Keep Your Weight As Near As Possible to Your Ideal Weight for Height

Nutrition and Dietetics
Dietary Recommendations for
Patients with a Heart Condition /

Keep your weight as near as possible to your ideal weight for height.

General rules

Sugar

Reduce the intake of foods which provide calories but little nourishment for example sugar, sweets, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, fizzy drinks and alcohol. Use sweeteners in drinks and cooking and substitute diet or low calorie drinks for ordinary drinks, and eat fruit or yoghurt as a snack.

Fat

It is a good idea to cut down on the total amount of fat in your diet. It is better to use vegetable oil such as sunflower or corn oil for cooking instead of lard. Make sure you cut all visible fat from meats and do not eat the skins of poultry.

Try a low fat spread for example Gold, Fora-lite or Delight instead of butter or margarine, but whatever you use, spread it thinly.

Poach, grill, boil or bake food but do not fry.

Try skimmed or semi-skimmed milk instead of full cream or Channel Islands milk.

Try some of the lower fat cheeses such as cottage cheese, edam or curd cheese. There are also low fat varieties of cheddar available.

Yoghurt can be used as a substitute for cream in cooking.

Try not to have more than three eggs per week.

Avoid foods with a high fat content such as pastry, cakes, chocolate, meat pasties.

Fibre

Increasing the amount of soluble and insolube fibre in your diet has a beneficial effect on health.

Use wholemeal bread instead of white, or try a high fibre white loaf.

Use wholegrain breakfast cereal or porridge instead of sugar coated cereals.

Try brown rice and pasta and use wholemeal flour in cooking.

Fruit and vegetables are good sources of fibre and provide vitamins.

Try using pulses such as red kidney beans, lentils in you cooking eg to add variety to salads and casseroles.

Fluid

Be sure to drink six to eight glasses of fluid per day to compliment the action of dietary fibre.

Date of publication: January 2012 Date for review: January 2014 © Bedford Hospital NHS Trust / Nutrition and Dietetics, Bedford Hospital NHS Trust, Kempston Road,
Bedford, MK42 9DJ. 01234 355 122

Salt

It has been suggested that reducing the amount of salt in you diet may help to reduce blood pressure in some people.

Cut down the amount of salt you add to food at the table and in cooking and avoid too many very salty foods such as bacon, cheese, crisps, tinned andpacket soups, meat and yeast extracts and ham. You could also use herbs and spices to add flavour to your cooking in place of salt.

Alcohol

It is wise to keep your intake of alcohol down to prevent weight gain so try alcohol free alternatives.

Low saturated fat recipes

Soups and starters

Chicken melon (serves two to four)

One large honeydew melon, halved and seeded

225g (8oz) cooked chicken, cubed

One pepper, green or red, seeded and diced

50g (2oz) walnuts, roughly chopped

30-45ml (2-3 tbsp) low fat natural yoghurt

One level tsp paprika

Scoop out the melon flesh with a melon baller or teaspoon. Place the melon in a large bowl, add all the remaining ingredients and toss together gently until well mixed. Pile the mixture back into the melon halves to serve.

Lentil soup (serves six to eight)

350g (12oz) red lentils

One large onion, chopped

Two tbsp oil

Two litres (31/2 pints) vegetable stock

One stick celery, sliced

One carrot, chopped

Good pinch mixed herbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse lentils. Lightly fry onion in oil, add lentils and stir for two minutes. Heat stock and pour over the lentils. Bring to the boil and lower heat to simmer. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes until lentils are soft.

Mackerel pate (serves two to four)

One medium smoked mackerel, skinned and filleted

150g (5oz) polyunsaturated margarine

Juice of two lemons

One clove of garlic, skinned and crushed

Salt and pepper

Flake the mackerel into a large bowl and add the margarine, lemon juice and crushed garlic. Work

the ingredients to a paste with a wooden spoon and season to taste. Press the pate into a dish and

chill thoroughly. Serve with wholemeal toast.

Main courses

Aubergine and bean casserole with lamb (serves four to six)

225g (8oz) haricot beans

Two tbsp oil

Two onions, sliced

Four carrots, sliced

Twosticks celery, sliced

50g (1lb) stewing lamb, trimmed of fat and cubed

One large aubergine, sliced

One pint of stock

Salt and pepper

Cover beans with water, bring to boil and simmer for one hour. Heat oil in flame-proof casserole and fry onions, carrots and celery for five minutes. Remove vegetables and fry lamb until browned. Return vegetables to casserole with the aubergine. Pour over the stock, add drained beans and season to taste. Cover and bake at 180°C, 350°F, gas mark 4 for one hour until meat is tender.

Chicken and pineapple casserole (serves four)

Four x 125g (4oz) chicken portions, skinned

45ml (three level tbsp) seasoned flour

25g (1oz) polyunsaturated margarine

10ml (3tsp) oil

One large onion, skinned and sliced

One green pepper, seeded and sliced

150ml (1/4 pint) chicken stock

300ml (1/2 pint) white wine

Salt and pepper

100g (4oz) button mushrooms

227g (8oz) can pineapple pieces, drained

Coat the chicken portions in seasoned flour. Heat the margarine and oil in a frying pan and fry for ten minutes until brown. Place in an oven-proof casserole. Fry the onion and pepper in the pan for ten minutes. Add the stock and wine and bring to the boil, stirring. Pour over the chicken and season. Cover and cook in the oven at 180°C, 350°F, gas mark 4 for one hour. Add the mushrooms and pineapple, re-cover and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Garnish with water cress.

Cod and pasta bake (serves four)

175g (6oz) wholewheat pasta shells, cooked

700g (11/2lb) cod fillets, skinned

300ml (1/2 pint) basic white sauce

One level tbsp tomato paste

Grated rind and juice of one lemon

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2tbsp chopped parsley

Salt and paprika

Four tomatoes, sliced

75g (3oz) reduced fat cheddar, grated

Cut the cod into 2.5cm (1inch) cubes. Bring white sauce to the boil and stir in the tomato paste, lemon rind, juice, oregano, parsley and seasoning. Stir in the fish. Reserve four slices of tomato for garnish. Arrange remaining tomato slices, pasta and fish mixture in layers in a greased ovenproof

dish, finishing with a layer of pasta. Sprinkle with grated cheese and arranged reserved tomato on top. Bake at 190°C, 375°F, gas mark 5 for 25-30 minutes until golden.

Fruit and vegetable curry (serves four to six)

60ml (4tbsp) oil

Two onions, sliced

Two cloves garlic, crushed

Two tsp ground coriander

Two tsp curry powder

One tsp turmeric

One tsp ground cumin

One inch (2cm) root ginger, peeled and chopped

300ml (1/2 pint) stock

Four carrots, peeled and diced

Four potatoes, peeled and diced

One small cauliflower, broken into florets

390g can tomatoes

125g (4oz) dried apricots, soaked overnight and chopped

Salt to taste

75g (3oz) blanched almonds

Two bananas, sliced

150ml (1/4 pint) natural yoghurt

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry onions until soft. Add the garlic and spices and cook for a further minute. Pour in the stock, add vegetables, apricots and salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes. Gently stir in the almonds, bananas and yoghurt. Serve with brown rice.

Cakes

Fruit squares

Shortbread

125g (5oz) polyunsaturated margarine 175g (8oz) wholemeal flour

50g (2oz) caster sugar

Filling

100g (4oz) dates, chopped

25g (1oz) walnuts OR 125g (5oz) dried mixed fruit

Ring of orange

15ml (1 tbsp) clear honey/orange marmalade

Rub margarine into the flour, add sugar and knead together to form a smooth dough. Press half the mixture into an 18cm (7 inch) shallow baking tin.

Mix the filling ingredients together and spread over the shortbread. Press over the top of the remaining half of shortbread. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 180°C, 350°F, gas mark 4. Cool and cut into squares, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Orange and sultana fruit loaf

200ml (1/3 pint) skimmed or semi-skimmed milk

1/2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g (2oz) polyunsaturated margarine

200g (8oz) self-raising wholemeal flour

1/2 level tsp ground cinnamon

75g (3oz) soft brown sugar

225g (8oz) sultanas

50g (2oz) walnuts, chopped

Grated rind of 1 orange

Two tbsp orange juice

Blend milk with bicarbonate of soda. Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat together for five minutes. Place in a greased and line 1.4 litre (21/2 pint) loaf tin. Bake at 160°C, 325°F, gas mark 3 for about two hours until firm.

If you are concerned about your diet or have any queries regarding this advice please contact a dietitian at Bedford Hospital on 01234 792171or via email: