by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
The greatest thing about eating heart healthy food is that what’s good for the heart is generally good for everything else in your body. It can be a little difficult to eat heart healthy foods when you’re out in the world, but with a little education you can learn to ask the right questions and order the right things wherever you eat.
First, fresh is best. Choose a restaurant with a commitment to using fresh ingredients whenever possible. Anything that had to be preserved often contains trans fat. Even if the nutrition table says zero, the food can still contain .4 grams of trans fat per serving, something that can really add up.
Second, fatty meats and animal fats should be avoided. If you are eating red meat, make certain that you’re getting the leanest cut possible. Lean ground beef can actually be a healthy source of protein. Also, look for an eatery that uses olive oil or canola instead of butter in their recipes. Always ask about what fats they’re using.
Eat fish whenever you can. Fish have a tremendous effect on your heart health and your HDL cholesterol levels, so try to eat fish at least twice a week. Just make sure those fish aren’t deep fried, because that can cancel out any good effect it may have. Fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna, have more of a benefit than flounder, but any fish is better than none.
Ask for whole grain bread instead of white. Lower your glycemic index by choosing more complex carbs. If a restaurant has whole grain pasta or couscous as an option, get that instead of plain, processed pasta.
Here are five First Coast restaurants recommended by the American Heart Association (Greater Southeast Affiliate). Not everything on their menus is heart healthy, but they either have heart healthy options, or they’re accommodating when it comes to dietary requirements. As always, it’s the customer’s responsibility to be educated about what’s heart healthy and what isn’t.
The Landing’s newest sit-down restaurant, Bourbon Bayou, (2 Independent Dr. Downtown, The Landing. 904-674-6714) brings a little Cajun flavor Downtown in a melting pot of culinary traditions, pulling from Native American, Spanish, French, German, Scottish and West Indies preparations.
While lots of Cajun meals can traditionally be full of the fats you’ll want to avoid, you also won’t miss those fats because of the lively seasoning of Cajun dishes. Broiled or grilled fish is a great choice for heart health and Bourbon Bayou has a fantastic salad with well seasoned fish on the top.
Eleven South (216 11th Ave S, Jacksonville Beach 904-241-1112) in Jacksonville Beach has a well earned reputation for upscale cuisine. Have a drink at their popular bar or a romantic time in their courtyard, behind wrought-iron gates. They make everything from scratch, with no preservatives and no trans fat-based shortenings. When they sear or grill they use plant based fats such as canola oil.
Some of the already heart healthy dining options on their menu are the ahi seared tuna, the grilled flatbread meal with chicken and their bibb salad. The seared sesame tuna is placed on a bed of baby bok choy, fresh hearts of palm salad and celery heart. Topping the grilled flat bread is a fresh hummus spread, olives, artichokes, chicken, feta and a little arugula. Their bibb salad is a cavalcade of contrasting flavors and textures. Starting with a base of bibb lettuce, they build the salad with fresh hearts of palm, mango, avocado, macadamia nuts, shaved sweet onion and a citrus poppy vinaigrette. Although nuts and avocado do have fat, it’s the “good” kind, which encourages HDL cholesterol levels to increase.
Not only do they have these heart healthy options on the menu, but they also can accommodate diners with health requirements. They are very hands-on about their cuisine. Health and using fresh ingredients seems to be a top priority for this restaurant.
At Hurricane Patty’s (69 Lewis Blvd, St. Augustine 904-827-1822) in the Oldest City, seafood is the main focus for their cuisine. Because of this, you have plenty of options to put a little more fish in your diet. They have wrap sandwiches aplenty, with options such as chicken, mahi mahi, salmon and tuna.
For your entrée, try the pecan crusted salmon with a fresh salad. While pasta isn’t always the best heart healthy option, they at least have vegetarian pasta dishes available.
If you get a craving for red meat though, and you still want to be heart healthy, try World Grill (14471 Beach Boulevard 904-223-9752). The chef uses only the finest, leanest meats in his recipes and their kitchen features a wood-fire grill and fresh ingredients from around the world.
There are a number of heart healthy options on the World Grill menu at lunchtime. Several salads top the list, the Cobb, the Parkwest gorgonzola and a Chinese chicken salad. Healthy wraps and sandwiches such as their fish burrito, hummus with pita, and Mediterranean chicken wrap are also good choices. Even their steak ciabatta sandwich turns out to be a relatively heart healthy choice, because of the lean cut of meat.
At dinner, health conscious World Grill patrons can nibble on their buffalo mozzarella red onion and tomato salad or a house salad made with a spring mix of greens, roasted walnuts, baby pears, gorgonzola cheese and sweet cornbread croutons. But salad isn’t the only thing to choose from, there’s also their tiger eye tuna, served with soba noodles and ginger dressing as an appetizer or their chicken egg rolls. Under entrées, give their char sui pork a try, or go for the seared tuna steak.
The newest eatery in the St. Johns Town Center is Cantina Laredo (10282 Bistro St. 904-997-6110) which serves gourmet Mexican food. Most people don’t think of Mexican as gourmet, but this restaurant is committed to serving authentic Mexican cuisine in an upscale atmosphere. There are plenty of fish dishes to choose from (mahi mahi and grilled swordfish, among others), and if you let your server know, they can accommodate your need for a heart healthy dish.
Although these five restaurants are a place to start, any place that is happy to answer your questions and adjust dishes for you can be a heart healthy place to dine.
Article Published in the 2-21-08 Issue of EU Jacksonville
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