Keeping Your Heart Healthy

I'll be the first to admit that when I'm making a delicious dinner or decadent dessert "healthy" isn't always my first priority. I try to be more aware of the nutritional value of the foods we're eating, but other times I throw caution to the wind. Moderation is key ;).

It was when I saw this post over at The Jey of Cooking that I decided to make an earnest effort to make sure our dinners and snacks would be healthier, for real this time! (you've got to give me desserts though, I'm nothing without mascarpone cheese and fresh whipped cream :( ).

She'll be donating $1 to the American Heart Association for every entry of a heart healthy recipe in commemoration/celebration of her mom's heart transplant.

So here we go!

Grilled Chicken with Pineapple and Strawberry Salsa


You will need:

• 2 slices fresh pineapple, patted dry, about 1/2 in thick
• 1 cup whole strawberries, diced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (I would omit this next time)
• 3 to 4 tbsp freshly chopped mint leaves (I used 1 tsp dried crushed mint leaves)
• 1 to 2 tsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 medium lemon
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 4 ounces each) all visible fat discarded
• 2 tsp salt free steak seasoning blend ( I used Monteal spicy steak seasoning, but I don't believe it's salt free)
• 1/4 tsp salt (I omitted this because my steak seasoning was not salt free)

Preheat the grill on medium high. Brush a grill pan or grill rack with oil. Heat the grill pan or rack for two minutes. Grill the pineapple on each side for about 2 minutes. Transfer to the cutting board and let cool before chopping.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients except the lemon. Grate 1 tsp lemon zest, reserving the lemon. Stir the zest and chopped pineapple into the strawberry mixture. Set aside.

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with seasoning and salt. Grill for 5 minutes on both sides, or until cooked through. Transfer to plates. Squeeze the reserved lemon over the chicken. Serve with salsa on the side.

We had the chicken with a spinach salad. Matt was not a fan of the salsa because of the onion, it was way too strong, and I agree. I would definitely omit it next time I make this. Otherwise he would have liked it and I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Also, I didn't halve my chicken breasts before grilling them on the grill pan. I grilled them and then just cut them in half. Next time, for the sake of saving grill time, I would halve them.

Overall it was very good, I really like the sweetness and freshness of the fruits with the mint over the spicy chicken. I loaded mine up with salsa since Matt didn't eat a lot of it:).

Source: slightly adapted from American Heart Association.

Calories Per Serving 191
Total Fat 3 g
Trans Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.0 g
Saturated Fat o.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat0.5 g
Sodium 223 mg
Fiber 2 g
Protein 27 g
Cholesterol 66 mg
Carbs 14 g
Sugar 10 g
Dietary Exchanges- 1 fruit, 3 very lean meat