Give Your Heart A Treat

This is the day when hearts abound. They're everywhere , from cards to the shape of  our chocolate packed candy boxes. Yet what about the real deal? What should we give our own hearts? Healthy and tasty foods, from meals to treats.

Since I've been on the cirrhosis diet (by the way, it turns out I have gallstones - which hopefully will break up naturally) I've discovered that healthy foods can be delicious. They're also easy to transform into all sorts of variations. Take plain Greek yogurt. Add maple syrup and put into a Slushie cup and becomes a yummy ice cream. For a savory spin stir in some cumin and onion powder for a really flavorsome dip for raw veggies. It also makes a great party dip for baked potato chips and pretzels.Veggies are other transformable ingredients. Of course the healthiest option is a salad, chock full of all sorts of goodness but veggies are also great cooked. A light but filling winter dish is ratatouille. This classic Provencale favorite is just a mix of eggplant, onions and tomatoes. They're sauteed in olive oil and flavored with garlic and herbes de Provence. It can be good on it's own, with the juices sopped up with a whole wheat baguette or as filling for whole wheat crepes or galettes.Don't discount your mom and granny's stuffed pepper recipes. Fill these vitamin packed gems with brown rice and beans. Season with garlic and oregano to really make the flavors pop.

Of course everyone is on the Beyond Beef bandwagon. The patties and crumbles are supposed to be healthy and good for you , right? Think again, Yes, they're purposely loaded with such mineral as zinc and Vitamin B12. Yes, they get you from eating bad for your heart beef but they have some drawbacks too. According to The Harvard Health Publishing from their medical school the burgers are also heavily over processed and high in saturated fats. A better substitute is a turkey burger which has 170 calories and only seven grams of sodium. Beyond Burger has a whopping 390 grams of the salty stuff while the Impossible Burger has 370 grams. If you do want a fast food burger then stick with a plain one. Ask for one with no mayo or ketchup because these are loaded with salt. Only have it with lettuce and tomatoes and nix the cheese and bacon. As far as with meats at home, think chicken breasts fried in an air fryer. (another treat for your heart an air fryer. This is a very good investment).Just pound the breasts firsts then brine them for a few hours. It's then rubbing them with olive oil first and a dry rub of your favorite spices and herbs. End your meals  with seventy to eighty percent dark chocolate. You can mix this in Greek yogurt or almond butter for a sweet heart healthy dessert.

This Valentine's Day treat your heart to  delicious dishes It's easy to  create tasty and healthy dishes. It;s just a bit of creativity and knowledge of what's good for it and you.

Sweet For Voortman Sugar Free Cookies

If you're trying to watch your weight or you just want to cut back, then consider Voortman Cookies. These gems are sugar free yet taste just as delicious as a regular sugar filled cookie. Honest. These are a great boon to those on restricted diets. They satisfy both the sweet tooth and the need for crunch.

Being on a cirrhosis diet I had to give up regular cookies. Not that I'm a big Mallomar or Oreo fan but once in a while I do want a cookie or two as a dessert or a snack.I looked up and down on my local cookie aisle.I found Voortman's with a a big sugar free sign on them. I had to try them, dreading the taste. Turns out the shortbread I bought was just like regular shortbread.I had to try more.

I love oatmeal so I had to get the oatmeal which was amazing. They tasted liked my Mom's old fashioned oatmeal cookies, buttery ,oaty and crunchy,

Of course I had to try anything chocolate too.

I bought their fudge brownie chocolate chip which was a thousand times better than the regular sugar kind. The flavor was a rich, earthy cocoa with a satisfying number of chips.

Voortman is actually a Toronto bakery started in 1951 by two young brothers, William and Henry Voortman, fresh from Holland. They brought Dutch recipes with them and created such classic cookies as their almond windmills and Simply Social sugar cookies. Their array of cookies and wafers are as varied as any other cookie company. They have oatmeal stripes and fudge striped almondettes.They are known for their variety of wafers that include citrus flavors. Yet it's their sugar frees that shine. The flavor comes from maltilol, a sugar alcohol used in gum and mouthwash to sweeten them. I want to tr y their orange creme and lemon wafers along with their fudge stripes next. A bonus is that maltilol is actually O.K. for cirrhosis (however not OK for diabetics).

If you crave a cookie but can't have one because of dietary restrictions, think again. Reach for a Voortman's sugar free cookie. They're even better than the sugar kind,a truly tasty treat for any sweet tooth.

Diet Fun

Can a diet be fun? Surprisingly yes, if you're creative and know what to mix and blend you can.It's just a matter of being open and experimenting. It'll make a new lifestyle change exciting.

This has been my mantra now that I'm on the cirrhosis diet. I have to admit it was more than daunting at first. Let's face it , giving up sugar and salt  is life changing.It's giving up cookies and the occasional cupcake. The salt is even worse. I have to give up my beloved pretzels and bacon along with the occasional bag of chips. Salad dressings, thanks to their high sodium content are also off the table. The one that kills me is the veggie broth, my always go to  when I feel sick or just want a very light meal. Luckily one of my favorite soups, Well Yes comes in  lower sodium and thankfully tastes the same. Other soups aren't so forgiving so it's up to me to get creative about them. I found a recipe for homemade veggie stock that sounds delicious , I can see adding whole wheat fusilli and chickpeas for a much healthier version of pasta e fagiole. I could also add Beyond Meat crumbles for a heartier chowder like soup. As for the salad dressings, I can use vegan Nayonnaise which tastes like the real thing. It's a low sodium sauce that can be blended with turmeric or cumin, both liver building spices. I also plan on cooking with those spices. I live them already and am looking forward to using it to flavor lentils and chickpeas.

As for the sweets, I was more than ecstatic to discover that very dark chocolate actually helps in slowing down cirrhosis. I went out and bought the seventy-five percent bars. These have a slightly sweet flavor but tastes more like baking chocolate - which I love. I decided to cut and then grate it into a cup of almond butter. It's the perfect sweet snack - and almost decadent in its' flavor.I plan on mixing it with plain Greek yogurt which I can also have. The Slushie cup I used for my Pepsi slushies can be used for making a kind of ice cream with these ingredients. I can't have the regular kind due to all the sugar but I can have this. I also plant on chopping and pureeing different fruits and mixing it with the yogurt for different iced treats. (Greek yogurt can also be used for dips for veggies too). As for candy' even the sugar free is out of bounds. Yet there are grapes and blueberries to enjoy and snack on. I can melt the  dark chocolate and dip strawberries and other fruits in it.  As for cakes, I'm looking into whole wheat ones sweetened with honey. This will be the rare treat, made on birthdays and holidays. There is an oatmeal cookie made with blackstrap molasses - again this last is acceptable, that I'm looking into too.

This diet won't kill me. Thanks to being creative , it will save me. There's so many ingredients I can play with to create delicious meals and treats. I'm looking forward to all these changes.