There’s nothing like the fear of mortality to make one quake in their boots. My husband was born with a dilated ascending aorta. He first saw a cardiologist about his condition 10 years ago and had been monitoring it annually for about 5 years. Then because the dilation hadn’t expanded and life got chaotic and busy, he didn’t get return to the doctor for the past 5 years.

Earlier this year, we both suffered a long bout with the season’s cough and cold which plagued many, sometimes, like myself, twice over. Exhausted and not feeling 100%, my husband reached out to his cardiologist and after an initial diagnosis, followed by an EKG, a stress test and a CT iodine scan, it was concluded that at some point in the past 5 years, his aorta had expanded .3-.4 cm to 4.9/5 cm. In addition, he has plaque in his heart, has higher than average cholesterol, and he’s in the top 10% worst condition for somebody of his age. If his aorta expands another .5 cm, he has to have surgery or risk it bursting which could be fatal. Saying that to somebody who has been a personal trainer for decades and has led a fairly healthy lifestyle was like dropping a bomb on Pearl Harbor. It just came out of nowhere.

We both went into shock and then I began internalizing some of the stress. I had problems sleeping, concentrating, I felt like I was in a constant fog, and by midweek last week, I thought I was going to have a stroke on the right side of my face. I felt tingling under my eyes and pressure on my right temple and cheekbone. I started taking baby aspirin daily and began thinking about what I/we could do to mitigate the stress.

What we both realized after we took a few steps back is that we’re getting older. Just like a car, the older it gets, the more care it needs. We both took a hard honest look at our diets and lifestyle and started discussing changes.

For my husband, he opted to eliminate all eggs and reduce his consumption of poultry. A vegan client of his mentioned a recent study that all meat, including chicken, has cholesterol. I reminded him that he would not be able to survive on quinoa, beans and veggies alone so we reached a compromise. In lieu of his daily ration of 2 hard boiled eggs I would make organic egg white veggie frittatas. I also offered to bake previously marinaded chicken breasts and carve him deli slices for his sandwiches instead of the high sodium deli meats sold at the supermarkets. In lieu of cheese, I suggested using hummus to add some moisture to his sandwiches. To mix it up I also offered to make chicken salad to swap out the deli meat and in lieu of mayonnaise, use Greek yogurt and mustard. I usually pack him 2 hot meals but I suggested swapping one hot meal for a chicken or salmon salad. 

That is the inspiration for these new recipes and dietary tweaks. The first healthy swap is organic chicken salad in lieu of deli meat. People incorrectly assume that eating a sandwich with deli meat is quite healthy. The harsh reality is if it’s processed deli meat, even if it’s organic, it likely has been processed with a great deal of salt and nitrates to preserve the meat and have it last for a long period of time. Neither are beneficial for even the healthiest of people. 

In addition, the usual slice or two of cheese is also not the best option for somebody with high cholesterol and a heart condition. Again, even the organic slices of cheese have saturated fat and cholesterol as well as sodium, for preservation.
The best option is to either make your own deli meat, which I will discuss in a later post, or find an a more decadent swap and that is the recipe I put together today. I’ve also listed where I purchased the ingredients. 

Without further ado, here’s my Organic Gluten Free, Lowfat, Low Salt, Heart Healthy, Gut Healthy Chicken Salad recipe:

6 organic chicken breasts (Costco)

1/2 a carton of unsalted chicken bone broth (Costco)

1 1/2 cup of organic lemon juice (Costco)

3 tablespoons organic black pepper (Sprouts)

2 cups no fat organic Greek yogurt (Costco)

6 oz organic Dijon Mustard (Sprouts)

2 packs of organic dill (Sprouts)

1. Rinse chicken breasts before placing them in the crockpot.

2. Pour the broth and lemon juice.

3. Sprinkle the black pepper and use your hands to evenly coat and distribute the pepper. 

4. Set the setting on low for 20 hours.

5. After 16 hours, use tongs or a fork to shred the chicken.

6. Once cooked, the chicken should have absorbed most of the juices but place the shredded chicken in a colander to eliminate the rest of the liquid. 

7. Move the chicken into a large bowl and add the yogurt and mustard.

8. Remove the dill from the stems and add to a small food processor, chopping finely.

9. Spoon out the dill onto the chicken and mix well. 

Option 1: Add atop an organic spinach, Brussels sprouts, cucumber, cashew and dried blueberry salad. No dressing needed.

Option 2: Place inside an organic pocket lined with organic butter lettuce. 

Enjoy!