email this pageIn a program called the “Smart Heart Challenge,” Quaker Oats hired me, a registered dietitian, to work as a nutrition coach for firefighters in Engine 42 in Chicago. My job was to instruct them on what to eat for a healthy heart. Their job was to eat a good size bowl of oatmeal—about 1 ½ cups cooked or ¾ cup dry every day for 30 days.
With 7g fiber per cup, oatmeal was the first and obvious choice for jump-starting the program. More than 40 years of research have demonstrated that oatmeal works like a sponge, soaking up dangerous cholesterol.
Firehouses in Chicago, Denver, New York and San Francisco competed to see who could achieve the greatest average reduction in cholesterol. The prize? Besides improvement to their cardiovascular health, the winning firehouse crew received $10,000 to donate to their favorite charity and a much needed heart defibrillator, an important tool for saving lives.
Denver emerged victorious with an average cholesterol drop of 15 points, which translates into a 30 percent reduction in heart disease. The Chicago and New York firehouses tied for second place with an average plunge of 12 points. To start your own cholesterol-lowering program, try these recipes, including the Firefighter’s Muesli I created during the program.
Oatmeal Breakfast Cake
Printer Friendly Version
Do you like to print recipes and add them to your collection? You're in luck. Use our printer friendly version of this recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
2. Combine flour, oats, crumbs, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk and eggs. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
3. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Serves 16.
"Relish the Healthy Table," February 2007.
Firefighter's Muesli
Printer Friendly Version
Do you like to print recipes and add them to your collection? You're in luck. Use our printer friendly version of this recipe.
Ingredients
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 to 1 cup skim milk or low-fat vanilla soy milk
2 tablespoons almonds, walnuts and pistachios (some of each)
1/4 cup mixed dried fruit
and eat the next day. Serves 1.
Recipe by Dave Grotto, a registered dietitian in Elmwood, Ill., "Relish the Healthy Table," February 2007.
Related Stories
If you enjoyed reading this story, To the Rescue, then you might enjoy these other stories.Share This Story With Others:
There are no current discussions for this article. Why not be the first?
