And, if I'm reading the cardiac diet correctly, Vera Bradley might be the only vice I have left!
Don't abandon all hope. The "heart-healthy" diet guidelines the hospital passes out are, IMHO, unnecessarily severe. I have found that the trick is to eschew the "DON'T eat this" lists and pay more attention to the "eat less of this, eat more of this" lists. The trick is to find ways to alter your food habits that work toward lowering your cardiac risks while at the same time not decreasing your joy in dining. A nice piece of oven-roasted salmon served with and herbed nice and fresh green beans with rosemary, and forzen yogurt with fresh berries for dessert: it's not roast prime rib, double-stuffed baked potato with sour cream and a hot fudge sunday - but it's still Good Easts.
When dining out in nice restaurants that serve fresh baked bread, I actually prefer dipping the crusty goodness in a mix of Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar rather than severing it up with butter.
I've had no problem with breakfast out substituting a nice bowl of grits for the home fries.
When shopping, you need to be a compulsive label reader. You might try easing into your diet modifications by avoiding non-fat choices and opting for low fat alternatives - Land'o'Lakes low fat butter with canola oil has a lot less fats that real better, but tastes much better than Smart Choice. Hellmans Low Fat Mayo is pretty good - the non-fat is crap. Opting for Salmon over Orange Roughy is not a great sacrifice.
Pay particular attention to unintended consequences - Fish Oil pills are great supplement for lowering triglycerides - but they also act as blood thinners.
With luck - your body will help you out. When out in a restaurant my son-in-law ordered a giant order of cheesy fries as shared appetizer. Time was I would have dug in with relish - now I took a look at it, and it just didn't look appetizing.
der Brucer
