Nearly every American knows someone who has been affected by heart disease. Whether it’s a family member, friend or even ourselves, those who suffer from heart disease are often told to focus on exercise and a heart-healthy diet—and that can be overwhelming.

At Belmont Village, we take care of the cooking for our residents and our dining team takes pride in offering a wide array of heart-healthy options. And, after a heart-healthy breakfast, residents can take a short walk to on-site therapy and fitness services. For those who don’t have an in-house chef, the best way to begin a diet inclusive of fresh vegetables, grains, and other ingredients that benefit our cardiovascular health, is to have a few simple recipes on hand.

To get you started, our chefs have provided a few of our residents’ favorite heart-healthy recipes that you can recreate at home.

Mediterranean Bowl

1 Serving

• 2 cups arugula
• ½ cup quinoa
• ½ cup grape tomatoes, halved
• ¼ cup diced cucumbers
• ¼ cup Kalamata olives
• ¼ cup feta cheese
• ½ cup hummus
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons green tahini dressing (see below)

1. In salad bowl, mound the mixed greens in the center.
2. In salad bowl, layer arugula at the bottom of the bowl. Arrange the grape tomato halves, cucumbers, olives, and quinoa in sections around the bowl. Spoon the hummus in the middle of the bowl. Garnish hummus with paprika.
3. Serve dressing on the side.
4. If chicken or shrimp is used, place on top of quinoa.

Hollywood Salad

1 serving

• ½ cup baby kale, chopped
• ½ cup arugula
• ¼ cup of edamame
• ¼ cup grated carrots
• ¼ cup dried cranberries or craisins
• ½ cup roasted gold beets, sliced (sub recipe)
• 2 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon green onions, cut on the bias
• 1 tablespoon almond slices
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette

1. Combine kale and arugula. Place in a salad bowl.
2. Evenly sprinkle kale and arugula with edamame, carrots and craisins. Top with sliced beets.
3. Garnish with goat cheese, green onions and almonds.
4. Service with 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette on the side.
5. Note: if quinoa, chicken or shrimp is used with this salad, top the beets with the protein or grain prior to garnishing with cheese, onions and almonds.

Green Tahini Dressing

Servings 20 each 2 tablespoon portions

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
• 2 clove garlic
• ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Combine all the ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Shrimp Spinach Tortilla Wrap

4 servings

• 4 each 12 inch spinach tortillas
• 2 cups bibb lettuce, cut into ¼ inch strips
• 1 red pepper cut into thin strips
• 1 large carrot peeled and shredded or sliced into thin strips
• 1 large English cucumber sliced into thin strips
• 1 cup very thinly sliced red onion
• 1 pound small cooked shrimp, deveined, tails removed
• ¼ cup cilantro minced
• ¼ cup fresh mint, minced
• 4 each wedges lime or lemon

1. Set aside the spinach tortillas. Prepare all the ingredient and keep separate.
2. On a flat clean surface, lay out the tortillas. In the center of each tortilla, spread out ½ cup of bibb lettuce leaving 1” to 1½”  board edge around the tortilla.
3. Evenly to top the lettuce on the tortillas with pepper, carrot, cucumber and onion strips facing the same direction from top to bottom.
4. Evenly top the vegetables with shrimp, cilantro and mint. Squeeze a wedge of lime or lemon over each tortilla.
5. To wrap, close the bottom and top of the tortilla, rotate the tortilla and roll up from the bottom. Slice in half for service.
6. Serve with warm edamame, Asian noodle salad, or fresh berries.

There’s more to preventing heart disease than a healthy diet, but it’s a great place to start. To learn more about heart disease, hear from Dr. Jonathan Fialkow of Baptist Health, a leader in cardiology, and his top 10 tips for avoiding heart disease.

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