Two ways to improve your heart`s health are worth noting:
1. The American Heart Association of Metropolitan Chicago is sponsoring its 7th annual Food Festival Sept. 19 to 28. The theme is ”Trim the Fat and Cut Cholesterol for Life.”
Dietitians will answer questions and provide nutrition information at 20 Jewel Food Stores from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, and 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26. Also, the winning recipes in the Food Festival Recipe Contest will be available. For more information, call the association at 312-346-4675.
2. Much has happened in heart nutrition in the last 10 years, and the new, 5th edition of the ”American Heart Association Cookbook” (Random House, $25) reflects the change with updated recipes and 50 new ones. For example, there now are recipes incorporating arborio rice and brown rice. And the bean category has been expanded.
Though tempting and often creative, recipes in the 1984 edition often called for large amounts of fat and nutrition information was limited to the number of calories.
The 4th edition recipe for gazpacho, for instance, specified 4 tablespoons of olive oil. In the 5th edition, the revised gazpacho recipe lists only 2 tablespoons of olive oil, half as much.
The new edition-100 pages more than its predecessor-also gives the amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats, cholesterol and sodium for each recipe. There are tips on healthful dining out, ethnic food, holiday menus and cooking techniques.
Such revision was necessitated not only by advances in nutritional knowledge but also by competition from other arterially oriented cookbooks.
This hefty volume could be considered a cardiac ”Joy of Cooking,” which everyone concerned about heart disease should consider.
