The Right Diet Can Prevent, Even Reverse Heart Disease

Dr. Joel Fuhrman gained worldwide attention with his fabulously popular book, Eat To Live. The book was heralded by health experts, not the least of which was John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods Market, who was so enthusiastic about the book, he sent me a copy of it after I interviewed him a couple of years ago.

I love Dr. Fuhrman because he sees foods as medicine. That means the right diet can prevent and even reverse nearly every lifestyle disease from diabetes to colds, flu and more. His latest book deals with America's No. 1 killer: heart disease.

Watch my short interview with Dr. Fuhrman in which he states that a healthy diet can prevent heart disease, and can even reverse its symptoms like high blood pressure in 99 percent of people with heart problems.

After watching the interview, check out some of the recipes from the book below...healthy twists on our beloved comfort foods...even brownies!

Ten Thousand Island Dressing (serves 4)

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup raw cashew butter or 1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup unsweetened soy, almond, or hemp milk
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 dates, pitted
1 cucumber
1/4 cup finely chopped onion

DIRECTIONS
In a food processor or high-powered blender, blend the cashews, milk, vinegar, lemon juice, dill, onion powder, garlic powder, tomato paste, dates, and cucumber until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and fold in the finely chopped onion.

PER SERVING: CALORIES 158; PROTEIN 5g; CARBOHYDRATES 19g; TOTAL FAT 8.7g. Recipes from The End of Heart Disease by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. Copyright 2016.

Chocolaty Brownies (serves 9)

For the Brownie:
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder
1/2 cup chestnut flour or almond flour
1 3/4 cups mashed cooked sweet potato
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla flavoring
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds, hemp seeds, or chia seeds
3 tablespoons unsweetened soy, hemp, or almond milk

For the Icing:
6 regular or 3 Medjool dates, pitted
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
4 to 5 tablespoons water to thin icing

For the brownie, preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix together the cocoa powder and flour and then mix into the mashed sweet potato. Stir in cinnamon, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, walnuts, seeds, and nondairy milk. Press dough into a lightly oiled 9 ? 9-inch baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. The brownies will firm up after they have cooled.

For the icing, process dates with a food processor until they form a paste, then add remaining ingredients. Spread on brownies after they have cooled. Cut into squares.

PER SERVING: CALORIES 199; PROTEIN 6g; CARBOHYDRATE 25g; TOTAL FAT 11.2g; SATURATED FAT 1.5g; SODIUM 95mg; FIBER 6g; BETA-CAROTENE 6032mcg; VITAMIN C 8mg; CALCIUM 84mg; IRON 2mg; FOLATE 23mcg; MAGNESIUM 81mg; ZINC 1.2mg; SELENIUM 2mcg Recipes from The End of Heart Disease by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. Copyright 2016.

Walnut Vinaigrette Dressing (serves 4)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Blend ingredients in a high-poweredblender until smooth.

PER SERVING: CALORIES 84; PROTEIN 1g; CARBOHYDRATE 11g; TOTAL FAT 4.2g; SATURATED FAT 0.4g; SODIUM 21mg; FIBER 0.8g; BETA-CAROTENE 3mcg; VITAMIN C 1mg; CALCIUM 20mg; IRON 0.6mg; FOLATE 7mcg; MAGNESIUM 16mg; ZINC 0.3mg; SELENIUM 0.9mcg Recipes from The End of Heart Disease by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. Copyright 2016.

Chili Pie with Cornbread Topping (serves 8)

For the Chili:
2 cups low-sodium
or no-salt-added vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste, in BPA-free packaging
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
3 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
4 1/2 cups cooked red kidney beans or 3 (15-ounce) cans low-sodium or no-salt-added kidney beans, drained

For the Cornbread Topping:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup oat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
5 Medjool or 10 regular dates, pitted
1 cup unsweetened soy, hemp, or almond milk
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

To make the chili, heat 2 to 3 tablespoons water or low-sodium vegetable broth in a large pot and saute onions and garlic until softened. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, vegetable broth, broccoli, and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook uncovered for 30 minutes until chili has thickened.

To make the cornbread, combine cornmeal, oat flour, and baking powder in a large bowl. Stir well and set aside. In a high-powered blender, combine dates, nondairy milk, and ground flaxseeds. Combine with the dry ingredients, stirring just until well combined. Mixture will be thick.

To assemble the pie, preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 13 ? 9-inch baking dish. Transfer the chili to the baking dish. Sprinkle corn kernels on top. Drop cornbread batter, by the spoonful, on top of the chili until the batter forms an even layer on top, using a fork to lightly spread the batter. It is okay if it is not a perfect layer; sections of the chili may still be visible. Bake for 20 minutes.

PER SERVING: CALORIES 371; PROTEIN 16g; CARBOHYDRATE 73g; TOTAL FAT 3.7g; SATURATED FAT 0.5g; SODIUM 110mg; FIBER 14.8g; BETA-CAROTENE 912mcg; VITAMIN C 43mg; CALCIUM 194mg; IRON 8mg; FOLATE 201mcg; MAGNESIUM 104mg; ZINC 2.1mg; SELENIUM 8mcg. Recipes from The End of Heart Disease by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. Copyright 2016.