Let's Have A Heart to Heart Healthy Talk

Have you had a heart to heart with your heart lately? It's really easy to ignore your heart. After all, it's inside your body and it tends to just do it's job without much fanfare.

But if you don't treat your heart right or your heart has a defect, it'll let you know loud and clear. If you ignore warning signs, it will let you know when it's too late.

Several studies have been released lately about how women ignore the signs of heart disease and heart attack because they tend to make excuses: "I'm too young," "I'm having a panic attack," and "I don't want to go to the ER, find out it's nothing and be embarrassed."  True, true, true. How do I know? I've said every one of them recently.

Here are signs and symptoms, as what to do if you think you are having a heart attack and how to communicate with 911, EMTs, ER personnel and doctors.


Episode one got me a stress test. Episode two I ignored (yes, shake your heads). When the third episode happened in my neurologist's office, I was sent straight to the cardiologist who set up a heart catheterization test to look for internal issues. ASAP.  It was a fun Maundy Thursday.

Now here's the weird part, there were no blockages, thank goodness, but the doc found my arteries were 40% narrowed, probably genetic (my mom suffered from this). I don't smoke. I don't eat meat all the time. And you know me, no processed food. The doc was thrilled because she normally sees people with blockages requiring stents. ME? I freaked even as I'm grateful this issue was found.  My blood pressure is great. I'm only fifteen pounds overweight and have already lost five of that (thanks RWA Conference in NYC for giving me a goal already). That's not bad right? WRONG. 

I need to lower my cholesterol and treat my heart even better. I thought I was doing a good job but, in my case, not good enough. The nurses told me you can do everything right but you can't beat genetics. My mother's father died of a massive heart attack. My mother I told you about. There's diabetes on the other side which raises heart risks. I needed to start something new and get even more healthy.

Here are a few of my tips for jump-starting my heart health, thanks to the American Heart Association and Mayo Clinic:

1) Get the butter out of the house: Butter was my fat of choice.  Sob. I use it to grease my pans and bake my gluten-free goodies. It was the one thing I treated myself to because I thought if I did everything else right it would balance out. I'm not saying it won't be back but for now I need to see what a difference it makes. 

2) Eat more oatmeal: I don't eat as much oatmeal in the Spring but I will this season. It helps with cholesterol fighting.

3) Those once a week trips to Five Guys Burgers and Fries are history:  ManO and I always had the small burger (mine wrapped in lettuce some of the time and I only ate half). We declined fries half the time. For now, we are changing our weekend ritual to Zoe's Kitchen where I can get hummus (legumes are great for heart health) and salad with olives. Olive oil is great too.

4) Exercise more:  My foot is in a boot for a broken toe but I'm still using my standing desk, proving to be one of the best things I've added to my study. ManO and I also realized we are getting the steps in when we walk but not the heart rate. If you see folks chasing each other down the street, it's just us getting our heart rates up.

There's more and plenty of recipes to come. But I have a few requests for you now.  Read and pay attention to the signs of heart attacks in women. Pay attention when your cholesterol goes up. If you can't afford to go to the doctor, find a health fair and get it checked. Take up a heart healthy diet.

Disclaimer: This post is all about my own experience and general information found on the web. Please consult your doctor ASAP if this post makes you think you may have heart issues or want to find out more information. 


Do you know any women who have had heart attacks? How is your family's heart history? What can you do right now to improve your heart health? What is your favorite heart healthy dish? 

Heart Healthy Spinach and Mushroom Barley Pilaf

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back in the cafe with a delicious, healthy recipe. This is a good side dish for those drop-in dinner guests that always happen around the Fourth of July! Super simple, filling, and takes just a few minutes to cook. 

This is another recipe from the diabetes cookbook I picked up from our library. So far, every recipe I've tried has been easy and delicious. You can't ask for more than that!

 Ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup quick cooking barley (I used regular since that's what I had in the cabinet)
1 tbs canola oil
1 1/2 tbs diced onions
mushrooms (I used crimini and here's a great article on their special health benefits, which are different than regular white button mushrooms)
2 tbs garlic
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 tsp oregeno
1/2 tsp salt (I skipped because I used chicken broth and it tasted fine without it)


 Bring the chicken broth to a boil and stir in the barley. Turn it down to a simmer and put on a tight lid. Leave it for 10-15 minutes, stirring a few times to make sure it's not sticking/ burning to the bottom of the pot.

 Put oil, onions, garlic and mushrooms (washed and sliced) into a non-stick pan. Stir on medium heat until onions are cooked. I like my mushrooms a bit carmelized so I turned the heat up to medium high.

Check the barley and when it's cooked (soft) remove it from the heat. Don't drain the excess liquid because it adds flavor to the barley. Put the baby spinach in with the mushrooms and stir for a few minutes, just until wilted.

 Dice the tomatoes and toss with the rest of the ingredients. The book says this recipe has 150 calories a serving, 24 carbs, 4 g of fiber and 3 of protein.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Fourth of July! We're still traveling, but we're hoping to see some beautiful fireworks displays on the coast. Have a great time celebrating our country's independence and I'll see you next weekend in the cafe, my friends!

Heart Smart Dried Cherry and Almond Granola

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have a tasty recipe that just might be good for us. (Shocker!) This year I made several resolutions (yeah, yeah, I know) and one of them was to eat healthier. The writing life is not a particularly active one unless you have one of those treadmill desks and I don't think I'll ever get one of those because then I would never do any work at all. So, I must eat healthier! All this sitting is adding inches to my writerly bottom.

I think there are several deadlines looming over peeps in the cafe and I am no exception. I'm weeks away from turning in a project I've been working on since 2011. And that feels... scary. But I made a conscious effort not to fall back on my comfort foods, like cinnamon rolls, although I still wanted something sweet. I found this book at our local library and it had some great comfort dishes that were heart healthy. (Because if I do all this work, die of a heart attack and don't get to see my book in print, I'm gonna be TICKED.)

Preheat the oven 300F. Line a pan with foil.

 Ingredients (which I doubled for mine because I knew lots of my kids would love this one):
2 cups rolled oats
1/3 wheat germ, (skipped it because I forgot to buy it)
1/2 cup almond slices
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 maple syrup
1 tbs milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried cherries
1 tbs orange zest

 Here are the oats, cinnamon, almonds.

 The maple syrup. MMMMMM. Smells divine.

 Toast in the oven for 30 minutes, turning/tossing every 10 minutes or so.

 After the granola is toasted, add the cherries. (Not before, like I did, and then realize they would just burn in the oven.)

 You can use this on anything, even a bowl of cereal to add fiber and flavor, but I love Greek yogurt in the mornings, so I added it to vanilla yogurt.

 I had some fresh raspberries on hand (YUMMY) so I added those in.

This book said that if you serve the granola over yogurt you'll get 9 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, vitamin C, and calcium. That's a big difference from my usual large coffee with lots of sugar.

Here's to eating healthier so we can keep meeting those deadlines and showing up in the cafe! My family and I will be gone for a while on vacation but I'll try to pop in when we have service. some parts of Oregon are still relatively untouched by technology/internet service. I think it's a healthy (in a whole different way) to unplug once in a while, especially for kids.

  I've got my bag of heart healthy dried cherry and almond granola, and I'm headed for adventure! Until next time, my friends!