It’s no coincidence that February was elected as American Heart Month. This is a time for celebrating love and eating healthy food for your heart. Heart-healthy meals can keep you in shape and extend your life. Fortunately, we’ve got tips on what to eat for a healthy heart, including heart healthy breakfast items. They’re a delicious way to get healthy.

Heart Disease Facts and Figures

According to the CDC, “heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.” They also found that 600,000 Americans die from this preventable and controllable disease each year–that’s one out of every four deaths. Fortunately, February is American Heart Month. It helps spread awareness with educational materials and programs like National Wear Red campaigns and Go Red For Women campaigns.

Healthy Food for Your Heart

Exercising and visiting your doctor can make all the difference. But, you can also eat your way to a healthier heart. Listed below are some Mindful suggestions for heart-healthy meals. 

• Breakfast. Looking for a heart healthy breakfast? Start the day off right with non-fat yogurt. A new study showed that those who ate non-fat yogurt were 31 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure. Add an assortment of berries like blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. They’re full of anti-inflammatories that reduce your risk of heart disease. Also consider oatmeal, which is full of omega-3s that lower cholesterol levels.

• Lunch. For lunch consider green tea which lowers heart disease risk or a sandwich made of whole grain bread, which decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Or make a heart-healthy fruit salad. Add cantaloupe (which has antioxidants for a healthy heart), apples (which can lower cholesterol), and oranges or bananas (which have potassium to keep blood pressure under control).

• Snacks. Popcorn’s a whole grain, full of polyphenols, and linked to heart disease reduction.  Consider eating popcorn in moderation, without extra butter and salt. Also, studies show that raisins can lower blood pressure. And nuts like almonds and walnuts have unsaturated fats and omega-3s that lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

• Dinner. You can never go wrong with salmon and vegetables for dinner. Salmon has omega-3s that reduce blood pressure and prevent blood clotting. In addition, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes are full of different types of carotenoids, which WebMD describes as heart-protective antioxidants.

• Dessert. Lastly, there is dessert. Chocolate always makes a lovely dessert. According to WebMD, dark chocolate is full of resveratrol and cocoa phenols that lower blood pressure. Finally, be sure to choose treats that have 70 percent or more cocoa content.