Pass the Peas

Looking for a heart healthy yummy snack? Try this Fresh Pea Hummus recipe

1. Bring a small pot of salt water to a boil. Add 1 cup of fresh shelled peas; cook until tender (about 2 minutes)
2. In a food processor, pulse peas, ¼ cup fresh cilantro, 2 Tbsp tahini, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 small clove minced garlic, and 1/8 tsp ground cumin 30-40 seconds. Season with light salt. Serves 4

Nutrition Information Per Serving: 74 calories; 4g of fat (1 g saturated fat); 0 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbs; 98 mg sodium; 3 g protein; 2 g fiber

Did you know? Peas contain hefty amounts of bone building vitamin K and folate, not to mention plenty of protein and fiber.

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Eat Fresh...Plus Less Sodium

No more than 1,500 mgs of daily sodium is the U.S. recommendation. Studies have linked high sodium intake to stroke and other morbidity factors. Subway, a proud sponsor of the American heart Association, announced its reduction of salt by nearly 30% on some of its tasty menu items."Fresh Fit" sandwiches removed 28% of the salt, in addition too the 15% of sodium the company already removed from its core sandwiches.

"We have made significant reductions already, but we plan to reduce even more." The federal government recommends that the majority of Americans consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of salt per day, and even with the cuts, most of Subway's sandwiches would still account for more than half of a person's recommend daily amount of sodium. "50 percent of your daily consumption is more than we would like, but it’s much better than what it was before," said Dr. Ralph Sacco, President of the American Heart Association and Chairman of Neurology at the University of Miami. "We think any incremental step down is a step in the right direction." If an individual chooses to eat a 12-inch sandwich from Subway, the sandwich would likely exceed the federal government's recommendation.

While the new solution does not fix the problem, it takes steps in a positive direction for a healthier tomorrow. How Subway has changed from 2009 to 2011 (amount of sodium in milligrams):

Fresh Fit 6-Inch
Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki: 2009 - 1,200 mg vs. 2011 - 900 mg 6-Inch
Turkey Breast: 2009 - 1,000 mg vs. 2011 - 810 mg 6-Inch
Oven Roasted Chicken: 2009 - 830 mg vs. 2011 - 640 mg
Now if we can only get the calories on the menu we could be totally heart healthy and make better decisions about the foods that we eat.

For more information about Subway's changes check out the full article at ABC News online.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/subway-cuts-salt-fresh-fit-sandwiches/story?id=13399837

The Food Revolution Will Be Televised TONIGHT!!

Tonight marks the premier of season 2 of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution at 7pm CST on ABC. As we all know the improper use of food is plaguing American with several issues such as obesity, heart disease and stroke. But dont fret, the AHA has created a “Cook-In Guide” with steps to take to host your very own Food Revolution party. It includes tasty recipes, a food for thought discussion guide and background information on Jamie Oliver’s work with the AHA to promote healthy eating and cooking. Click on the link below to download your tool kit.

http://sharepoint.heart.org/Shared%20Documents/Cook-in%20guide.pdf

Also feel free to post insight to the American Heart Association's Houston Facebook page or HoustonDINEs twitter. We'd love to know your thoughts!

http://www.facebook.com/ahahouston

http://twitter.com/HoustonDINES

Let’s Go Out to the Lobby and Have Ourselves a 1,200 Calories Snack??

Last year, when the Federal government enacted the Health Care legislation it also put into effect a section on menu labeling. Federal menu labeling requires chain restaurants tell customers how many calories are in each menu item. Imagine walking into McDonald’s and knowing that the beloved Big Mac is 540 calories. Having the calorie information would help make lunch decisions a lot easier. On the other hand, oddly enough the rule doesn’t apply to movie theaters.

Popcorn by itself can be one of the healthiest snacks to eat. But did you know that every tablespoon of "butter” topping adds 120 calories! Two years ago, the Center for Science in the Public Interest tested the nutrition content of movie theater popcorn. Cinemark's large popcorn had 910 calories and 1,500 milligrams of sodium. AMC's had 1,030 calories and 57 grams of saturated fat. Regal's medium popcorn had 1,200 calories, 980 milligrams of sodium, and 60 grams of saturated fat. Keep in mind that doesn’t include a soda.

Wouldn’t you want to know that about movie concession snacks??

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/articles/moviepopcorn.html