Eating healthy on a budget

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It’s easy to become overwhelmed by healthy eating, but your overall health will benefit if you can stick with healthy basics during this trying time. That means filling half your plate with vegetables and fruit, a quarter with protein-rich foods, and a quarter with whole grains, as described by Canada’s Food Guide.

Preparing meals can seem complicated though with hard to get ‘superfoods‘ seeming like the only way to cook nutritiously. But this is simply not the case — heart healthy foods are hiding in plain sight at every grocery store across the country. Fresh, frozen, shelf-stable and more, these delicious whole foods benefit your total body health. Below are some of our tips that you can use, without breaking the bank.

Choose Wisely

Plan your meals ahead of time, so you can shop once and get groceries for the next week or two. When you plan your meals, make sure to use your perishable vegetables, fruit and protein options first, and save the canned, frozen and shelf-stable food for later.

Peel it Yourself

Buying foods in their close-to-natural state will always save you money. A one kilogram bag of whole unpeeled carrots costs about one-third the price of the same size bag of pre-cut baby carrots. Convenience comes with a higher price tag.

Go Meatless on Monday

Pick one or more days per week to go fully meatless, focusing on the highly affordable protein found in beans, legumes, eggs and tofu. Transform humble edamame beans into an edible masterpiece with this Carrot, Parsnip and Edamame Salad, ideal for lunch or dinner on the days you go meatless, or any day.

Choose In-Season Foods

Shopping in season is a simple way to enjoy a healthy diet on a budget, without even thinking twice. Head to your local farmers’ market or grocery store each week with growing seasons in mind. For instance, buy asparagus in April or May (not December!) and strawberries in June. In the summertime, you’re spoiled for choice, though this way of cooking and eating works year-round.

Use Frozen Vegetables

Picked at the peak of freshness and flash frozen, these ice-cold health foods are often just as nutritious as they are fresh. Choose frozen produce free of sauces, salt and sugar, and keep your eye out for sales during the week. They’ll keep for months, allowing you to buy in bulk and add to stews, stir-fries, salads, sides and soups.

A few healthy habits to keep in mind during summer

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When the sun is shining, there are two paths a person can do down — one of letting loose or one of exercising and enjoying the outdoors. So how do you stay healthy during the summer?

Stress less 

Take some time after work to decompress outside and soak up the vitamin D. You will feel more alert, conscious and happy while getting your tan on. Many people struggle with a lack of Vitamin D during the winter, and a lack of it can have harmful effects on your mood.

Overall, “Exposure to sunlight can have many positive effects on our bodies and minds, especially in terms of regulating stress and happiness.” – Wellesley News

Outdoor Exercise

You can do many exercises outside oppose to a dark gym during the summer months. Not only can you, walk, run, cycle or play sports, you can also get elastic workout bands from Walmart to work every muscle in your body from where ever you are in the world. Here is a guide to exercise with bands (Here).  

Vacation

Taking time off is an obvious way to decompress, catch up on much-needed sleep and ultimately experience all life has to offer. Try and be active on these vacations go on hikes through mountains, along the beach or through new cities oppose to gorging on food and alcohol at a resort for a week.

Stay off the French Fries

Here in Canada whenever we have a BBQ or go out to eat odds are we are going to be asked: “do you want fries with that?”

Skip the french fries the carbohydrates and hurting your overall health. In the summer, fresh produce is more readily available than any other time during the year. Most of the time, you will feel better eating natural foods over processed its also healthier for your heart.  

Overall Summer Health

There are endless ways to come out of summer healthier, smarter and less stressed. Soak up that Vitamin D, stay active and have a memorable time. 

Delicious & Easy Heart Healthy Recipes for the Summer

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With the summer season upon us, it means that many Canadians will be taking full advantage of the outdoors. Summer allows us to enjoy activities that we wouldn’t normally have the ability to do the rest of the year as the environment is often too cold.

For these reasons, Canadians tend to gravitate towards BBQing and eating outdoors as primary summer activities.

The change in climate doesn’t always provide you with the best benefits though, as foods that you reserve for summer can also bring a lot of risk to your diet. Many of us are prone to gravitating towards less healthy choices that might be higher in fat, such as burgers and hot dogs.

Here are some heart-healthy food ideas for you to consider this summer:

Heart Healthy Meals

Tilapia and Vegetables

Grilled Corn Salsa

Piri Piri Chicken

Bulgur Wheat Salad

Peachy Chicken Salad

Summer Fruit Smoothie Ice Pops

Vanilla Lemon Berry Parfaits

Tart Apple Buttermilk Cake

Recipes From Our Resident Expert, Marsha Rosen, RD
Here are some heart-healthy recipes provided by Marsha Rosen, RD (Registered Dietitian). Marsha is Mike Salem’s sister and in addition to offering private nutrition counselling, Marsha provides group lectures, seminars and cooking demonstrations.

If you have a nutrition question for our dietitian, you can email Marsha here…

Do you have a heart-healthy recipe that you would like to share? Send your recipes to info@mikeynetwork.com

Here are some tips to keep a healthier diet

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We always want you to feel and be your best self, therefore, keeping a healthy diet is really important. According to an article published by Healthline:

“A diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been scientifically proven to provide numerous health benefits, such as reducing your risk of several chronic diseases and keeping your body healthy.”

Here are 5 simple tips to continue a healthy diet, according to Healthline:

  1. Greek Yogurt: Greek yogurt contains higher protein which ultimately will keep you full for a longer period of time, ensuring to manage your appetite and food intake.
  2. Make a Grocery List: Creating a grocery list, will ensure that you are shopping the items you need and you aren’t excessilvely buying products that might be unhealthy for you.
  3. Eat Eggs: Eating a few eggs in the morning contains a high amount of protein and nutrients, increasing fullness.
  4. Drink Water: Drinking water will release toxins from your body and help you stay hydrated throughout the day.
  5. Try a new healthy recipe every week: A good way to stay healthy is to try a new recipe with vegetables, chicken, and fish which contrains an abundance of nutrients. Check out some of our heart-health recipes here

For more tips, check out Healthline’s article here

Here are some exercising tips to consider if you currently have heart disease

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Exercising regularly can be one of the most beneficial things that you can do for your heart health. Performing physical activity helps you to live longer and allows your body to run and perform better in the long term. It’s advised that everyone should be performing 150 minutes of exercise a week to maintain a heart-healthy lifestyle.

But after suffering a heart attack or a cardiac arrest it can be a daunting thought to begin exercising again. What’s safe to do? What should I focus on? Where do I start?

Although you may face these questions with uncertainty, the truth is that there is almost no disease that doesn’t benefit from exercise in some way. As such, you shouldn’t give up, sit around and do nothing. You should focus on ways that you can begin to strengthen your body and improve your overall heart function.

Benefits of regular exercise for the heart include:

  • Strengthening your heart and cardiovascular system
  • Improving your circulation and helping your body use oxygen better
  • Improving your heart failure symptoms

Seek out a physician before you begin

Although we encourage you to exercise, we strongly recommend that before you do anything; you contact your physician to see what they recommend. They’ll understand your level of recovery and fitness level better than anyone else, and will be able to provide you with a detailed plan to begin exercising again.

Here are some questions that you should ask when you go to meet your doctor:

  • How much exercise can I do?
  • How often can I exercise?
  • What types of exercises should I do?
  • What activities should I avoid?
  • Should I hire a personal trainer to exercise with me?

After you have met with your doctor, they may recommend that you should go through a rehabilitation program to teach you how to safely become more active. You can find a cardiac rehab program in any province at cardiachealth.ca.

General workout tips

  • Focus on doing aerobic exercises when you begin working out again, rather than more complex movements like isometric exercises (pushups). Aerobic exercises are easier to perform and will help to make your heart stronger, while isometric could strain your muscles. Popular aerobic exercises include running, walking, and swimming.
  • Look at the forecast before your workout to avoid humid or cold days. Cold weather can increase your blood pressure, interrupt blood flow to part of the heart and make blood clots more likely to form. Humid weather can tire you out much quicker and can interfere with your circulation. On days when the weather is too hot or cold, aim to work out inside instead.
  • Make sure that you stay hydrated. It is important to drink water even before you feel thirsty, especially on hot days.

Starting to exercise

If your doctor has advised you that you’re all right to perform regular exercises instead of going to a rehabilitation center, we recommend that you slowly ease back into a workout routine. Everyone should perform 30 minutes of exercise a day, but it’s best if you go at a pace that you’re comfortable with; especially if you haven’t worked out in a long time.

Here is a simple workout that you can do anywhere.

Week 1 – 10-minute walk (Every second day)

Week 2 – 5-minute walk to warm up, a 10-minute walk, and 5-min cool-down.

Week 3 –  5-minute walk to warm up, a 15-minute walk, and 5-min cool-down.

Week 4 –  5-minute walk to warm up, a 20-minute walk, and 5-min cool-down.

Things to look out for

As you begin the transition back into exercising again, it’s important to remember to look for any symptoms of a heart attack during your workout. If you can, aim to workout with a partner for the first two months so that they can monitor you as you get back into the rhythm of going to the gym. While you workout both you and your partner should be conscious of:

  • Any chest pain
  • Weakness in your body
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness
  • Pressure or pain in your chest, neck, arm, jaw or shoulder, or any other symptoms that cause concern.

Exercising and making your way back towards a heart-healthy lifestyle will take time, so no matter what your results are initially; always aim to keep moving forward.