Heart Healthy Lunch Ideas For Everyone

If you’re looking for a way to create a more heart healthy lunch for yourself, your husband or your kids, there’s good news. Being heart smart and enjoying delicious foods go hand in hand. As an added benefit, you’ll feel and look great too.

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Here are 5 heart healthy lunch ideas:

1. Spinach Salad with Chicken and Blueberries: Instead of a heavy lunch, try a wonderfully filling entrée salad. While you can use any type of lettuce in your salad and still be heart-smart, consider using spinach as your main greenery. Nutrient-rich spinach is high in folate and is proven to prevent heart attacks. Add your favorite vegetables and a lean protein like a skinless chicken breast. Top with slivered almonds or walnuts and blueberries. Almonds and walnuts control blood lipids, while blueberries are full of antioxidants, all of which are important to your heart health.
2. Roasted Veggie Wrap Sandwich: Take a whole-wheat tortilla and fill it with cooked brown rice and roasted vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and add a little light dressing of your choice. Roasted vegetables like sweet red peppers, asparagus and broccoli are great choices. Red peppers have plenty of antioxidants and folic acid to promote heart health. Asparagus is rich in potassium, folic acid and soluble fiber, all of which are good for your heart. Broccoli packs a lot of nutrition and also is high in sulforaphane, which can help prevent clogged arteries. The addition of brown rice can help reduce the risk of high blood pressure; so eat up!
3. Grilled or Poached Salmon: You can’t go wrong with salmon. It’s rich in omega-3s, which can dramatically reduce the risk of heart attack when eaten regularly. You can grill or poach salmon and serve it with a nice fruit salsa. Add a colorful green salad on the side and you’ve got yourself a delicious lunch.
4. Tuna Salad Sandwich: While tuna is not as rich in omega-3s as salmon, it is still a very important source. Make your salad with yogurt instead of mayonnaise, mustard and finely chopped celery. Use whole wheat bread to boost your daily whole grain servings, which can help prevent heart attack. Top your sandwich with sliced tomatoes, which can help regulate blood lipids.
5. Veggie Chilli: A classic comfort food, when made with vegetable ingredients, chilli is a very heart healthy lunch. Kidney beans are low in fat, high in soluble fiber and have omega-3 fatty acids. Use fresh tomatoes to make your sauce and load it up with vegetables.

If you’re ever unsure of what heart healthy lunch accompaniment to pack, you can never go wrong with a vegetable plate with a yogurt-based dip. Load up with plenty of carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and any of your favorite vegetables. And if you are a sandwich person every day, mix it up a bit with your sides.

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Sandwich Sides – Which Sides to Choose with Your Sandwich

What do you usually eat with your sandwich? Do you enjoy some chips, potato salad or maybe baked beans? If you’re tired of the same old, same old, consider these sandwich sides the next time you make a sandwich for your healthy lunch.

Many people don’t think much about what they pair with a sandwich. They may grab the closest thing at hand. However, you may want to try something different with your next sandwich. Consider the flavor of your sandwich and what would compliment it. You may also want to think about the things that would contrast with the sandwiches texture.

• Is your sandwich from a specific ethnic area? Your best bet would be to have a side that is traditionally the same. You’ll want the flavors to match, not contrast to the point you don’t enjoy either.
• Match the subtlety of the sandwich. If it has a delicate taste, you’ll want to add a side that is not too bold or spicy.
• If your sandwich has big flavors, you’ll want to have a side that is equally bold and hearty.

Consider what you would offer as a side in your lunch if you were to make a falafel pita sandwich which is Israeli or Middle Eastern.  You wouldn’t want to serve French fries with this sandwich. Instead, find a recipe for couscous or Tabbouleh.

Chicken salad sandwiches are much more delicate in nature. A green salad or coleslaw made with vinegar would be a perfect accompaniment in your healthy lunch box.

If you must have French fries with your sandwich, consider trying a different type of fries. Sweet potato fries are an entirely different taste than white potatoes. You may also want to try different ways to prepare the fries. Bake them with roasted garlic; baking also is less fattening than fried. You may also want to give chickpea fries a try.

What do you do if you don’t like coleslaw but want to serve something crunchy and fresh with your sandwich? Try broccoli salad instead. This is an easy salad to make either with store-bought broccoli slaw or by grating your own. Asian cabbage salad is another option if you don’t like traditional mayonnaise-type coleslaw.

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Blue corn chips can be served with hummus rather than potato chips and dip. You could also try offering a variety of different dips or salsas so you and your family can choose what appeals to you.

There’s no reason to settle for the same sides you’re used to having when you prepare sandwiches for a meal or a healthy lunch. Consider recipes for new sides your family has never tried before. Think about the taste and texture of the sandwich. Match bold flavors with bold and delicate textures with delicate tastes.  Then when you are searching for sandwich sides you’ll have other sides from which to choose.

If you are looking for more fabulous healthy lunch ideas, especially for your kids, check out all the fun ideas Jennifer from The Family Fudge has on her site and Youtube channel:

Overall, keep your healthy lunch ideas simple. There’s no need to worry about which vegetable has more health benefits than the other. Simply eating a variety of vegetables, whole grains and incorporating fish into your diet will place you on the road to a heart healthy lifestyle.