The Rice's: Sweet Sixteen Vitality Foods

Adam recently decided that he needed to have his cholesterol checked because the men in his family have a history of heart problems. Well.... unfortunately, the results weren't great. It's good that he had it checked now, though, so we can start being more conscious of the things we eat. The seminary doctor told him that if he starts eating "heart healthy" and exercising regularly now, he might avoid heart problems in the future. At first we were kind of worried that eating was going to become horrible. Nearly everything has at least something bad in it (cholesterol, fat, sugars, etc). What could we eat that was somewhat good AND healthy? We called my dad several times asking what we should eat (we are so thankful that we can just pick up the phone and get medical/health advice :)). So, Dad was kind enough to send us this handy little list of things we can and should eat on a regular basis. This list comes from Dr. Steven Masley, a family practice doctor and author of the book "Ten Years Younger." These foods help lower cardiovascular risk in a number of ways. We're trying to incorporate most of these into our diet. Thankfully, our grocery bill wasn't too much higher than normal after this last trip for "healthy stuff."

1. Dark Chocolate (I started with this because it is my favorite)-- NOT MILK CHOCOLATE. Must be at least 60% cocoa and eaten in moderation.

2. Lean (not mean) Protein-- seafood, chicken, turkey breast, and beans (no burgers...sad).

3. Seafood--Especially smallmouth fish, shrimp, oysters, crab (makes me miss BAMA and the beach!)

4. Fresh herbs and Spices--- thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage, basil, cumin, chives, dill, tumeric, cilantro, and ginger.

5. Green Tea

6. Fresh Garlic

7. Beans and Legumes---(these are so cheap and easy to incorporate into your diet!)

8. Soy-- Soy burgers, hot dogs, sausage, soy milk, and tofu (yuck...don't like this one)

9. Nuts--Walnuts and almonds (we've been putting these into ziplock bags and grabbing them for "on-the-go" snacks).

10. Flaxseed---(honestly, not too sure what this is).

11. Whole grains--- Barley, buckwheat, wild rice, brown rice, oats, whole grain breads (we can still eat carbs. We just substitute white pasta, bread, and rice with whole grains)

12. Cruciferous Vegetables--- Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale (When we're in hurry, we buy the veggies in a bag that you can microwave in 5 minutes. They're pretty good).