It's the American Heart Association Heart Month and there's a new local cookbook on the market to help you keep the beat. It's the focus of today's KGMB9 and HMSA Sunny Side Up. Ramsay Wharton is live from the Sub-Zero/Wolf showroom with one of the chefs involved in the new "A Dash of Aloha" cookbook.

A Dash of Aloha: Healthy Hawaii Cuisine and Lifestyle is a collection of 70 local style recipes based on the national DASH diet (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) created by the National Institute of Health.

It was created by a partnership between the chef and health experts at Kapiolani Community College, The American Heart Association and the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii.

HMSA Foundation funded the printing and publication of the book that not only highlights heart friendly recipes but provides healthy lifestyle and nutrition tips.

Research and development of the recipes were funded by a US Department of Agriculture grant. The book, published by Watermark Publishing, is valued at $15.95 and hit book stores this month.

Sunny Side Up: Tips to help prevent or control high blood pressure:

1) Maintain a healthy weight.

2) Be physically active.

3) Follow a healthy eating plan:

Eat more fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and fish.
Limit the amount of refined sugars in your diet. These are typically found in large concentration in candies, cookies, sugary cereals, sodas, juice drinks, and pastries.
Control your sodium intake by eating less processed foods, such as canned meats.
Choose lowfat or fat-free dairy products to reduce total fat intake.
Use plant-based oils, such as olive, canola, and vegetable instead of butter, palm oil, and lard.
Select whole, fresh foods over highly processed ones.

A Dash of Aloha: Healthy Hawaii Cuisine and Lifestyle

Book Signings:

Saturday, February 23 at noon
Borders, Pearlridge

Saturday, February 23 at 2 p.m.
Barnes & Noble, Kahala Mall

Sunday, February 24 at noon
Borders, Waikele

Saturday, March 8 at noon
Borders, Ward Centre

Good Food for your Healthy Heart
Presented by KCC and American Heart Association
Saturday, May 3, 2008 at KCC
9:00 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Will provid healthy information regarding the DASH eating plan and your heart.
2 hours of cooking demonstration and tasting of recipes from the book.

Call KCC Culinary Arts Department for information: 734-9473

Ingredients:

2 lbs. hyotan squash
4 oz. (1/2 cup, packed) ground turkey or chicken breast
2 Tbsp. minced onion
2 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes, including juices
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
Pepper to taste
Fresh chopped herbs for garnish (parsley, oregano, thyme, basil)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and boil a large pot of water. Peel squash using a vegetable peeler; discard stem and end pieces. Cut squash into four even cylindrical pieces; use a spoon to remove cores and seeds. Boil squash pieces for 3 to 4 minutes to par-cook. Drain well. Combine next seven ingredients (turkey through ricotta cheese); mix well to combine. Fill centers of squash pieces with turkey mixture. In an oven-proof pan, add garlic, tomatoes, red pepper and olive oil. Place squash in pan, top each piece with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Bake approximately 45 to 60 minutes, or until squash is tender but still firm.* Sprinkle with fresh herbs before serving with rice or pasta. Makes 4 servings.

* Broil top if cheese does not brown, or if browning too much, cover lightly with aluminum foil.

Per serving: Calories 310, protein 15 g., carbohydrates 27 g., total fat 17 g., saturated fat 4 g., cholesterol 30 mg., sodium 480 mg., fiber 5 g., Weight Watchers POINTS value: 6.

Orange Panacotta with Fresh Papaya

Ingredients:

1 cup low-fat milk, divided
1 1/2 tsp. gelatin
1 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate
1 tsp. vanilla extract.
2 large papayas, halved and seeded

Preparation:
Soak gelatin in 1/ 4 cup milk for 5 minutes. (Soaking gelatin in liquid is also called "blooming.") Bring remaining milk to a boil. Add dissolved gelatin to boiling milk, stirring. Turn off heat, stir in cream cheese until melted. Pour mixture into a mixing bowl. Whisk in honey, orange juice and vanilla. Pour 1/ 4 cup into each papaya half. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest overnight. Makes 4 servings.

Serving suggestion: Serve topped with orange slices and/or other seasonal fruit.

Tip: Before filling, make sure papaya halves sit level, slicing the bottom to create a flat surface, if necessary. Size of papayas varies. If using a large papaya, slice off excess fruit after panacotta is set. If fruit is small, scoop out a little of the fruit - scooping the sides to create a lip at the top helps to contain the panacotta.

Per serving: Calories 170, protein 5 g., carbohydrates 34 g., total fat 3 g., saturated fat 2 g., cholesterol 10mg., sodium 75 mg., fiber 3 g., Weight Watchers POINTS value: 3.

Related Links:

www.hmsa.com - HMSA Healthy Eating

www.americanheart.org - American Heart Association

www.hawaii.edu/shohet - The Shohet Lab, Dr. Ralph Shohet

www.kcc.hawaii.edu - Kapiolani Community College

www.bookshawaii.net - Watermark Publishing

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