Recipe for a healthy heart available – free

THE Heart and Stroke Foundation's (HSF) much-anticipated cookbook, Cooking from the Heart, is available for free.

The HSF says statistics for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in South Africa are shocking and forecasts for the future are not optimistic.

According to the foundation, deaths caused by heart disease in people of working age – from 35 to 64 – are expected to skyrocket by 41% between 2000 and 2030.

The significant rise among those living in poorer communities is a particular concern. The rise is the result of people adopting a more westernised diet of cheap, unhealthy fast foods, HSF says.

Thousands of South Africans responded to a call from Pharma Dynamics, a cardiovascular medicine provider, and the HSF asking them to share their favourite local recipes.

Award-winning cookbook author Heleen Meyer and HSF dieticians carefully adapted these to make them more heart-friendly, without compromising on the taste of the original recipes. The recipe book carries the approval of the national Health Department.

It contains more than 70 traditional recipes, including soups, sides, meat and vegetarian dishes and even sweet treats, which have all been made heart-healthy.

Recipes also include a wide range of salads and bread – all traditional South African favourites.

Cooking from the Heart also forms part of a national research project which aims to identify barriers to healthy eating, what exactly South Africa eats, how South Africans prepare and cook food, and more. The outcomes of focus groups have been fascinating with findings suggesting that many South Africans do not see the link between bad diet and chronic disease.

The book is in A5 format and styled to appeal to a large audience.

All the recipes will also be available on a mobi-site.

Further information from heartrecipes.mobi