DASH Diet Recipes for Lowering Hypertension

DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is the new way to attack the growing problem of hypertension in individuals across the world. The working principle behind this diet is to cut down on all those diet ingredients which induce hypertension in the body.

Let us know about DASH and DASH recipes below.

The main cause of hypertension in humans is excessive amount of sodium (Na). Sodium is most commonly found in the table salt that we use. It is an element which is directly responsible for the inducement of hypertension (or increase of heart rate) in the body. While some amount of sodium consumption is necessary, excess of it has to be avoided.

When it comes to preparing DASH recipes, the sodium content can be either eliminated or minimized by using vegetables, fruits, and non (or low) fat dairy products. Further, the number of DASH recipes can be increased by eliminating all those recipes in which baking powder is used. The best example of DASH diet could be salads. However, there are other tasty DASH recipes as well. Following are two of them:

Low fat pumpkin pie: In order to prepare this dish, you need the following ingredients.

* 16 ounces of canned pumpkin
* 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
* 4 slightly beaten egg whites
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 2 Tbsp molasses
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 12 oz can of evaporated skimmed (fat free) milk
* 9" unbaked pie shell

To prepare the dish, combine egg whites with the canned pumpkin. Next add the brown sugar, molasses, spices, and skimmed milk. Mix the ingredients well. Pour the mixture into a 9" pie shell. Bake it in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 425F. Reduce temperature to 350F and bake the dish for an additional 45 minutes. The dish will make 8 servings.

Frittata:
Another excellent DASH recipe that you can rustle up in your kitchen is the Frittata. Frittata can be prepared in the following manner:

6 eggs (or egg substitute)
1 cup frozen extra-sweet sweet corn
1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half
1/4 cup sliced onion
1 cup sliced pepper strips
4 ounces shredded Colby/Jack cheese or other cheese blend
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon dry basil (or 1 tablespoon diced fresh basil)

In order to prepare the dish, you need to lightly stir the eggs. Then, you need to add the freshly diced basil to it. In a non-stick frying pan placed on medium heat, you need to pour canola oil. When the oil becomes hot, you need to stir fry onion, pepper strips, and frozen sweet corn for 3 minutes, stirring and turning over. Add tomatoes to the vegetables, stirring and turning continuously. Cook the vegetables till the onions are translucent.

Once the vegetables are cooked, pour the egg-basil mixture over them. Using a spatula, lift the edges or separate slightly in the interior, so that the mixture fall to bottom. Top up the thickened mixture with cheese. To complete the dish, brown it under a broiler for 2 - 3 minutes. It would make 6 servings.