The principles behind heart healthy cooking and eating are pretty basic and while it may be difficult to adhere to a rigid diet or to eat specific ingredients in precise amounts, it is easier to make broad changes to your cooking and eating which will keep you well within the healthy heart parameters. Remember, this has to do with your lifestyle and your diet as a whole, not one specific meal or one specific dish, so don't drive yourself up the wall to get the details right each and every time. Just keep this basics in mind when you are cooking or eating, and you should do fine.
Skip the red meat as much as possible. Some schools of thought suggest that you eliminate it altogether especially if you are above 40. Replace the bad fats with good ones - ensure that you are getting regular amounts of fatty fish and vegetable sources of fat. Throw out any form of fat that is dense at room temperature, butter, clarified butter, heavy margarine, animal fats, etc. Make sure that you are eating four to five servings of high fiber vegetables in a day. Include a fruit in your diet every day. Switch over to low-fat or fat-free dairy, and replace your regular cooking medium with olive oil.
There is a huge amount of literature out there that will provide you with healthy heart recipes. Most hospitals and educational institutions have their own publications of heart healthy cooking methods. Your doctor will be able to get you a free public information book on healthy heart recipes. You can also download the official healthy heart recipes publication of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
