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DASH Diet: A Health Diet For Hyper Tension

Healthy Hypertension Diet Recipes

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?

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 –

    Cabbage and Dal ParathaBreakfast 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 –

    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 –

    Kidney Beans Sprouts with Spring Onion SaladA 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 –

    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!

Diet tips to lower hypertension

FAQs

1. What can I eat for breakfast if I have high blood pressure?

As a part of your DASH diet for controlling high blood pressure, you could try breaking your fast with a bowl full of oats or a bowl of yogurts with fruits. You could also start your day with a wholesome meal of cabbage and dal paratha. You can also prepare scrambled eggs and add some vegetables to it as a part of your DASH diet breakfast.

2. Should you eat eggs with high blood pressure?

Eggs are a great option for breakfast, especially when you’re looking for foods to reduce blood pressure. They are also a well known source of protein and egg whites are especially considered highly effective in helping to reduce blood pressure.

3. What is the best drink for high blood pressure?

Tomato juice can be an answer to, “How to lower high blood pressure” “. Furthermore, juices red in colour, like beet juice, pomegranate juice and prune juice, lower the risk of high blood pressure as well.

4. What kind of meat is good for high blood pressure?

Lean meat, skinless turkey and chicken are some of the foods which have a low sodium variant. The low sodium diet foods even include fish, seafood and skinless poultry.

Note of caution: This article is for information purpose only. Always consult your doctor before altering any diet plans, medications or in case of any other blood pressure related troubles.
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Comments (23)

Santoshi

Why do people with high blood pressure avoid processed foods?

BPincontrol Team

Processed foods contain a lot of salts, sugars and trans fats. And people with high blood pressure should avoid eating fatty foods as it turns out to be dangerous for them. These trans fats can increase the chances of having cardiovascular diseases. Hence people with high blood pressure should avoid processed food and intake foods with low sodium levels.

Sonali

Indian food just got healthier! Wow, like all the recipes here.

Sayali

The‌ ‌cabbage‌ ‌paratha‌ ‌sounds‌ ‌delicious.‌ ‌I‌ ‌like‌ ‌the‌ ‌idea‌ ‌of‌ ‌eating‌ ‌healthy‌ ‌food.‌

Abeer

Do doctors recommend DASH Diet?

BPincontrol Team

As the DASH diet is high in fibre, potassium, calcium and low in sodium, the doctors are more than happy to recommend it to people with high blood pressure. A lot of dieticians also recommend this diet. If you wish, you can ask your dietician or doctor about it.

Abhimanu

Wow. I like the oats recipe. It’s so healthy and easy to make. Thanks for giving ideas on a low sodium diet!

Roshan

If someone has high blood pressure, should they avoid Indian food as it has a lot of oil?

BPincontrol Team

Indian food is very healthy for the body with all the pulses, grains, fibre, etc., the only thing to take care of is oils & spices. Reduce the amount of oil, ghee & butter while making any Indian food, and you shall be just fine.

Pawan

Should hypertensive patients cut down on nuts as well?

BPincontrol Team

Although considered fats, nuts like walnuts & almonds are rich in iron, zinc, vitamin E, which prevents bad cholesterol and positively affects blood pressure. According to recent studies, nuts help in lowering blood pressure. Hence they are considered to be healthy. Any hypertensive person should include them in their diet to manage their blood pressure levels effectively.

Kaustubh

These are really good recipes. But I have a question, is meat completely a no-no if i’m having hypertension? It’ll really help if you could clarify that part.

Sunny

Wow! Love the hypertension diet!

Diwakar

A sweet diet for hypertension is actually interesting to know about.

Laxmi

Can people who do not have hypertension try these?

BPincontrol Team

Sure, everyone is welcomed to try these recipes. They are healthy and give you lots of fibre and protein. Anyone who isn’t hypertensive can try these recipes.

Devesh

Do I need a diet plan from a dietician, or can I try these recipes?

BPincontrol Team

Yes, you can try out these healthy recipes as they are curated for hypertensive people. We would always advise you to run it through your dietician, for your satisfaction.

Suraj

The DASH diet concept is excellent! Loved it.

Kinjal

Good read!

Kirshnan

Liked the DASH Diet concept

Chetan

Nice Hypertension Diet Recipes

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