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Beet Salad Recipe For Hypertension

This is a traditional beet salad recipe  that is great for the DASH diet.  I brought it with me from the Ukraine. We like it. It’s simple and comforting. The beauty of this salad  is that every single ingredient is great for people with hypertension.

Russian Beet Salad With Prunes And Walnuts

Russian Beet Salad With Prunes And Walnuts

Let’s quickly go over the ingredient list:

Beets

Beets are high in nitrate. The body turns it into nitric oxide. This gas works to lower blood pressure in two ways: Firstly, it relaxes the smooth muscles in your blood vessels so that they stay dilated. Secondly, it helps to prevent blood clotting.

Walnuts

A daily portion of walnuts was found to significantly improve vascular function and had an anti-inflammatory effect. Just like beets, walnuts increase dilation of your arteries and smaller blood vessels.

Prunes

According to this study, prunes lowered blood pressure significantly.

Garlic

Garlic is a well-known superfood that lowers blood pressure.

With a little variation, you can use it as a side dish.  This dish is equally good cold or hot. It stores well if you don’t add oil or mayo right away.
Ingredients 

  • 1 big or 2 medium beet roots
  • 5-6 dried plums (prunes) – or more
  • 5 crushed toasted walnuts
  • dill to taste
  • 1 small clove garlic
  • Dressing: either 1 tbsp mayo, or 1 tbsp mayo with 1 tbsp plain yogurt, or 1 tbsp olive oil with 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

  1. Wash and cook the beets. Drain the water and let them cool.
  2. Remove the skin, and grate the beets on the coarse side of a grater – or use a mandolin slicer for a quick and enjoyable experience.
  3. Toast walnuts. We use them crumbled. Note you don’t have to toast them, but this improves taste. If in a hurry, use them raw.
  4. Cut each prune in 6-8 pieces.
  5. Chop garlic and dill.
  6. Add dressing. We usually use mayo. Add salt if your diet allows it. Otherwise, you can improve the taste with vinegar or lemon juice

That’s it. I will post another variation that we use as a side dish. The sequence of steps in the cooking instructions  is a little bit different.

Enjoy your DASH diet. It doesn’t have to be bland and boring.

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