Roasted Salmon with Smoky Chickpeas & Greens<\/a> is one of the best dinners you can make for your heart. It delivers healthy fats, is lower in sodium, contains fiber and gives you some nutrient-rich plants. Here\u2019s why Lal loves this dinner for heart health.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Rich in Omega-3s\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Salmon is one of the best sources of dietary omega-3 fatty acids. Eating two to three servings of fish per week is linked with less cardiovascular disease. Lal loves salmon for dinner because \u201comega-3-rich fish is a great addition to your diet because of its well-known property of reducing triglyceride levels in the body, which can be correlated to the amount of fats in your blood.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Omega-3s are a type of polyunsaturated fat that can also help reduce inflammation, which Lal notes may reduce the progression of your arteries clogging. The anti-inflammatory impacts of omega-3 fats have a positive impact on blood pressure, total cholesterol, insulin resistance and triglycerides.\n<\/p>\n
Low in Sodium\u00a0 <\/p>\n
There isn\u2019t a lot of salt in this dinner, but it\u2019s still big on flavor. Lal states, \u201cSodium is a silent killer in a person\u2019s diet, and limiting it as much as possible will go a long way to improve one\u2019s cardiac health.\u201d This salmon dinner clocks in at 557 milligrams of sodium. EatingWell\u2019s limit for a heart-healthy combination meal is 600 mg of sodium, to keep sodium within the American Heart Association\u2019s recommended optimal daily limit of 1,500 mg.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cSodium does its most damage by increasing blood pressure via water retention, which may also exacerbate a patient\u2019s condition with a history of congestive heart failure,\u201d notes Lal. While we should limit sodium for heart health, salt does add a lot of flavor to foods. Instead of relying on salt, the chickpeas are seasoned with smoked paprika and the homemade dressing with fresh herbs and garlic powder.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
A Good Bit of Fiber <\/p>\n
We know you\u2019ve heard the song about beans being good for your heart (we\u2019ll spare you the chorus, but it\u2019s true!). This dinner not only serves up salmon, but also rounds out the meal with chickpeas and kale, which balance the dinner and deliver some fiber. Lal says, \u201cA fiber-rich diet is also important for heart health due to its ability to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease by reducing our \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol levels, or LDL, and blood pressure.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Most Americans don\u2019t eat enough fiber, which is found in whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Making sure you include fiber-rich foods on your dinner plate is key to building a heart-healthy dinner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Packed with Plants <\/p>\n
Salmon is the star of this dinner, but you\u2019re also getting dark leafy greens and chickpeas. Plant-based diets have been shown to help reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. You don\u2019t have to be fully plant-based to get the benefits. Whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes are all rich in anti-inflammatory properties. Lal notes that anti-inflammatory nutrients help prevent clogged arteries. Eating an anti-inflammatory diet helps lower waist circumference and reduce HDL (\u201cbad\u201d) cholesterol levels.<\/p>\n
Practical Tips for Building Heart-Healthy Dinners
\n Include vegetables: Most Americans don\u2019t eat enough vegetables. They add fiber and antioxidants to your plate and can help reduce your risk of heart disease. Aim to make half your plate vegetables.\u00a0Balance your plate: A giant plate of steak or a massive bowl of pasta may not do your health any favors, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t eat those foods. Aim to make half your plate nonstarchy vegetables, one quarter protein and one quarter carbohydrates. This way, you get a variety of nutrients and don\u2019t load up too much on one thing.Stick to heart-healthy fats: When it comes to your heart health, omega-3 fatty acids, along with other mono- and polyunsaturated fats, are linked with better outcomes. Try cooking with olive oil, adding avocado to your salad and limiting foods like butter and cream.\u00a0Add flavor without salt: Too much sodium isn\u2019t great for your heart, but that doesn\u2019t mean you should eat bland foods. Cook with citrus, vinegar, herbs and spices for a flavor boost with no extra sodium.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Recipes to Try
\n<\/p>\n18 Most Popular Heart-Healthy Dinner Recipes<\/p>\n
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Our Expert Take\u00a0 <\/p>\n
There are many ways to build a heart-healthy dinner plate, but this Roasted Salmon with Smoky Chickpeas & Greens stands out as a cardiologist\u2019s pick. With salmon delivering omega-3s, chickpeas for crunch and fiber, and kale delivering anti-inflammatory nutrients, this dinner is an all-around win. You can build your own heart-healthy plate by following similar principles. \u201cWhen it comes to planning for heart-healthy dinners, I like to stress to my patients the importance of low-sodium and low-fat meals and increasing the amount of vegetables, whole grains, fruits and healthy unsaturated fats daily,\u201d says Lal. He adds that dinner can still be interesting and tasty, even when you eat to live as long and healthy as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roasted Salmon with Smoky Chickpeas & Greens is our top pick for a heart-healthy dinner recipe.\u00a0This dinner is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[102,6636,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-311856","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}