"Gourmet Cooking for a Healthy Heart" Came about because in 1993 my husband went in for quadruple bypass surgery. He had four arteries that were blocked, one with a 75% block, one a 78% block, one a 68% and the one in the aorta up at the "widow's peak" was 98% blocked. This was discovered one day and he was operated on the next morning for the quadruple bypass surgery.
In the hospital he met several other men that were in for their second visit because of recurring heart problems and he vowed at that time he would never go though that again.
We left the hospital with a book on how to change his life so that he could avoid such blockages in the future. He had a list of medications to take and brief guidelines for healthier eating. The guidelines were vague and skimpy. I needed more than that so started researching the information available. Basically they told me to make it a low fat diet and exercise. My husband insisted he would eat NO fat, that way his colesteral couldn't be high and he would not have a problem. This was very hard for me as the cook but I managed to keep him fed with no fat but it did not cure the problem.

With a diet that included no fat his colesteral got higher. How could this be? Kathy, our oldest daughter gave us the solution. We must have some fat in our diet. The body needs fat for energy, and if we do not surply it with out diet the body will take other foods and change them into fat for it's use. We are an animal so the only fat we can make is colesteral. She told us about the benefits of olive oil. I did some research on olive oil and found it not only cuts down the bad colesteral but it raises the good colesteral. Further study has revealed though olive oil is the best oil to have, there are different types of olive oil and some that is labeled olive oil is not really and some that is olive oil is not any better for you than regular vegetable oil. So if you are going to use olive oil use Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The cold press does not change the oil and is by far the best for you. Also, olive oil breaks down at high heat. Anything over 325 degrees in the fry pan will make olive oil smoke and that tells you it is breaking down and is therefore not worth the extra money to use it. I then need to find the best oil to fry with was we do love our fried foods. Cannola Oil is listed as heart healthy but in truth it is not and some consider it dangerous. I found that Peanut Oil is the best for frying. It does not break down with heat and does not soak into the food you are frying. I still use olive oil for sauteing or using a controlled frying pan. Finally after more than ten years my oil problem has been solved.

The next large problem was the meat. It didn't take long to fine that four ounces of meat a day was the correct amount to consume. Beef should not be served more than once a week, pork once a week, fish at least once a week, shell fish once a week, chicken or turkey may be served three times a week. Eggs and cheese should be used sparingly. Meats such as veal, lamb, liver, heart, kidney,ham, cold cuts, sausage, etc should not be served at all as they are meats that are high in fat and or salt and can not be trimmed of their fat. The young animal such as veal or lamb have a baby fat that is part of the meat itself. Beef must be a very lean cut such as eye of the round, sirloin, round steak as long as all visable fat is trimmed from the meat before it is cooked. Ground beef is fine as long as it is 93% fat free and remember only four ounces a day.

Pork should be the boneless pork loin or tenderloin with all visable fat trimmed off. Do read the lable and besure there is no salt added. Some companies add a salt solution to keep the meat fresh looking longer. If the lable says there is more than 100mg per four ounce serving leave it alone and look for another store.

Chicken has the same problem. You need a chicken that has less than 100mg sodium per four ounce serving. The fat in the chicken is in the skins or where you can see it. For most recipies remove the skin and all visable fat.

Turkey has the same problem. I have not found a frozen turkey without the added salt solution. Around the holidays most stores will carry the fresh turkies and if you are lucky you can find one without the added salt.

There are no cold cuts that are good for you. Hot dogs and sausage should be avoided unless you are like me and love them and want to make your own, then you can use a good cut of meat and cut out the salt.

Fruits and vegetable should be served whenever it is possible. You need atleast seven servings a day and with no little snack foods and meat open to you it is not hard to have more than seven servings of fruits and vegetables. Everything should be done in moderation. Watch the sugar intake. There is a tendence ZUCCHINI BREAD

3 large eggs 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar
3 cups grated zucchini 1 cup olive oil 3 cups flour
3 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1 cup chopped walnuts
Beat 3 eggs until they are foamy, add 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar and beat well. Add 1 cup olive oil,1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon cloves and beat well. Add 3 cups grated zucchini and mix well. Add 3 teaspoons vanilla, mix well and add 3 cups flour, 1 cup chopped walnuts and mix well.
Oil 2 loaf pans, divide the batter between the two pans and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Take out of the pan, put on a rake to cool.

TO FREEZE GRATED ZUCCHINI
Grate the zucchine and put 3 cups in a quart freezer bag. Bag as many 3 cup quarts as you have, then put as many as you can into a gallon bag so that your zucchini is double bagged. When ready to use thaw and use all the water that has collected in the bag otherwise your bread will be too dry.

ZUCCHINI PICCALILLI
1 very large zucchini 5-6 cups grated 2 large green peppers chopped 1 large red sweet pepper chopped 4 large onions liced very thin or chopped Mix these together in a large glass or pottery bowl, sprinkle with 1/2 cup salt cover with a towel and let sit over night or for at least 6 hours.
Next morning drain out all the liquid, wash well in clear cold water to remove all the salt. This is done so the salt will remove the excess water from the zucchini and onions so your piccalilli will not be soupy. Then you wash it to remove the salt.
Put the vegetables into a large kettle and add 2- 2 1/2 cups cider vingar 1 tbs celery seeds 2 tbs mustard seeds 1/2 tsp ground cloves 2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly for 15 minutes. Spoon into hot sterile glass jars and seal. Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Best if given 2 to 3 weeks to blend before eating but can be eaten the same day it is made.

This same recipe is used to make green tomato piccalilli just use green tomatoes sliced very thin instead of zucchini.

Since I printed my book I have found I can use eggs to carry the olive oil into any thing I cook. All cookies or cakes etc. that contain eggs do not need to have the oil cut into the flour, instead mix all the dry items in one bowl. In a second bowl, beat the eggs well, add the olive oil slowly while beating all the time, then add any other wet items. Lastly put the wet into the dry and mix well. This lets the eggs carry the olive oil into the flour and gives you a nice light cake or cookie much easier than cutting it in. If no eggs are used you will still have to cut it into the flour.

CHICKEN CUTLETS WITH SOUR CREAM Slice the chicken breast into three thin slices. Saute in olive oil on one side, turn add a teaspoon of reduced fat sour cream and a little grated cheese on top of each piece, cover and finish cooking. Watch to besure it doesn't cook too much and lose all the sour cream. When the cheese has melted the chicken is done, takes about 4-5 minutes on med. heat. - serve at once.

ZUCCHINI STIR PRY WITH SOUR CREAM

In an electric frying pan put 1 large onion, 1 green pepper, and four to five small zucchini all sliced thin. Fry until just starting to brown. Top with 2 - 3 tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream and 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese. Cover and continue cooking until the cheese has melted. Serve at once.