Stocking the Kitchen With Heart-Smart, Ornish-Friendly Foods

By Anne Pearce

Stock your pantry with an assortment of Ornish-friendly foods. Having heart-healthy ingredients on hand will make preparing meals quick, easy, and nourishing.

Frozen Foods:

• Apple juice concentrate
• Orange juice concentrate
• Frozen fruits (handy for desserts and smoothies)
• Frozen vegetables (good for soups, stir fry, and pastas)
• Leftovers for upcoming days (prepare your favorites and freeze for later use)
• Frozen soy beans
• Whole grain breads, tortillas, and pitas
• Vegetarian hot dogs (for example, Smart Dogs, Yves Veggie Dogs)
• Vegetarian burgers (for example, Boca Original Vegan Burgers, Meat of Wheat Burgers, Super Burgers, Veggie Medley Garden Burger)

Pantry:

• Dried beans (lentils, split peas)
• Canned beans (kidney, pinto, garbanzo, and black)
• Baked beans (for example, Bush's vegetarian or Heinz vegetarian)
• Vegetarian chili beans, (for example, Health Valley, Dennison's)
• Fat-free refried beans (for example, Rosarita, Old El Paso, Beauritos)
• Whole wheat, kamut, and spelt pasta
• Vegetarian fat-free pasta sauce
• Grains such as brown basmati rice, quick cooking brown rice, bulgur wheat, couscous, polenta, rolled oats, cornmeal, millet, and quinoa
• Raisins, craisins, dates, and dried fruit
• Cereal -- whole grains without added sugar or fat; oatmeal
• Tofu (aseptically packaged, reduced fat)
• Textured vegetable protein (TVP)
• Evaporated skim milk
• Fat replacements (nonstick spray, fat-free butter sprinkles made without butter; for example Lighter Bake, Smucker's Baking Healthy)
• Whole-wheat flour and pastry flour
• Fat-free vegetable broth
• Soups made without animal fat or hydrogenated oils
• Vinegar (balsamic, rice, raspberry)
• Roasted red peppers without oil
• Canned tomatoes
• Sun-dried tomatoes without oil
• Canned new potatoes

Kitchen Countertop:

• Bananas and fresh fruit that store at room temperature
• Tomatoes
• Winter Squash
• Potatoes

Seasonings/Spices:

• Allspice
• Apple pie spice
• Cayenne, red pepper flakes, chili powder, black pepper
• Chinese five-spice
• Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg
• Extracts (maple, almond, vanilla, and butter)
• Fruit spreads (unsweetened)
• Ground cumin, curry powder, basil, oregano, rosemary, dill, ginger
• Italian season mix (no fat)
• Molasses, "lite" pancake syrup
• Powders (garlic and onion)
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Soy sauce (light for less sodium)
• Tabasco or hot pepper sauce

Fresh Fruit

Fresh Vegetables:

• Broccoli
• Cabbage (green and red)
• Garlic (whole and minced)
• Potatoes (red and russet)
• Salad mixes
• Salsa (fresh)
• Vegetable sticks
• Yellow and red onions

Condiments:

• Catsup (no added salt)
• Fat-free mayonnaise (no saturated or hydrogenated fat in ingredients)
• Mustard (for example, stone-ground, hot, and Dijon)
• Fat-free salad dressings (no saturated or hydrogenated fat in ingredients)

Dairy:

• Nonfat cheese
• Nonfat milk
• Nonfat parmesan cheese
• Nonfat ricotta cheese
• Nonfat sour cream
• Nonfat plain yogurt
• Nonfat vanilla yogurt (for fruit dips and salad dressings)

Soy:

• Tofu and tempeh
• Soy cheese
• Soy milk
• Soy yogurt

Other:

• Egg substitutes or egg whites
• Fresh herbs
• Flaxseed oil and flaxseeds (women only)

Snack Foods:

• Fat-free whole-grain crackers, (for example, Health Valley, Rye Krisp, FinnKrisp)
• Rice cakes, popcorn cakes
• Fat-free tortilla chips (for example, Guiltless Gourmet, Trader Joe's, Vera Cruz, Baked Tostitos)
• Fat-free pretzels (without hydrogenated oils)