Color your meal with red, orange, yellow, green, and purple foods by aiming to fill half your plate with a variety of fruits and vegetables. Raw fruits and vegetables can often get boring to eat on a daily basis so next time try cooking them, even fruits!

In fact, Mediterranean diet is all about eating fresh fruits and vegetables that helps bring blood pressure down and prevents heart disease.

This week’s blog features the zero cholesterol, heart healthy recipe of Sweet Summer Chopped Brussels Sprouts with seasonal red cherries that helps in lowering blood pressure.

Sweet Summer Chopped Brussels Sprouts

Add a crunch to your dishes with heart healthy fats from chopped nuts, such as pistachios, walnuts, or almonds.

Ingredients:

Yield: 4 (serving size = 1 cup)

• 2 cups brussels sprouts, chopped (about 12 brussels sprouts)
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, minced
• 1 cup red cherries, pitted, halved
• 3 Clementine, peeled
• 1/2 cup chopped pineapple in 100% fruit juice
• 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium size bowl, mix chopped brussels sprouts, paprika, onion, and olive oil and then spread mixture out on a baking sheet. Roast brussels sprouts for 30 minutes (stir every 10 minutes). In a large skillet, mix roasted brussels sprouts, cherries, clementines, pineapple, and pistachios and heat on medium heat for 10 minutes. Serve dish hot or cold.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Calories: 150 kcal, Fat 6: g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrate: 23 g, Dietary Fiber: 5 g, Protein: 4g, Sodium 13 mg