Happy Heart Month! February is a great month for your heart if you are a market customer.
Surprisingly, even in February there are lots of fresh, local foods that support heart health. A quick Google search took me to WebMd, a reliable source for medical information.
They list the top 25 foods for optimum cardiovascular performance. Fourteen of them can be found in one way or another from our vendors.
Let's have a look at what your heart needs to perform.
Omega 3 fatty acids help boost the immune system, reduce blood clots and protect against heart attacks. They also increase good HDL levels, lower triglyceride levels, protect arteries from plaque buildup, are anti-inflammatories and lower blood pressure.
Great market sources for these are salmon and flax. Wild West Coast Seafoods has a fabulous selection of wild harvested salmon and several of the bakers use flax in their products. Delish Gluten Free uses flax in almost all of their products.
How awesome is that? A chocolate sandwich cookie and it's good for me? Woot Woot! And just in case you needed any more incentive, dark chocolate is also on the list.
Dark Chocolate, with a 70% of higher cacao content, is a source of flavenoids. Flavenoids are a type of polyphenol (which is a fancy name for antioxidant) that protect blood vessels, lower blood pressure and reduces LDL "bad" cholesterol.
Two of our newest vendors, Whipped Baked Goods and Confectionary and Livia Sweets, can certainly fill the chocolate gap in your diet.
Vitamins C and E are antioxidants that protect cells from free radical damage. Magnesium, potassium, and calcium help lower blood pressure. Fibre-rich foods help lower cholesterol levels. Blueberries, spinach and carrots are all great sources for these elements. Beckman blueberries, Forstbauer carrots and, if we are lucky, Crisp Organics can supply the spinach.
B-complex vitamins - likeVitamin B12 (folate) and vitamin B6 - protect against blood clots and atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Niacin (vitamin B3) helps increase HDL "good" cholesterol. You can get acorn squash and hot house grown red bell peppers to give you your fill of these.
Oranges and tomatoes are on the list too, and while you can't get them fresh at market this time of year, The Jam Ladies will get you orange marmalade to spread on your flax bread, and Bobali Tapenades and Hummus have both a sun-dried tomato tapenade and hummus. Snowy Mountain Organics sells sun dried tomatoes that you can use in your favourite recipes.
My most favourite heart healthy market ingredient is red wine. I don't think I need to say anything more.
One of the easiest ways to get many of these wonderful foods into your diet is with soup. Try this recipe that I found in Real Simple magazine. I have changed a couple of things to make it even better for your heart.
CHANGE HABITS & GO GREENER
Each month until April, the Port Moody Farmers Market will host a demonstration about "Changing Habits." Each month, we will have an interactive demonstration that contains a different theme. They are as follows:
Feb. 15: backyard gardening preparation;
March 22: care and maintenance of bees;
April 19: small spaces gardening.
Register for the Feb. 15 event by going to www.eventbrite.ca and searching "Port Moody Farmers Market." Registration is $10 but you may pick up $10 worth of market money at the market - think of it as an investment.
THE RECIPE: SOUP
Salmon Chowder
INGREDIENTS
1large onion, chopped (2 cups)
3tablespoonsunsalted butter
1/4cupall-purpose flour
3cupschicken broth
2cupswhole milk
1large sweet potato, peeled and diced (1 1/2 cups)
c diced red pepper (This is my addition)
1bay leaf
1teaspoonfresh thyme leaves
2 Tbsp of diced sun dried tomatoes would be good
kosher salt and black pepper
1 lb.skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
1small broccoli stalk, cut into pieces
In a large, heavy saucepan, over medium heat, cook the onion in the butter until softened (about five minutes).
Add the flour and stir until smooth. Whisk in the broth and milk, then add the sweet potato, bay leaf, thyme, teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are just tender (about eight minutes).
Add the salmon and broccoli and simmer until the salmon is cooked through and the broccoli is tender (about 5 minutes).
