Heart disease just will NOT leave my family alone already. I know I've been absent from the blog for a while - but I'm back and back with a vengence. Training for my first half marathon, and exploring more heart-healthy cooking.
Those of you that know me well know that my biological father, Kenny, had a bajilliontuple bypass surgery right before Thanksgiving. It was really scary - he had been having a few minor symptoms but didn't mention them to anyone (and still doesn't think they were symptoms - stubborn, stuborn man). He did have some real symptoms one afternoon and told my stepmom, Barb, about it. Thank goodness. He had a doctor's appointment just a few days later and Barb mentioned them. When they did a cardiac cath to take a look around it was a mess in there - they thought they were going to need to do a quadruple or possibly quintuple bypass. Jeremy and I grabbed our stuff and rushed across the state to be with him in KC. We got there shortly after the surgery - he ended up having a sextuple bypass. Yep. Six. And they would have done seven but they ran out of good arteries to use for the bypasses!
That was seven months ago and things are much better now. He struggled for a bit in the hospital and it was hard to see my dad in so much pain and struggling like that. But now Dad is doing well, still stubborn and probably not doing everything exactly the way he should. But I did mention the stubborn thing, didn't I?
Then just five months later Dad (Louis)* had a stent put in! He'd had an unexplained chronic cough so Mom asked Dr. Stoffa to do a chest x-ray to look at his lungs. It didn't show anything scary, but in the background they noticed some calcification in/on an artery. When they did a follow up CAT scan for his lungs, they noticed the calcification had become stenosis (narrowing). So Dr. Stoffa (the life saver, you know her by now), said we're going to skip the stress test and go straight to the cardiac cath. A few days later Dad had his cardiac cath and ended up with a stent in his lower decsending artery - just like Jeremy. Precious, aren't they?
Granted, Dad and Dad were both much older than Jeremy when they had their surgeries, but it's a lesson for everyone. We should all pay attention, we should all exercise and eat healthy. There is no reason to ever put transfat in your body. Ever. Stop smoking, start moving and eat right!
So now Mom and Dad have hopped on the heart-healthy bandwagon. Dad has never had to worry about his diet much, so like Jeremy he wasn't real clear on saturated fat vs. healthy fat, cholesterol, sodium, limits, etc. He'd never paid any attention really - if he wanted to lose a little weight in the past he'd cut back on portions, eat mainly soup and it would melt right off. So this has been a big adjustment for him. Mom, on the other hand (like me), has had a lifelong struggle with her weight, so she is quite familiar with dietary restrictions.
It's actually much handier for Jeremy and I when we go to visit now because 90% of what is in the house is healthy food and we can both just dig in to whatever Mom makes. We are visiting her now and she just made the MOST delicious summer pasta dish I've ever tasted. Ever. She adapted it from a recipe she found in the July 2012 Southern Living. I made her write it down and I'll share...
Summer Squash Pasta
(adapted from James Lewis' July 2012 Southern Living recipe by Janie Busch)
Makes 8 to 10 servings
2 medium yellow squash, divided
2 medium zucchini, divided
2 medium carrots, divided
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth, divided (I use low fat College Inn)
4 T olive oil
1 t salt, divided
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
3 slices turkey bacon
8 oz Ranzoni Smart Taste spaghetti
1 T whipped cream cheese
1 T nonfat greek yogurt
1/4 c grated parm
1/4 c reduced fat parm
1. Cut 1 squash, 1 zucchini and one carrot into 1/4" slices. Place in a Dutch oven; add garlic 1/2 c veg/chicken broth, 3 T olive oil and 1/2 t salt. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in 1/2 c basil; cool 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, saute turkey bacon in lightly greased large non-stick skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp and remove from skillet.
3. Process cooked squash mixture and remaining 1/4 c broth in a blender or food processor until smooth. Wipe dutch oven clean.
4. Cook pasta in dutch oven according to package directions; drain, reserving 1 c hot pasta water. Return hot booked pasta to dutch oven.
5. Cut remaining squash, zucchini and carrot lengthwise into very thin, ribbon-like strips using a mandoline or Y-shaped vegetable peeler. Stck ribbons, and cut in half lengthwise.
6. Put 1 T olive oil in skillet over medium heat; add vegetable ribbons, remaining 1/2 t salt, and saute 5 minutes or just until tender. Transfer to a plate and cover.
7. Cook squash mixture, cream cheese, greek yogurt, 1/8 c parm and 1/8 c reduced fat parm for 3 to 4 minutes or just until squash is hot and cheese is melted. Pour sauce ov er pasta; toss to coat, adding desired amount of reserved hot pasta water to thin sauce, if necessary. Top with vegetable ribbons, turkey bacon and and remining cheese and basil.
8. Dig in!
Nutritional information for 1/10 of recipe: 205 calories, 9.2 g total fat, 1.7 g saturated fat, 13,5 mg cholesterol, 510 g sodium, 27.4 g carbohydrates, 7.3 g protein
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