Look after your loved one's heart

Eating too many foods that are high in saturated fats, too often, can put us more at risk of developing heart disease. So, here’s how to plan a romantic meal that’s both hearty and healthy too…

Feeding a hungry heart

• When choosing a recipe, look out for ones that include plenty of fruit or vegetables and try to base your meal on a starchy food such as rice, potatoes or pasta (wholegrain varieties when possible).



• When choosing ingredients such as cream, hard cheese and fatty cuts of meat go for lower-fat versions and lean cuts of meat.
• If you’re planning to make a pie or a sweet tart, why not cut the pastry ingredients in half and opt for a lid or a base rather than both?
• Grating cheese makes it go further and so can help you to use less.
• Why not show you care by serving up a fish dish? Oily fish has been found to contain the types of fats that can help protect against coronary heart disease. We should all be aiming to eat two portions of fish a week, including one portion of oily fish such as salmon, mackerel or fresh tuna.

Fruity sensations

Why not get fruity in the run up to spring? Creamy-fleshed Hass avocado is a sensual fruit that’s perfect for a Valentine's dish. Although it is a fruit, avocados are usually eaten in savoury meals.

Half an avocado counts as one of the five portions of a variety of fruit and veg we should aim to eat each day. So you could share one with your lover as a simple starter. Why not splash a little vinaigrette into the hole that’s left when you take out the stone?

Avocados are high in monounsaturated fatty acids, which can help to lower cholesterol levels in our blood. However, it’s important to consider the other types of food you're eating because, although it’s the healthier kind of fat, avocados are still high in total fat.

British-grown rhubarb is already starting to appear in the shops. It pairs beautifully with a sprinkling of ginger if you want to spice up the end of your dinner with a classic crumble.

Or you could sweeten things up by adding a splash of orange juice when you stew the rhubarb. Serve with custard made with semi-skimmed, 1% or skimmed milk.

Veg out with your lover

You could cook up lots of flavoursome treats if you experiment with one of our knobbliest root vegetables, which is in season at this time of the year.

Celeriac might not be the prettiest vegetable on the block, but beneath its bumpy exterior you'll find a versatile vegetable with a more subtle flavour than celery.

Chop it up into small chunks and either steam or boil before mashing into fluffy mashed potato. If you normally add milk or spreads to mash, choose lower-fat varieties.

Alternatively, you could grate it into thin ribbons and toss in a dressing made with low-fat yoghurt or a little lower-fat mayonnaise, and add some parsley, spring onions, lemon juice and mustard to make the classic French sauce 'rémoulade'.

Finally, try roasting it in a little unsaturated cooking oil with other root vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips, swede, carrot and turnip.

Recipes for romance

Here we've included some ideas from our recipe section that will help to keep you and your loved one's heart healthy.



Breakfast

Be a smooth operator and start the day with a banana velvet drink or a big breakfast smoothie. A sprinkling of granola over a low-fat yoghurt will go down a treat, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, why not try a fruity bacon grill and serve with your own freshly baked bread.

Lunch

Nothing heats up a romantic winter walk like a flask of hot soup, so why not prepare a batch of hearty vegetable or tomato and lentil to take on your adventure?

Dinner

Spice up the evening with peppered salmon for a tasty, heart healthy dinner. Serve with sweet potato mash and salad with coriander dressing.

Dessert

Earn some brownie points and serve up a delicious dessert - try apple and raspberry crumble, berried treasure or a knickerbockerglory.

And if there’s nothing you fancy here, feast your eyes on our full recipe section.