Heart-Healthy Grocery List

Our family doctor has asked us to lower our cholesterol through diet. Since both Beez and I have high blood pressure, both could stand to lose some weight, and one of us has a diabetes issue, I started looking at information about the best foods for us to eat. Planning out the best meals to answer all of our needs can be complicated--foods to include daily or weekly, foods to avoid, etc. etc.

I decided that I should just dive in and start somewhere, so I started with diets believed to be "heart-healthy." For my past three posts, I've given us all an outline of heart-healthy foods from three sources: HowStuffWorks, WebMD, and the Mayo Clinic.

I've done this mainly to de-mystify the whole thing for myself, but thought that I would share what I found through this blog. Now, combining the foods from these three sources, plus a few suggestions from our doctor, I've made a list of recommended foods. The list, printed up and taken with us to the grocery store, will serve as a reminder of the foods we need to include in our weekly diet, and we can add other grocery "needs" at the bottom of the list.

I must share this with you: Since we started our attempt to eat a more healthy diet, the blood sugar levels have dropped from "borderline acceptable" to "good"--and, very exciting for me--we have both started dropping a few pounds.

alcohol (red wine)

asparagus

blueberries

broccoli

carrots

cholesterol-lowering margarine (like Smart Balance, Benecol, or Promise Activ)

dairy (fat free milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese)

eggs (maximum of 4 eggs per person a week)

fruit (fresh and dried)

lean meat

legumes

nuts (especially walnuts and almonds)

oatmeal

olive oil

peppers

poultry

seafood (salmon, pollock, tuna, herring, mackerel and swordfish) - 2 servings per week

soy protein

spinach

sweet potatoes

whole grains (whole wheat flour, ground flaxseed, brown rice)