Meals organized around colorful vegetables

Cardiologists reveal what they eat for dinner for heart health and foods to avoid
Doctors share their favorite heart-healthy options for the biggest meal of the day.


Sept. 20, 2023, 6:15 PM EEST / Source: TODAY

By A. Pawlowski

After taking care of other people’s hearts all day, cardiologists go home and look after their own. A heart-healthy dinner is a big part of the prescription.
“Most cardiologists do try to practice what they preach,” Dr. Sharonne Hayes, a cardiologist and professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, tells TODAY.com.

“We want to stay healthy.”
What people eat for dinner — and breakfast and snacks and lunch — is the single top determinant of heart health, says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist, professor of nutrition and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University in Boston.
But dinner is more than just the biggest meal of the day.
“It’s a time for a little bit of peace, rest and contemplation, family time and nourishing yourself both mentally and with the food you’re eating,” Mozaffarian says.
Given what heart doctors know about heart health, what’s for dinner at a cardiologist’s house? Hayes and Mozaffarian share their favorite meals and the principles that guide their food decisions.

Beans and greens

Hayes is a pescatarian — she enjoys fish, but doesn’t cook it at home because her husband, who is also a cardiologist, is a vegetarian and doesn’t eat it.
Much of their diet consists of “beans and greens and tomatoes” prepared in various ways, she says. Since the couple doesn’t eat meat, legumes are a protein-rich staple. Hayes might cook lentils or white beans, then add kale or other greens, tomatoes and a little feta. Her husband likes to bake bread.
“I have a weakness for carbs, so they are usually part of a dinner for me,” Hayes notes. “We do try to make that not the center of our meal and to avoid making it truly simple carbs, meaning just white pasta.”
Another simple dinner might be a gnocchi salad with tomatoes, avocado toast and some greens.

Meals organized around colorful vegetables

Mozaffarian is not a vegetarian, but he and his family plan each dinner around “delicious vegetables” and then consider fish, poultry or occasional red meat as a complement to that.
Salmon tacos are a favorite meal. They’re assembled from stone ground corn tortillas, shredded red cabbage, lime, avocado and grilled salmon, with either plain yogurt or mayonnaise.
“From the low-fat days, there’s this concept that mayonnaise is an unhealthy food,” Mozaffarian says. “It’s very healthy fats and eggs, so mayonnaise is a healthy food.”
Another regular dinner is eggplant stew, which contains grilled eggplants, onions, tomatoes, saffron, lemon juice and grilled chicken. It’s served with yogurt and a small salad of diced cucumber, tomato and red onion dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.
His family also likes a fall or winter vegetable soup with red lentils, sautéed onions, zucchini, carrots, chopped spinach, tomato and low-sodium vegetable broth. It can be eaten with yogurt on top and with a small side of sourdough bread.

Extra virgin olive oil everywhere

Both cardiologists say extra virgin olive oil is their main cooking fat. Mozaffarian's family goes through a liter of olive oil a week, which he says is about average in Mediterranean countries like Greece and Italy. For frying, Mozaffarian uses either avocado or canola oil.
“Using healthy oils liberally and often is also something that’s important for dinner,” he notes.