February is American Heart Month. Keeping this in mind, I went to the Web MD website with a list of the 25 Top Heart Healthy Foods. These foods are loaded with heart healthy nutrients that help protect your cardiovascular system. By eating a variety of foods, including fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts and more, you are getting the different nutrients which are needed to protect your heart and
blood vessels. I am very conscious of the meals I prepare and the ingredients I use in those meals. I buy fresh herbs, produce, and vegetables and use olive oil when I cook. We eat fish more than once a week and eat plenty of fresh fruit, so I am definitely into eating healthy.
I decided to highlight a few of the foods they recommended in the Web MD article. It would be well worth your time to read the entire article. You might be surprised to see that many of the foods are ones you probably already eat regularly!
I have a great recipe featuring a popular heart-healthy food. This tuna dish is a favorite in our house, especially when my husband returns from an offshore fishing trip with fresh tuna. The original recipe is from a Williams Sonoma cookbook titled “Essentials of Grilling,” a great book to have! I have changed it some to suit our tastes, of course, and I hope you enjoy it!
Tuna with Wasabi Creme
Ingredients
Soy sauce, less sodium preferred
½ cup White Sesame seeds
½ cup Black Sesame seeds
4 Ahi Tuna Steaks, 6oz each, 1 inch thick
Wasabi Creme
1 cup crème fraiche
2 tsp. wasabi powder, or to taste
Chopped chives for garnish
In a shallow dish, add the soy sauce. On a piece of wax paper, mix the white and black sesame seeds. Dredge each piece of tuna in the mixture, then place in soy sauce, turning to coat. Add any left over sesame seeds to tuna, cover, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hrs.
To make wasabi crème, in a small bowl stir together the crème fraiche and wasabi powder. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Add chives just before serving.
Grill your fish, turning once, until it is seared on the outside and rare on the inside, 3-5 minutes per side. If you prefer your tuna cooked through, leave it on the grill for 1 – 2 minutes longer per side. You can also cook the fish in a heavy skillet on high heat.
Transfer the tuna steaks to warm individual plates. Garnish the wasabi crème with the chives, and pass at the table.
Serve with grilled or lightly steamed asparagus, dressed with an olive oil and herb mixture of chopped basil, parsley, and black pepper. Enjoy!