Love your heart

All of those heart decorations that we see this time of year can be a good reminder to take care of our own heart. February is around the corner and it's the time to recognize American Heart month.

The American Heart Association has developed the My Life Check - Life's Simple 7. This resource helps educate us on some simple steps we can take for a healthy heart.

Those seven steps are:

• Eat better. Eat more heart-healthy foods like fish, nuts, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Cut back on saturated fats, trans fats, sodium, cholesterol, and added sugars. 
• Get active. Aim for 150 minutes of aerobic activity each week. If you get less than that, try to increase the amount each week until you reach that goal. Children should be active a minimum of 60 minutes, but can benefit from more. 
• Control cholesterol. Saturated fats and trans fats can raise cholesterol levels. The cholesterol you eat in foods matters, but so do the fats. A healthy cholesterol level is under 200 mg/dL. Genetics also has an impact on cholesterol levels, so if a physician recommends medication due to that, make sure you take it properly.
• Manage blood pressure. To improve your blood pressure, make sure you are physically active, eat a heart-healthy diet (including lowering sodium), manage stress, limit alcohol, and quit using tobacco. A normal blood pressure is 120/80 and under. High blood pressure is sometimes called the "silent killer" because it can be very dangerous and have no symptoms. 
• Lose weight. BMI (body mass index) is a measure of our height and weight. You can calculate your BMI here. Anyone with a BMI higher than 30 could benefit from weight loss, even a small amount.
• Reduce blood sugar. A healthy range for blood sugar is under 100. Higher levels than that could indicate pre-diabetes or diabetes. Cut back on added sugars in soda, candy, and sugary desserts and get regular physical activity to keep blood sugar in a safe range. If medication or insulin has been prescribed by a physician, make sure to take it correctly. 
• Stop smoking. The American Heart Association has a webpage with help on quitting smoking. Quitting is the best thing you can do for your health. Smoking damages the cardiovascular system and increases risk for heart disease. 

To read more about Life's Simple 7 and for tips on how to work on these steps above, you can visit the My Life Check - Life's Simple 7 webpage. 

Tips and recipes

One of the programs that some of us in University of Missouri Extension are teaching is called Cooking Matters. Participants learn about healthy eating, food budgeting, and cooking techniques. One of the best things about the class is the hands-on preparation of yummy recipes and trying new foods!

Cooking Matters has a website with a great page on tips and recipes. I recently found this page, bookmarked it for my use, and wanted to share it with others.

On here you will find:

• Pantry staples to keep on hand
• 10 tips for wasting less food
• Asian inspired, soul food, and fall/winter recipes
• Convenience foods, packaged foods, and spring recipes (I recommend the black bean brownies)
• Tips for making your favorite recipes healthier
• Cold weather favorites
• Recipes for fall and winter holiday celebration meals (try the brown rice and orange salad)
• Super Bowl party on a budget (timely and great info)
• Summer party dips (good for anytime of year, especially the hummus)
• Back to school snacks

Resource:
Cooking Matters tips and recipes webpage:
http://cookingmatters.org/what-we-do/tips-and-recipes/

Protect yourself from the flu

Unfortunately, this year the flu seems to be pretty intense.

The CDC recommends the following tips from their article on the flu:

• Wash your hands. Wash your hands often and especially after you touch anything that other people have also touched in public (gas pumps, grocery carts, ATMs, handrails, etc). The importance of washing your hands cannot be stressed enough.
• Get a flu vaccine. This may be harder to do now than earlier in the season and it does not take effect for two weeks.
• Limit your exposure to people who have the flu or flu-like symptoms. 
• Cough or sneeze into a tissue to prevent infecting others. 
• If you do get sick, take the antiviral drugs prescribed by your doctor or follow your doctor's orders.

According to the Google Flu Trends, flu activity in Missouri is intense. In Kansas City, flu activity is high and in St. Louis and Springfield, it is intense.

If you want to read more, the CDC has key facts about the flu on their website. 

Beans

January 6^th is known as Bean Day. Beans are one of the most underrated foods. They are inexpensive, versatile, and can be as plain or as flavorful as you want them to be. Beans are one of the best sources of fiber. They have between 6 and 9 grams of fiber in a half-cup serving. One half-cup serving would be about the same size as half a baseball.

Canned beans have more sodium than dried beans, but are much more convenient. Drain the beans in a colander and rinse well to remove a lot of the sodium. Draining and rinsing also helps to lessen the substances that cause gassiness.

Here are some tips on how to get more beans in your meals:

• Make your chili with more beans and less meat. This will also help cut your food costs down.
• Add beans as a side dish. If they are too plain, add some herbs, seasonings, garlic, or a low-fat condiment such as hot sauce.
• Incorporate beans into recipes. Add them to soups, stews, or puree them and add to many dishes. Eat hummus with vegetables or crackers instead of other dips. Hummus is made from chickpeas or garbanzo beans.

Some dry beans should be soaked prior to cooking by covering with water (one pound of beans to 10 cups of water), then cover with a lid and refrigerate overnight or for six to eight hours. Lentils, black eyed peas, and split peas do not need to be soaked.

To cook dry beans, cover the beans with three times their volume of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered. Stir gently and check beans after about 30-45 minutes. Most will cook in no longer than an hour and a half.

Canned beans can be easily prepared by draining, rinsing, and then heating to boiling in fresh water. Let simmer for a few minutes and add seasonings if you wish.

Here are some recipes and unique takes on beans:

• Black bean brownies – Drain and rinse one can of black beans. Put the beans back in the can and fill with water to the top of the can. Using a food processor or blender, puree the beans and water. Add this mixture to a box of brownie mix. Cook according to the brownie mix directions, but they may be done sooner than regular brownies. You cannot taste the black beans!
• Mashed white beans - Drain and rinse one can of white beans. Mix beans with chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and begin to mash beans. Add more chicken stock as needed. Season with rosemary or your favorite seasonings. This is a great side dish!