How to Make a Heart Healthy Diet Soup

I'm from the Midwest. When it's cold outside, we break out the slow cooker and enjoy a hearty, flavorful stew. If you're ready to enjoy a hot bowl of goodness without sacrificing your heart health, here's some good advice: take your favorite slow cooker recipe and revamp it so it's good for you. You don't have to find new recipes just because you're a heart patient. Simply improve the good ones you already know and love. Here's how:

1. Replace the red meat with dark meat turkey with the bone-in. It's a good way to make good use of leftovers and add a different but tasty new flavor to an old recipe. If you can't part with the beef, opt for a lean beef cut instead of a fatty one. Top round, top loin and top sirloin steaks have lower fat contents and will still be tender when cooked slowly.

2. Replace regular beef or chicken stock with a low-sodium version. Hypertension isn't called the silent killer for no reason. It's very important to replace the salty ingredients in your recipes with herbs and spices that add their own kick. Most (about 80%) of the salt we eat is added to foods during processing or before it gets to the table. For that reason, buy low-sodium foods or whole foods (fresh foods with no labels) and add a little salt at the table to taste, if you must.

Tip: If you ever over-salt foods while you're cooking, add a raw, peeled potato to the pot. It will absorb the excess salt.

3. Replace whole-fat cream-based ingredients with fat-free or reduced-fat versions. This will drastically cut the saturated fat and total calories in your favorite slow cooker recipes. Better yet, skip the cream-based soups and stews altogether. Go for clear broths made from stock or stewed tomatoes as a base.