DECK THE HALLS OREO HOLLY BARK

Raise a HeartHealthy Family

Make over your habits together to help everyone’s ticker.

B Y T E R E S A D U M A I N

SAVOR YOUR TREAT

Instead of nibbling as you go, give everyone in your family—including yourself—a cookie, then sit down and enjoy it slowly.

W H E N Y O U ’ R E . . . Eating out on the weekends

W H E N Y O U ’ R E . . . Baking holiday cookies

W H E N Y O U ’ R E . . . Serving veggies with dinner

F O R H E A L T H I E R H E A R T S : Read between the menu lines

F O R H E A L T H I E R H E A R T S : Sub in some key ingredients

F O R H E A L T H I E R H E A R T S : Work them into other meals, too

Cornell researchers analyzed hundreds of menus along with diners’ orders and found that items highlighted with bold, colorful lettering or set apart in a box are selected more often, even if they’re the least healthy. In other words, enticing descriptions really do influence your decisions. So keep this in mind when you’re picking an entrée. Make it a point to look past all the fancy fonts and mouthwatering words and stick to grilled, broiled and steamed dishes. And when you’re with your family, try to go to restaurants that offer nutritious kid’s menu options. A study published in the journal Obesity found that when there are more healthy options on the 12-and-under menu—crowding out the fried foods and other unhealthy picks— children are more likely to order them. These simple swaps will work with your prized recipe: Replace 1 cup sugar with ¾ cup raw or coconut palm sugar (they’re naturally sweeter so you can use less), plus a pinch of a sweet spice (like cinnamon) or ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract. This will save 130 calories and 22 g sugar per cup. Instead of ½ cup butter, use 3 Tbsp unsalted butter + ¼ cup avocado or grapeseed oil. The taste is just as rich and you gain heart-healthy fats. Replace white all-purpose flour with whole-wheat pastry flour for more fiber and a slightly nuttier flavor. Fold in bittersweet chocolate (at least 60% cacao) rather than the semisweet or milk varieties. The darker the chocolate, the more heart-protective cocoa compounds it potentially contains. People who average eight or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day are 30% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared to those who eat fewer than 1½ servings, according to a longterm study of almost 110,000 men and women. Vegetables are low in calories, high in fiber and packed with nutrients that may help control blood pressure. So in the morning, add spinach to eggs or try something unexpected, like mixing mashed sweet potatoes into pancake batter. For lunch, pile sandwiches high with all the fixings (cucumbers, lettuce, avocado, tomato)—or, if you prefer, make a salad packed with vegetables and topped with sandwich meat. And sneak in some extra veggies at snack time: Blend greens into a fruit smoothie or munch on carrots dipped in hummus.

SOURCES: Nieca Goldberg, MD, clinical associate professor, department of medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, and medical director, Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health. Martha Gulati, MD, professor of medicine and chief, division of cardiology, University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix. Angela Lemond, RDN, family nutrition practitioner and president, Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Jackie Newgent, RDN, culinary nutritionist and author, The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook.