Whether you want a quick meal, a nutritious dinner, or a heart-healthy dessert, The Heart Healthy Plant-Based Cookbook by acclaimed chefs and health advocates, Jenneffer Pulapaka and Hari Pulapaka offers over 100 meticulously crafted recipes designed to lower blood pressure, reverse heart disease, and support cardiac recovery. Below is a simple, healthy breakfast recipe from the book. Enjoy!
Plant-Powered Lemon Oatmeal
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 cups whole oats (steel cut)
1 whole lemon, cut in half, juiced, and deseeded
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon sumac powder (if available)
2 tomatillos, quartered
2 cups beet greens, washed and chopped
2 cups turnip greens, washed and chopped
¼ cup walnuts, chopped coarsely
6–8 cups water, more or less
Directions
1. Add all the ingredients except the oats and greens to the water and bring to a low simmer.
2. Stir in the oats and cover.
3. Stirring periodically, cook covered for as long the directions on the oats package says. This can be between 30 and 45 minutes.
4. Remove the lemon, chop it up finely and add it back to the pot. Add the greens, mix well, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle chopped walnuts before serving.
Heart Health Note: Flavonoids in citrus affect nitric oxide by improving basal endothelial function. They enhance vascular function and decrease dysfunction by reducing oxidative stress. Naringin, a grapefruit flavonoid, provides an additional increase in endothelium flow.
Jenneffer Pulapaka, DPM, is a Board-Certified podiatric surgeon and a certified sommelier. Hari Pulapaka, PhD, is a four-time James Beard Award semifinalist and a certified executive chef. Together, they bring a unique blend of culinary expertise and medical knowledge to create recipes that are not only delicious but also scientifically designed to promote heart health.
