5 Veggies a Day Keep Strokes Away; Plus Recipe

If your blood vessels aren't happy, the rest of your body isn't happy. After all, it is the blood vessels which bring our bodies nutrition and oxygen - and keep us alive!

Luckily, a new study show a simple "trick" we can use to keep our blood vessels flexible, resilient, and happy - simply eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables, ideally spread throughout the day.

A recent well-designed study presented at the American Heart Association scientific sessions demonstrated that in overweight people with slightly elevated blood pressure, EACH serving of fruit or vegetables per day gave additional improvement in how our arteries functioned under stress. This study backs up another study of 257,000 people which showed a whopping 26% reduction in stroke risk among people who ate five or more portions of vegetables per day! You can read about these at:

http://www.familypracticenews.com//article/S0300-7073(09)70051-9/fulltext

The good news is that it can be pretty easy, with just a little planning, to get in at least five servings of fruit and vegetables. Fresh, organic veggies are great, of course, but for people who have trouble getting to the Farmer's Market, it is good to know that frozen vegetables, and even dried fruit, are an inexpensive, convenient, and healthful way to get your servings!

Frozen berries (with no sugar added) can be added to breakfast smoothies, cereal, yogurt, or served as dessert with a little low cal whipped topping.

Frozen vegetables can be added to egg white omelets, or for dinner, into stir-fry, tomato sauce for pasta, hidden as an extra "health boost" into many dishes.

Organic dried fruits with no sugar added can be used as part of your snacks throughout the day. Try Newman's Organic raisins, organic mango, apricots, etc (I choose organic to minimize the pesticide residue.)

Last night my husband Ron tossed together a quick little delicious vegetable side dish, made from frozen "California stir-fry" mixed vegetables (the kind with no sauce added from the store). Here is the simple, healthier way to make your own sauce:

1 Cup low sodium chicken broth (I like Pacific Organics Free Range Chicken Broth, which comes in a convenient resealable box you can keep in your fridge.)
2 Tbs Light Mayo (I really like Hellmann's Canola Oil Mayo)
1-2 Tbs Minced onion (fresh, or dried herb in a jar)
1 Bag of frozen vegetables.

Put the chicken broth and mayo into a saucepan over medium to medium high heat and stir. Once smooth and blended, add the minced onion. Continue to cook until onion is soft; finally add frozen vegetables. Cook and stir over medium heat until vegetables are coated, and most of liquid is absorbed - then enjoy!

This is so easy, I could almost cook it myself (but thanks Ron!) We had this with some easy frozen salmon filets from a "big box store", cooked on the "George Foreman" style grill. Inexpensive, easy, healthy, and delicious.