowl.  I received a Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas.  My large bowl is now the mixer bowl.  Before it was just a big metal bowl and I did all my mixing by hand.  Either method makes great dough. 

Add 2 T oil to the yeast mixture.  Stir.  Any kind of lightly flavored oil works fine.  I most often use olive oil but have used vegetable and canola oil. 

Pour yeast mixture into large bowl of flour.  Mix well until soft dough forms.  Add flour to dough mixture until dough is no longer sticky.  This will equal about 6 cups of flour.  The texture of this dough seems to vary with the weather.  Sometimes it's still, sometimes very pliable.  Either way it makes delicious pizza.

I use the Pampered Chef large round stones to bake my pizza.  This recipe makes 3 large pizzas if I make thin crust.  Two large pizzas and a 9" round personal pizza if I make thicker crusts.  Top with your favorite toppings and bake in a preheated oven.  I bake it at 350 in my convection oven.  If you have a regular oven boost the temperature to 375.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is the desired doneness.

Monday Munchies: Chocolate Chip Cookies

My family is full of chocolate chip cookie snobs. Truthfully, my mother does make the world's best chocolate chip cookies. She swears she follows the Tollhouse recipe but we all know that she has a secret ingredient because our cookies using that recipe never quite taste like mom's.


This week I made chocolate chip cookies using a knock off brand of chips that had a recipe on the package. Being too lazy to look for another recipe, I used a bit of the recipe on the package and winged the rest. Those cookies were the best I have ever made. I'm not sure they were as good as mom's but they were really, really close.

Almost Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c shortening
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix butter, shortening and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, mix well. Combine flour and baking soda. Gradually add flour/baking soda mixture to sugar mixture. Continue mixing until flour mixture is well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Scoop onto cookie sheet and bake in 375 oven for 12-14 minutes or until light brown. Allow to cool slightly on the pan then transfer to rack to finish cooling.

What's for Dinner?

There has been discussion several places I've been recently, both in real life and on the web, about fixing dinner for the family.  Since I've got a plan for this I thought I'd share it with anyone that's interested.  Sometimes I even stick to it myself.

The thing I like about this plan is that it's easy to take out the meals I make and substitute your own or to rearrange the days.  Years ago, I wrote down all the meals I could think of easily that my family likes.  That was my first meal plan.  I think there were 25-30 meals on the list and I just rotated through them, adding in a new meal whenever I had time or energy.  That worked fine too.  This day of the week rotation just gives me a little more structure and makes it easier for me to focus.

I try to buy fruit in season so that would change according to what is fresh and local.  The same is true of the vegetables.  Right now we are eating lots of chicken because we just filled our freezer with our own chickens.  In a few months we'll probably be eating a lot more beef.   As far as ease of preparation, sometimes I make everything from scratch other times I buy what is convenient.  It depends on the pace of life at a given time.

Menu Plan


Monday - sandwich/casserole
Tuesday - soup/crockpot
Wednesday - ethnic food
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - seafood/steak
Saturday - pizza
Sunday - dinner/out

Sunday
pork roast, rolls, roasted potatoes, salad
ham, sweet potatoes, salad, rolls
baked chicken, stuffing, green beans, rolls
lasagna, salad, bread
stuffed shells, salad, bread
beef butt chicken, broccoli, rolls

Monday
pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, baked beans, chips
sloppy joes, buns, pasta salad, veggies & dip
hamburgers, buns, fries, veggies and dip
hot dogs/brats, buns, broccoli salad
mac & cheese, smoked sauasage, steamed broccoli with cheese
chicken broccoli casserole, rice, salad
meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn
skillet chicken casserole, salad, bread
chicken pot pie, baked apples

Tuesday
taco soup, cheese, sour cream, chips & salsa
perfectly potatoes and ham, green beans, rolls
pasta fagioli, salad, bread
white chicken chili, salad, cornbread
Merlot beef stew, salad, rolls
slow cooked teriyaki chicken, green beans, rice
cheesy slow cooker chicken, rice, salad
vegetable soup, cheese, crackers

Wednesday
spaghetti & meatballs, salad, bread, applesauce
nachos, sliced apples/pears/oranges
beef & broccoli stir fry, rice, eggrolls, pineapple
chicken & broccoli alfredo, salad, bread, applesauce
chicken enchiladas, refried beans, chips, salsa, sliced apples
chicken and veggie stir fry, eggrolls, rice, pineapple
tacos, refried beans, chips, salsa, fruit

Thursday
Leftovers

Friday
steak, salad, potato, bread
shrimp & grits, green beans, salad, rolls
Asian shrimp & pasta, salad, bread
baked fish, veggies, rice
shrimp boil, salad, cornbread
shrimp scampi, salad, bread
salmon teriyaki, green beans, rice

Saturday
pizza, veggies & dip