Valentine's Day gave all of us this week a chance to take a moment and give our loved ones a heart-felt hug! Now, it's time to put the focus on your ticker and make sure you're living a heart-healthy life - so you will be around for many years to come!
February is American Heart month. Unfortunately, most of us know someone who has had heart disease - it's the leading cause of death in the United States. It is not just affecting men - 56% of women don't realize it is their #1 killer. Top Chef All-Star Richard Blais hopes to change that!
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The celebrity chef has teamed up with the Campbell's AdDress Your Heart Campaign to support the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement. With more than 42 million American women suffering from heart disease, eating a heart-healthy diet is key.
"Eating a heart-healthy diet is one way to help reduce risk factors for heart disease. But you need to stick with it, which means you need to create dishes that are not only good for your heart but also taste great," advises Richard, who also adds, "I often check my pantry for inspiration. Whether it's a zesty vegetable juice, creamy soup, fresh bread or herbs and spices, many everyday pantry items can provide the building blocks to a great-tasting heart-healthy dish."
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Richard suggests adding more vegetables and fruits to your diet and suggests soups or even salsa as tasty food to get you closer to the recommended serving of vegetables each day.
To help raise money for the charity Go Red For Women, Richard is going ladle to ladle with Campbell's Master Chef Tom Griffiths in a cooking challenge, which is a 3-part webisode on Campbell's Kitchen Facebook page. For every vote through the end of March, Campbell's will donate $1 to Go Red For Women, up to $625,000. Get in on the action people, at www.Facebook.com/campbellskitchen.
Richard also shares his heart-healthy Bouillia-Blais recipe with Healthy Hollywood - Enjoy!
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Chef Richard Blais' Spicy BouilliaBlais
Ingredients:
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2 lemons, medium 2 tablespoons, plus 2 additional teaspoons, olive oil 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup) 1/4-cup celery, sliced 1/2-cup fennel, diced 20 cloves garlic, peeled 1 small onion, diced (about 1/4 cup) 4 teaspoons fennel seed 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves, crushed 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves, crushed 4 cups Low Sodium Spicy Hot V8 4 cups Low Sodium V8 8 clams 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped 4 fresh halibut fillets (about 12 ounces total) 4 fresh scallops 4 fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Healthy Request Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup 1 slice Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain 100% Whole Wheat Bread, toasted and Cut in quarters
1. Grate and zest lemon and squeeze the juice from the lemons into separate containers, set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch skillet over low heat. Add carrot, celery, fennel, 12 cloves of garlic, sliced, onion, fennel seed, oregano and thyme and cook until the vegetables are soft but not browned, stirring occasionally.
3. Add vegetable juices and clams to the skillet. Increase the heat to medium and cook until clams open. Remove clams from skillet, cover and keep warm. Cook the remaining vegetable juice mixture until reduced by one-third. Stir in basil and half the lemon zest.
4. Season fish, scallops and shrimp with the black pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in separate 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish, shrimp and scallops and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through. Sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest, lemon juice and parsley.
5. Mince remaining garlic and stir in remaining oil in a medium bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup soup. Spread the soup mixture on the bread quarters. Reserve the remaining soup for another use.
6. Divide the fish, scallops, shrimp and vegetable juice mixture among 4 shallow bowls. Place 1 bread quarter on each fish fillet. Top each with 2 clams.
Ingredient Note: Before cooking, discard any clams that remain open when tapped. After cooking, discard any clams that remain closed.
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