Eating to Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease & Stroke
You can eat out and eat healthy too. Many restaurants offer delicious meals that are low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. And eating a diet low in these items reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Special Requests
Many foods fit into a heart-healthy diet if prepared with low-fat ingredients and less salt.
- Ask for sauce on the side so you can control the amount you eat or skip them completely.
- Request that your meal be prepared with vegetable oil instead of butter. Learn about good fats vs. bad fats>>
- Ask for margarine for your bread. Learn more about cutting fat with healthy recipe substitutions>>
- Try using hot pepper sauce or black pepper to add flavor without salt. Learn more about reducing your salt intake>>
- Substitute fruits and vegetables for higher-calories foods such as French fries and potato chips. Learn more about adding more veggies to your diet>>
- Increase the amount of your daily fiber intake to lower cholesterol. Learn more about lowering the amount of cholesterol in your blood>>
Eating Healthy at Restaurants
Here are some ways you can eat heart healthy at your favorite restaurant:
| Instead of: | Try: |
| Cream soups | Broth soups with vegetables |
| Buffalo wings | Peel-and-eat shrimp |
| Chicken fried steak |
Grilled chicken with sauce on the side
|
| Creamy coleslaw | Sautéed vegetables or tossed salad |
| Hot fudge sundae | Frozen yogurt, sherbet or fruit ice |
| Flour tortillas | Corn tortillas |
| Sour cream and cheese |
Salsa, pico de gallo, cilantro, jalapeno peppers |
| Quesadilla |
Chicken fajitas with corn tortilla
|
| Danish | Small bagel |
| Cheeseburger | Grilled chicken sandwich or small hamburger |
| French fries | Baked potato with margarine and pepper |
Resources
Information provided by the American Heart Association.
