Food & recipes

Recipes: Eating for lower blood pressure

Keep hypertension in check and your taste buds happy with these summery lunches

Keep hypertension in check and your taste buds happy with these summery lunches

High blood pressure is the biggest known cause of disability and premature death in the UK through stroke, heart attack and heart disease. The good news is there are things you can do about it and changes in your diet will bring down your blood pressure quite dramatically.

Grilled salmon with mixed peas and watercress

Serves: 4

4 x 175g sustainably sourced skinless and boneless salmon fillets
3 tbsps olive oil
300g snow peas, ends cut off and strings removed
300g sugar snap peas
250g fresh peas
1 garlic clove
1/2 lemon
100g sun blushed tomatoes in oil
1 tsp cracked coriander seeds
2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander
Bunch of watercress

1. Preheat a chargrill or grill pan. Brush the salmon lightly with olive oil and season with black pepper. Place on grill and cook for two minutes on each side.

2. Blanch the snow peas, sugar snap peas and fresh peas in a pan containing boiling water for one minute. Drain well and season with black pepper.

3. Heat the remaining oil in a pan with the garlic, lemon juice, tomatoes, coriander seeds and fresh coriander. Heat gently for five minutes to infuse the flavour.

4. To serve, divide the peas between four plates, top each with a grilled salmon fillet, spoon over a little of the tomato dressing and garnish with watercress.

Fatty issue

High levels of cholesterol in your blood increases the pressure and your risk of stroke. An easy way to lower your cholesterol is to eat less saturated fat. Foods that are really high in these fats include:

Coconut and palm oil
Full fat dairy products
Processed meats
Ghee and lard

Read the label

If you have high blood pressure, eating less salt is one of the best things you can do to help lower it. Foods to avoid:

Prawns, anchovies, smoked or salted fish
Stock cubes and gravy granules
Olives
Soy sauce
Yeast extract

Spanish roasted tomato salad

Serves: 4

12 plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsps caster sugar
Pinch of ground cumin
3 tbsps olive oil
275g broad beans in their pods
2 tbsps fresh mint
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

For the dressing

1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 tbsps olive oil
2 tsps sherry vinegar
1/4 tsp Spanish paprika

1. Preheat oven to 65° C/150° F/gas mark 3

2. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet, then sprinkle with garlic, sugar, black pepper and cumin. Drizzle over the olive oil. Place in the oven for one hour until the tomatoes have started to curl up at the edges and look shrivelled. Leave to cool.

3. Pod the broad beans and cook in boiling water for three minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water. Dry in a cloth and remove the tough outer skins.

4. For the dressing, mix together the ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, add the broad beans, mint and spring onions to the tomatoes. Add enough dressing to taste.

5. Place on serving plates, sprinkle over the chopped egg and serve.

Pork chop with chard, raisins and green sauce

Serves: 4

4 x 175g pork chops, fat removed
8 Swiss chard leaves, roughly chopped
2 tbsps olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
50g raisins, soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained
50g ready-to-eat dried apricots, cut into pieces

For the dressing

2 tbsps chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsps chopped fresh mint
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp capers
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsps olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1. Quickly prepare the green sauce. Place the herbs, mustard, capers, garlic and sugar in a small blender, add the oil and vinegar and blitz to a coarse paste.

2. In a pan, heat half the olive oil and garlic together. Add the chard stems and season with a little pepper. Add 100ml water and cook for five minutes. Add the chard leaves, apricots and raisins and cook for a further four minutes until tender.

3. Heat a non-stick frying pan and add the remaining oil. Season the pork chops with the pepper, add to the pan and colour on both sides. Reduce the heat, add a spoonful of water, cover the pan and cook gently for six minutes until just cooked.

4. To serve, place pork chops on serving plates, garnish with a spoonful of the green sauce and place the braised chard alongside. Serve immediately.

Drink problem

Drinking too much alcohol increases your risk of high blood pressure and other health problems too. These simple steps will mean you can still enjoy a tipple: