4 best Recipe For Hypertension

The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is a proven remedy to keep your blood pressure in check. It involves eating foods high in nutrients and low in sodium. However, a healthy diet is also thought to be boring. Worry not, we have listed some tasty and healthy hypertension diet recipes below for you to enjoy.

Points covered

• What Is Hypertension?
• DASH Diet
• Hypertension Diet Recipes

What Is Hypertension?

When you’re diagnosed with hypertension, the first thing your doctor will ask you to do is make certain changes in your diet. Don’t get disheartened listening to the long list of dos and dont’s! A healthy diet is not a boring diet, and there’s a lot you can do to keep your meals and snacks interesting. The most commonly prescribed diet for hypertensive people is the DASH diet – we’ve compiled a list of recipes in line with this diet to help you keep your meals interesting.

DASH Diet

If you have been diagnosed with hypertension or high blood pressure your doctor may recommend the DASH diet. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

This hypertension diet recommends some simple changes to your daily diet that helps to lower blood pressure.

• Eat less salt-consume low sodium diet foods
• Eat more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products
• Eat less saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol increasing foods
• Eat more nuts, fish, whole grain foods

Hypertension Diet Recipes

The DASH diet gives a broad outline of what to omit and what to include in your diet that will help in keeping your BP in check. But having high blood pressure does not mean you have to eat bland, tasteless food.

Here are some diet food recipes for hypertension patients that are high on taste but low in sodium:

• Cabbage And Dal Paratha –

  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and thus plays an important role in regulating blood pressure. It is important to eat foods that include essential nutrients such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D etc. Whole grains and fresh fruits (bananas, apples, pears, oranges) help lower blood pressure. A great breakfast item, Cabbage (low sodium content) and Dal Paratha is a wholesome meal full of cereals, pulses and vegetables.

  You Need:

  For Dough
  • ½ cup of wheat flour and ½ cup of oats flour
  • ¼ tsp salt
  For Stuffing
  • ¾ cup cabbage (finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup moong dal (soaked and boiled)
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • ¼ cup onions (finely chopped)
  • 2 tsp green chilies (finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup mint leaves (finely chopped)
  • 1 pinch turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp dry mango powder
  • 1 tsp ginger (grated)
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  Let’s Cook:
  For Dough
  • Mix the wheat flour, oats flour and salt in a bowl
  • Add enough water to make a soft dough
  • Knead the mixture well for 3-4 minutes and keep it aside
  For Stuffing
  • First heat the oil in pan and fry the fennel seeds
  • Add the onions and sauté till they are golden brown
  • Next put in green chilies and cabbage and cook on medium flame for a minute
  • Add in moong dal, mint leaves, dry mango powder, turmeric and 1 tbsp of water. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes on medium flame
  • Divide mixture into 5 equal portions
  Making Of Paratha
  • Make 5 equal portions of the dough
  • Roll out the dough into a circle
  • Place a portion of the stuffing in the centre of the rolled circle
  • Start bringing together all sides in the centre. Seal it tightly
  • Use a rolling pin and again roll out the stuffed dough into a circle (sprinkle wheat flour on the rolling base for easy rolling)
  • Cook both sides of the paratha on a pre-heated pan until golden brown. Use ¼ tsp of oil
  • Piping hot and nutrient filled cabbage and dal paratha is ready to eat. Serve with mint or tomato chutney.

• Mixed Vegetable Thoran –

  The all-time Kerala favourite, Thoran is a low salt veggies preparation that is simple but tasty, with a dash of garlic (which is known to control blood pressure).

  You Need:
  • ½ cup onions (chopped)
  • ½ cup french beans (finely chopped)
  • ½ cup carrots (finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup green peas
  • 1 tsp oil
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp urad dal
  • 2 kashmiri red chilies
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp roasted cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  Let’s Cook:
  • Heat the oil in a pan and put in mustard seeds
  • Once the seeds start to crackle, add urad dal, garlic, and red chilies and sauté for 1 min on medium flame
  • Next add carrots, french beans, carrots, peas and salt and sauté again for 2 minutes on medium flame
  • Then add 2 tbsp of water and mix well
  • Cover the pan with a lid and cook the mixture on medium flame for 5-6 minutes. Stir occasionally
  • Then add in roasted cumin seeds, chili powder and mix well. Cook this mixture on medium flame for 1 minute. Stir occasionally
  • Your delicious vegetable dish, high in health and low in salt, is ready to eat. Serve with wheat rotis or even better with Bajra/Jowar rotis (both are high in potassium which is essential to lower blood pressure).

• Rajma (Kidney Beans), Bean Sprouts & Spring Onion Salad –

  A healthy but delicious salad filled with proteins, dietary fibres, Vitamin A, potassium, folate and anti-oxidants. A dash of lemon not only adds much needed Vitamin C but also enhances the salad’s tangy flavour.

  You Need:
  • 1 cup rajma/kidney beans (soaked and cooked)
  • ¾ cup bean sprouts
  • ½ cup onion whites & greens (finely chopped)
  • ¾ cup tomatoes (finely chopped)
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • Salt to taste
  Let’s Cook:
  • Combine all the ingredients in a glass bowl and toss them well
  • Keep the mixture in the refrigerator for an hour
  • Serve chilled

• Oats & Coconut Milk Pudding –

  Fancy a dessert but think that you can’t enjoy sweets due to your high blood pressure? Here is a dessert low in calories, low in sugar content and is a much healthier option for people with hypertension.

  You Need:
  • ½ cup oats
  • 1 ¼ cups coconut milk
  • 1 ½ tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 tsp honey/maple syrup
  • ½ tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 tbsp almond slivers for garnish
  Let’s Prepare:
  • Add all the ingredients in a mixer and blend till smooth
  • Then pout the mixture in a bowl, cover it with a lid and refrigerate for 24 hours
  • Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and garnish with almond slivers

Having hypertension need not mean that you cannot enjoy your food. Just be smart in the choices that you make while eating nutritiously.
Well balanced and most importantly low sodium diet foods will ensure that your blood pressure remains in control. Stay happy, exercise regularly, sleep well, eat well, and check your blood pressure regularly to lead a healthy life!