Diet is one of the most powerful tools you have to support heart health.
Eating the right foods can protect your heart while eating the wrong ones can increase your chance of developing high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and risk of cardiovascular disease. Whole grains is one category of foods to incorporate into your heart healthy diet.
If you don’t currently eat grains, start trying to incorporate at least 2- 3 servings of whole grains per day then work your way up to 4 servings a day. The fiber in whole grains is associated with heart healthy benefits like……..helps support a healthy weight, helps support a balanced gut, and helps reduce total LDL cholesterol, along with improving blood sugar control.
The best way to eat more grains is to replace refined grains in your diet with whole grain alternatives. Rolled oats and quinoa are great additions to your diet. Remember that grains that are 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain counts as whole grain. They are the grains that contain beneficial fiber, vitamins and minerals that can benefit your heart, blood sugar, digestion, and weight.
Have you tried Quinoa before? This week we would like to introduce you to a delicious and fresh Quinoa Salad, packed with energy boosting nutrition. This is a meal on its own. You can also accompany this salad with chicken if you choose.
Quinoa Kale Salad with Blueberries
Ingredients for Salad
½ Cup Quinoa
2 Cups Curley Kale – ribs removed
1 Cup Fresh Blueberries
1/3 Cup Red Onion
3 oz Feta Cheese crumbled
1/3 Cup Pistachios shelled
2 Tablespoons chopped Fresh basil
Ingredients for Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
3 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
2-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons finely diced Shallots
2 Teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1 Teaspoon Honey
Directions
Make the quinoa and set aside to cool.
Prepare the vinaigrette while the quinoa cools. In a small bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, shallots, Dijon & honey and whisk well.
When the vinaigrette is done, you can start mixing the salad.
Add the washed kale to a bowl and massage the kale for 1-2 minutes, then add the cooled quinoa, blueberries, red onion, feta, pistachios, and fresh basil. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad ingredients and toss to coat.
Enjoy!!
We hope you like this recipe; we sure do!!
Let us know if you try this recipe and LOVED it!