February, as you may already know, is National American Heart Month, and one of the most important days of February, Valentine’s Day, also has to do with hearts. Candy hearts, flower hearts, heart-shaped pillows, T-shirts covered with message-filled hearts; everywhere you look now and for the next week or so, you’ll be seeing hearts of all types, shapes and sizes.

It’s interesting, when I think about it, how many expressions we use that have to do with “heart.”

“Have a heart; be brave, take heart; don’t be so heartless; he/she has a big heart; get to the heart of the matter; straight from the heart; she’s in it heart and soul; his heart just isn’t in it; she wears her heart on her sleeve; take it to heart; sick at heart; she’s dying of a broken heart;” and I’m sure there are others I can’t recall at the moment.

There is a related saying I used to take for granted, “no one ever died of a broken heart,” but for reasons I’ll explain later, I now realize that’s not true.

As it happens, huge numbers of people have died and still are, every year, of broken hearts, as well as damaged hearts, faulty hearts, neglected hearts and failing hearts. And that’s what American Heart Month is all about; bringing about an awareness that here, in this enlightened and medically advanced country, heart diseases and attacks are killing us at an alarming rate.

In the past I’ve been pretty blasé about National Heart Month; after all, every month of the year is a National Something or Other Month, requiring little of us in the way of action, unless it’s a cause we’re particularly interested in. But, things are different for John and me this February, and I suspect I’ll never again be ho-hum about National Heart Month, or for that matter, anything I read or hear about heart health, or lack of it.

I won’t bore you with the details, but hubby John and I are currently dealing with a heart that was broken but is now repaired and hopefully on the way to full recovery, and I will be forever grateful that there are people who make such things possible, due in no small part to such heart-awareness events as this February’s American Heart Month. Ongoing research, specialized training, constantly improving methodology and treatments are all happening because dedicated people are working not just for one month, but day in and day out, to help us live longer, healthier, stronger lives.

So, with heartfelt thanks to one tall, handsome, soft-spoken cardio-thoracic surgeon and to untold numbers of unheralded others who care about our hearts, I hereby promise never again to take matters of the heart lightly.

RECIPES

Let’s begin with the American Heart Association’s recipe for heart health, the Simple 7. The ingredients are all too familiar and far too often ignored. You may not need all of these ingredients, and it’s possible to have good results if you begin with only two or three of the Simple 7. I know you’ve heard it all before, as have I; it has new meaning for me now, however.

SIMPLE 7

Get active (in other words, move, even if it’s for just a few minutes three or four times a day).

Eat better (adding just one or two more vegetables/fruits a day makes a difference).

Lose weight (not necessary for all; optional for some; a must for many).

Stop smoking (optional only for non-smokers).

Control cholesterol levels (if you don’t know yours, get it checked and go from there).

Manage your blood pressure (do not ignore a chronically elevated blood pressure).

Reduce blood sugar (almost all of us ingest far more sugar than we know; read labels).

Pick any two ingredients to begin with and work on using those every day until they become habit forming. Then work on any others that may be appropriate for you in the same way, until small changes become habit. You don’t have to do it all during American Heart Month; just get started and don’t look back.

All right, I’m through preaching. Let’s get on with some real recipes for great food; yes, they’re heart healthy but that doesn’t mean they aren’t delicious.

Salmon is among the heart-healthy foods we should be eating two or more times a week, and that’s a no-brainer considering I’ve been eating it all my life; I just didn’t know way back when that there was anything other than “wild caught” nor that it was “healthy.” It was just there, on the table, more nights than not, but not like this.

SALMON FILLETS WITH SWEET CHILI GLAZE

¼ cup Asian sweet chili sauce (look in the Asian foods section at the market)

3 T. low sodium soy sauce, divided (see instructions)

2 T. peeled, finely grated fresh ginger, divided

6 fresh salmon fillets, approx. 4-6 oz. each, skin on (preferably wild caught)

2 T. vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Mustard greens, or kale, or greens of your preference

1 T. rice wine or dry sherry

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, whisk together the chili sauce, 2 T. of the soy sauce and 1 T. of the ginger. Place salmon fillets skin side down on the prepared baking sheet; spoon the chili sauce mixture over the fillets and let stand at room temp. ½ hr.

Preheat broiler. Spoon any of the sauce left on the baking sheet over the salmon fillets then broil the salmon without turning until browned in spots and almost opaque in the center, 6 min. or a bit more, depending upon the thickness of your fillets. DO NOT OVERCOOK THE SALMON!

While the salmon is cooking, heat a bit of vegetable oil in a skillet over med. heat; add the remaining

1 T. ginger and minced garlic, stirring until just aromatic (about a half minute). Add the fresh greens, stirring until just wilted; add the remaining 1T. soy sauce and the rice wine; stir until greens are just wilted. Drizzle with a bit of sesame oil, if desired. Serve the salmon fillets on a bed of the greens or with the greens on top, your preference.

This one may seem a bit off-the-wall, but it’s a great way to get your kids and maybe some adults in your family to think about breakfast in a fun, heart-healthy way. Yes, I know you can’t do this on those rushed school day mornings, but this is a great weekend bowl of healthy, fun breakfast.

HEARTY BREAKFAST

Oatmeal, cooked as per package directions (or Cream of Wheat or your preferred cooked cereal grain)

1 cookie cutter; shape of your or your kids’ choice, holiday oriented or not

Yogurt, granola, fruit filling, use your imagination (see instructions)

Honey, sprinkle of brown sugar, small dollop of jam or jelly of choice; once again, use your imagination

Prepare cooked cereal of choice according to package directions. Set a cookie cutter (this is the fun part, especially for the kids; for Valentine’s Day breakfast, use a heart-shaped cutter) in a shallow bowl and fill the cutter with granola, yogurt (pink for Valentine’s Day, perhaps) or fresh berries, diced melon, whatever you think will appeal. Pour the cooked cereal around the outside of the cutter, then remove the cutter. Drizzle with a bit of honey, if desired, or a wee sprinkle of brown sugar and/or low-fat milk, if  necessary.