Healthy Holiday Cooking Tips From the New
Keep the Beat™ Cookbook

Sharing a healthy, homemade meal with friends and family is one of life’s great pleasures. Just in time for the holidays, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has a new cookbook, Keep the Beat™ Recipes: Deliciously Healthy Dinners. The cookbook, the first in a new series, features simple recipes that are good for your heart and taste great, and that have an American, Latino, Mediterranean, or Asian flair. The dishes were created by a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef and a James Beard Foundation award-winning registered dietitian.

To help you get a jump start on your holiday plans, here are some tips.

Is it done yet?

To ensure food safety, cook and store foods at the correct temperatures. Use a clean food thermometer and measure the internal temperature of cooked food to make sure dishes are cooked appropriately. Whole and ground turkey, chicken, and duck should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 °F; egg dishes to 160 °F; ground beef, veal, and lamb to 160 °F; pork to 160 °F; fish to 145 °F; and beef, veal, and lamb steaks and roasts to 145 °F. For more information on food safety, including a printable temperature chart and instructions on how to use a food thermometer, visit www.isitdoneyet.gov.

Herb substitutions

Cut down on your use of salt and sodium by flavoring foods with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar, or salt-free seasoning blends. If you don’t have a specific fresh or dry herb on hand, try one of these substitutions:
For sage: Try savory, marjoram, or rosemary
For basil: Try oregano or thyme
For thyme: Try basil, marjoram, oregano, or savory
For mint: Try basil, marjoram, or rosemary
For rosemary: Try thyme, tarragon, or savory
For cilantro: Try parsley or coriander.

Pantry staples

Keep your kitchen stocked with ingredients that are heart healthy and easy to use. These staples can be utilized in both main and side dishes, and are featured in many recipes in the new cookbook.

Canned tomatoes, no salt added; low-sodium broth or stock (chicken, beef or vegetable); light teriyaki sauce; lite soy sauce; spaghetti sauce, no salt added; salsa or reduced-sodium taco sauce; cooking spray; low sodium canned beans (choose from among black, kidney, pinto, chick peas and cannellini); unsalted nuts such as almonds, pine nuts and walnuts; brown rice; whole wheat pasta; and whole wheat tortillas.

Here are 2 popular recipes from the Keep the Beat™ Recipes: Deliciously Healthy Dinners cookbook that are quick and easy, and that are suitable for a simple weeknight dinner or a festive holiday gathering.

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