Recipes for High Blood Pressure & Cholesterol

Living with High Blood Pressure isn’t easy. While you may not be able to control your family history, gender or age — all contributing factors to hypertension — you have the opportunity to take more control of your daily diet.

We understand that’s easier said than done! Breaking old habits and starting new ones, however, is necessary to reach and maintain a healthy weight and blood pressure. This starts by knowing what foods to eat and what’s better left at the grocery store. Recipes for High Blood Pressure diets are a good place to start learning how certain foods can help lead to a healthier life.

In general, aim to eat more:

• Fruits and vegetables. Always good options! Try to have between five and 13 servings each day.
• Whole grains. The fiber in whole grain foods are great for lowering cholesterol levels, fighting off diabetes, keeping your heart healthy and improving digestion.
• Dairy products. Dairy fat helps you feel fuller, lowers the risk of diabetes, increases your high-density lipoprotein — “good cholesterol” — levels and may even lower your sugar intake.
• Skinless poultry and fish. Less saturated fat than red meat, and higher in healthier, unsaturated fats, as well.
• Nuts and legumes. Chock-full of lean protein, vitamins and minerals. They also help prevent heart disease, stroke and other serious health problems.
• Non-tropical vegetable oils. Less saturated fat, and no trans fats.

And less:

• Saturated and trans fats. Major sources of high-density lipoproteins, or “bad cholesterol.”
• Sodium. A serious risk factor for High Blood Pressure.
• Red meat. Higher levels of “bad cholesterol.” If you do eat red meat, compare labels and select the leanest cuts available.
• Sweets and sugar-sweetened beverage. Sugary and sweetened snacks — particularly those with high-fructose corn syrup — are suspected of causing High Blood Pressure.

Mean and Green!

Mom said to eat your greens for a reason. Rich in potassium, magnesium and fiber, these leafy greens are essential in lowering blood pressure:

• Romaine lettuce
• Arugula
• Kale
• Turnip greens
• Collard greens
• Spinach
• Beet greens
• Swiss chard

Tips: Try having a salad with romaine and arugula, learn how to make kale chips, or throw some spinach in your morning eggs.

Recipe Idea: Chicken and black bean salad 

It’s delicious! This recipe for High Blood Pressure diets is simple, too — all you’ll need are two cups of cooked skinless chicken breasts, 15 ounces of reduced sodium black beans, a chopped red pepper, a cup of salsa, six cups of baby spinach and four optional tablespoons of fat-free sour cream. Simply mix all of the ingredients — except the spinach and sour cream — in a bowl. Put the spinach onto six plates, serve a dollop of the mix on each plate and top with sour cream. So easy!

Berry Powerful

If you liked berries before, you’ll love them even more now! According to Healthline, berries contain flavonoids, which can prevent hypertension and effectively reduce hypertension using this recipe for High Blood Pressure diets. Start loading up on raspberries, strawberries and especially blueberries in your cereal, yogurt or smoothie for a satisfying treat.

Recipe Idea: Blueberry cheesecake bars

This satisfying dessert takes less than an hour to make and includes a delightful apricot topping.

Essential Breakfast

Milk, yogurt, oatmeal and bananas are all great foods for lowering blood pressure. They’re also delicious breakfast items which can be eaten together or separately for a great start to your day while battling High Blood Pressure.

Recipe Idea: Banana Nut Cookies 

Cookies for breakfast? Absolutely. These unique cookies contain simple, powerful ingredients and include just 77 calories while providing you with two grams of protein and four grams of good fats.

Helpful Tips and More High Blood Pressure Recipes

This is only a small sampling of all the other delicious recipes for High Blood Pressure diets from Barix Clinics. Check out our recipes section to find other unique ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and even appetizers. 

Looking for even more healthy meal ideas? Take a look at these other great sites for High Blood Pressure diet recipes:

• American Heart Association: As the authority on the topic of healthy hearts, the AHA definitely knows a thing or two about a good meal. Check out their recipes and get other resources that will help you manage hypertension.
• EatingWell
• Pinterest: There’s a wealth of information to collect and share, from delicious High Blood Pressure recipes to helpful infographics and everything in between. : Complete with images, videos and reviews so you can hear from others and choose your favorites. 

Changing your diet can happen right now. It’s important to stay committed and focused. Keep these other tips in mind as you begin your journey to a healthier lifestyle

Learn how to order out. While eating out, assume that restaurants cook food with lots of oil and salt. Try to choose a healthier option on the menu. Ask for dressing and sauces on the side to limit sodium. 

Don’t let the weekends get the best of you. It’s easy to give in on the weekends! While enjoying get-togethers and going out with friends, make good mealtime decisions. Making the healthy choice gets easier with repetition.

Look for the heart checkmark. Many foods come with heart-healthy labels for easy identification. Work these foods into your High Blood Pressure recipes.

Understand nutrition labels. All too often, foods that are labeled healthy or low-fat actually neither when you take a closer look at the nutrition label on the back. Don’t be fooled by this fancy packaging! Consider calories, sugar, fats, sodium (lower for each is better) and proteins (higher helps!) when making food choices, regardless of the branding.  For some help understanding how to read nutrition labels, visit the FDA website. 

Are you ready for a healthier life?

If you’re battling High Blood Pressure or know you are at risk for obesity-related hypertension, talk to us now. Barix Clinics can provide the resources you need to solve obesity issues, eliminate hypertension and improve your quality of life.  Start your new life today.