Colour Your Heart Healthy with These Antioxidant-Rich Red Foods
Red is a colour commonly associated with passion and love, but red foods may have a direct effect on our heart health. Mother Nature made good use of her red paint brush, packing red foods with both flavour and colour.
The same pigments that give red foods their colour, called anthocyanins, are also responsible for a host of health benefits, including reduction of inflammation in the body, and have been shown to help with heart health, playing a role in better cholesterol and triglyceride profiles.
Certain red foods, such as tomatoes, contain lycopene, an antioxidant that helps prevent damage to cells from oxidation and has been shown to have a role in reducing cardiovascular risk factors including high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome.
Red foods such as cherries and cranberries are packed with free radical-fighting vitamin C, which helps protect cells from damage and also helps our body form blood vessels, cartilage, muscle, and collagen in bones. The colour red may actually have a more direct effect on our hearts by increasing our heart rates when we simply perceive the colour. Read on for red recipes sure to lift your appetite and make your heart happy.
Vitamin C-rich piquillo peppers do double duty in this dish. Their triangular shape makes them perfect for stuffing with a tasty tuna filling, and they also make for a scrumptious sauce when paired with hazelnuts and garlic. A small amount of honey helps to balance out the smoky flavour. When paired with a salad, this dish easily serves two as a main meal, but it will stretch to a few more as part of a tapas-style meal.
Cooked tomatoes are an excellent source of the powerful antioxidant lycopene. This simple yet luxurious dish is based on a dish from the south of Spain, similar to a North African shakshuka. The recipe draws on Spanish paprika and roasted red pepper for its smoky flavour. It’s a satisfying meal, equally at home on the dinner table as on the breakfast bar.
This dish feels fancy but is a cinch to put together. A sweet sauce of frozen cherries with a splash of heart-healthy red wine brings a touch of luxury to a simply cooked lean pork tenderloin. Cherries, packed with vitamin C and polyphenols, have been shown to have effects on heart health, including reduced oxidative stress, inflammation, and blood pressure levels.
This moist plant-based cake, featuring flavours of orange and thyme, is punctuated by tart cranberries. Cranberries have long been known as a superfood with many health benefits, but in recent research cranberries have demonstrated an association with lower blood pressure, better cholesterol profiles, and with the management of other cardiovascular risk factors such as a high body mass index (BMI).
Heart-healthy herbs
Herbs and spices have been used as remedies for thousands of years. Here are some that evidence suggests may have beneficial effects for cardiovascular health.
Cayenne
Like paprika, hot and spicy cayenne contains capsaicin, which reduces inflammation, believed to be a factor in plaque buildup in blood vessels.
Cinnamon
This popular spice is high in inflammation-combatting antioxidants. Research involving people with type 2 diabetes found cinnamon to be associated with a reduction in cholesterol levels.
Coriander
The plant Coriandrum sativum produces the seeds we know as coriander, and the leaf which we refer to as cilantro. Both may benefit heart health and are associated with helping to lower cholesterol.
Garlic
If the flavour of this essential cooking staple isn’t gift enough, studies have shown that garlic may help lower blood pressure.
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Banana French Toast with Raspberry Syrup
Custardy French toast drizzled in pure maple syrup is a cozy, cold-weather breakfast classic. We’ve given this recipe a vegan makeover by swapping out eggs in the batter with mashed banana and a bit of ground flaxseed. This clever swap makes the French toast reminiscent of banana bread. Top it off with a decadent drizzle of raspberry syrup and you’re just a quick stint in the kitchen away from breakfast bliss. Citrus swap If you don’t have any bananas around, consider swapping for an orange. In blender, add zest of one large orange along with peeled fruit and other batter ingredients. Blend until smooth and proceed with the recipe as described.
Clean and convenient
There are few things better in the winter months than tucking into a comforting meal that satisfies us on all levels. During this time, with seasonal celebrations and gatherings often centred on heavier foods, our digestion works a bit harder. So, as we head into a new year, let’s welcome a refreshed outlook on our daily menus. This collection of plant-based and plant-forward recipes offers twists on classics that family and friends will love to gather around, now and all year long. Cleaner comfort food classics such as mac and cheese (with a secret ingredient!) and khao soi (a Northern Thai coconut soup) offer nutrition without sacrificing flavour or satisfaction. Plus, they’re doable on a weeknight, make for delicious leftovers, and can be prepped ahead on the weekend—all with everyday ingredients. Ring in the New Year with healthier swaps for convenient, healthy main courses that are big on flavour and nutrition. You may just find a few new recipes that will end up in your weeknight rotation this year and beyond.
Supersalad with Sprouted Quinoa, Beans, and Roasted Veggies
A satisfying plant-based dinner or packed lunch, quinoa and beans add filling protein, while greens, cucumbers, roasted veggies, and a probiotic-rich dressing bring texture and flavour. Try it with a creamy plant-based cheese on top, or goat cheese for non-plant-based eaters. Mix and match Use this recipe as a guideline. Add in your go-tos such as chopped walnuts or hemp hearts, pitted sliced dates, roasted cauliflower, and crumbled feta (plant-based, if desired).
Curried Coconut Lentil and Rice Porridge
Brown rice and two varieties of lentils cook in one pot with broth, coconut milk, and simple spices. Nourishing spinach and sweet green peas bring this meal to life. It’s true sunshine in a bowl for those cold winter nights. Main grains White basmati rice, short-grain brown rice, quinoa, or millet can be used in place of the brown basmati rice. Try a mixture of grains for added nutrition and taste (e.g., millet and basmati rice, quinoa and millet, and so on).