Heart-to-Heart | Eating Heart Healthy – WHP Harrisburg

You are what you eat! When you eat healthy, you’re heart healthy.
Living a healthy lifestyle really comprises two things… eating healthy and exercising with major emphasis on the first!
The food you eat is fuel for the body. Taking in the wrong fuel can have major consequences… just like putting diesel in your car can cause major problems for its engine.
At the WellSpan Heart and Vascular Center in York, food demos are performed to show exactly what heart healthy is.
“And so we wanted a place where people could come and learn about healthy cooking and dietary changes that they can make to maybe help their bodies with a little bit of heart health.” says Sandy Gladfelter, lead coordinator for Health and Wellness at WellSpan.
“I like to recommend a Mediterranean style plan and that’s focusing on a lot of clean foods. So we’re looking at fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts.” says Amy Watson, corporate wellness dietician for WellSpan.
Healthy protein like fatty fish, which contain omega-3s, are very good not only your heart, but your brain.
You want all natural, whole foods, all the time.
“Diet is really a term for what we eat, not something we go on.” says Gladfelter.
Now it’s time to make a heart healthy example!
Break some oats down in a food processor. Add some cranberries and flax seed and grind some more. Add a few more oats along with some sliced almonds.
“And nuts although they have a high amount of fat, they’re very high in a heart healthy fat.” says Watson.
Combine a few liquid ingredients including a healthy oil, peanut butter, and a little honey. Heat them up to make them softer. Place the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix it all up. Then grab a pan, spread out some parchment paper and flatten the mixture evenly. Put in the oven and bake until crisp.
Whala!
The best part about cooking is eating the finished product, especially when it’s healthy!