Supporting heart health, one dish at a time
More than 50 years ago, a health-minded home cook might have given Sweet-and-Sour Tongue or Cold Salmon Mousse a try, topped off with Baked Prune Whip for dessert. That cook would have been relying on The American Heart Association Cookbook to help keep her family healthy.
In the half-century since, the cookbook — now in its 10th edition — has evolved with the times. Today, the family chef might whip up Air Fryer Fish Sticks or Sheet Pan Chicken, Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans, finish with Carrot Cake Mini Cupcakes and, because it's March, tip a glass of Mojito Mocktail to salute National Nutrition Month.
Nutrition Month, sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and The New American Heart Association Cookbook share a vital public mission: to promote healthy eating and informed food choices. The cookbook's latest edition, released last year to mark the AHA Centennial, features over 800 recipes that support heart (and brain) health.
Mission: Prevention
Preventing heart disease has always been a priority of the American Heart Association, noted as far back as in its founding documents in 1924. In the 1960s, the AHA published some of its first dietary guidance advising people to eat less saturated fat as a way to prevent heart disease.
By the early 1970s, the public was beginning to get the message that healthy eating mattered. But there were almost no cookbooks to help the home cook prepare healthy meals. Dr. Campbell Moses, then the AHA's medical director, saw an opportunity to help consumers make the dietary changes the association was promoting, including avoiding harmful fats.
Under Moses' leadership, the AHA introduced its first cookbook, with over 400 recipes, to the public in 1973. The goal was to provide a trusted resource for Americans to follow a heart‐healthy, and enjoyable, diet.
"This is not a diet book. It is a cookbook — a fun book for people who like to cook and eat, whether they are young or old, living alone or in a family group, pursuing a career or busily involved in keeping a home," Moses wrote in the cookbook's foreword.
"Dietary intake of fat is only one of the factors linked with catastrophic rise in heart and blood vessel disease. But it is one factor that we ourselves can do something about," Moses wrote.
Recipes in the first edition, referred to as a "fat-controlled cookbook," aligned with the association's dietary guidelines to cut down on saturated fats, replacing them with unsaturated fats. Thousands of recipes came from kitchens across the country, submitted by the AHA and its affiliates' volunteers and staff as well as doctors, dietitians and other friends of the AHA.
Two AHA nutritionists — Mary Winston, Ed.D., R.D., and Ruthe Eshleman Ph.D. — directed the recipes' selection and testing. Eshleman described the collection as a "happy blending of good taste and good health."
That first cookbook, published by David McKay Company, cost $7.95 retail, and its debut was announced in the September 1973 issue of the AHA journal Circulation Research. With nearly 450 pages and a bright red cover, the book was nicknamed "Big Red."
From 1975 through 1991, four more editions were released. Penguin Random House took over as publisher beginning with Big Red's fifth edition and continues as publisher today.
"We are proud to partner with such a respected health brand and continue the profound legacy of this cookbook by publishing its 10th edition," said Donna Loffredo, executive editor of Rodale Books, Penguin Random House.
Forward with the times
In 1998, Big Red's sixth (25th anniversary) edition had a significant makeover. As a result of a 1990 federal law requiring retail food labels to list essential nutrient contents, the nutritional makeup of recipes could be more easily determined. This allowed cookbook editors to expand each recipe's nutritional analysis to include fiber and sodium.
The sixth edition also featured the most recipes so far in the cookbook's history, with more than 600. They included new, easy-to-find fat-free and low-fat foods — most of them products that were unheard of in 1991, the year of the previous edition.
Another big change: using professional recipe developers to create and test recipes. Carol Ritchie was one of a handful of culinary experts to provide recipes for that edition.
"The types of recipes I've created for Big Red over the past 25 years reflect the popularity of foods of the time, current cooking trends and what people want to eat, all with a healthy spin," said Ritchie, whose cookbook contributions have continued through the newest edition.
"I love the Centennial edition because it includes more culturally diverse recipes than ever before."
What's new now
The latest edition includes 100 new and 100 refreshed recipes that offer modern flavor profiles plus more family favorites, cultural cuisines and culinary preferences. The Centennial edition also covers the use of popular cooking appliances such as air fryers, slow cookers and multiuse pressure cookers.
New recipes include:
- Air Fryer Chicken and Cheese Taquitos
- Beef Empanadas
- Bibimbap
- Black-Eyed Pea Salad
- Carne Asada Tampiqueña
- Chicken Pad Thai
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Cucumber Line Agua Fresca
- Huevos Rancheros
- Lebanese Savory Oatmeal Bowls
- Pulled Turkey Tostadas with Cucumber Guacamole
- Seared Jerk Tilapia with Broiled Asparagus
- Slow Cooker Kale and Red Quinoa Soup
- Tofu Bahn Mi Bowls
The newest edition also features:
- Fruit and vegetable storage guides
- Menu planning
- Grocery shopping strategies
- A pantry list for stocking a healthy kitchen
- Guidance on reading ingredients lists, Nutrition Facts labels and key words on food packaging
- AHA dietary recommendations
- Life's Essential 8™, the AHA's checklist for lifelong good health
- Warning signs for heart attack and stroke
About 15% of Big Red's first-edition recipes have been included in all 10 editions. Classic, original favorites like Chicken Curry in a Hurry and Chicken Pot Pie have stood the test of time, with minor updates. Other first-edition recipes had a limited shelf life, including Aspic Canapés, Herbed Rabbit in Wine Sauce and gelatin ring recipes such as Molded Waldorf Salad and Seasoned Rice Ring.
While focused on low-fat recipes, the first Big Red didn't attempt to include low-sodium dishes. Some recipes called for salty ingredients like packaged herb stuffing, or sugary ingredients such as frozen lemonade concentrate.
But recipes in later editions reflected the march of science and of AHA dietary recommendations, with the newest cookbook limiting saturated fats, sodium and added sugars. Recent editions also have featured a variety of produce, legumes and whole grains not found in the first edition, including kale, jicama, okra, Swiss chard, edamame, lentils, whole-wheat pasta and whole-grain bread, quinoa, barley and bulgur.
Meeting public needs
In today's edition of Big Red, quantities of 12 nutrients plus calories and dietary exchanges are listed next to each recipe. Added sugars are listed for the first time.
"The more information we can give consumers about the nutrition in our recipes, the easier it is for them to make good decisions about what they choose to eat and how it fits in with their overall health needs," said Radhika Rajgopal Singh, AHA senior vice president for science and medicine.
Debbie Puccio, senior cookbook editor at the AHA, said people buy Big Red because there's something in there for everyone.
"If cooks are looking for family favorites like chicken soup and meatloaf, they'll find them in this cookbook. If they're looking for healthy desserts, they'll find those, too. If they want culturally diverse recipes, to try something new, use their favorite kitchen appliances, kid-friendly dishes, or to create a holiday menu, they'll find all those," Puccio said.
"The purpose of this cookbook giant has always been, across all its editions, for readers to eat what they love, just in a healthier way."
The New American Heart Association Cookbook, Centennial Edition (©2024, American Heart Association, published by Rodale Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House) is available on ShopHeart.org and wherever books are sold.
