Savory Noodles as a Cardio Supportive Food: An Excellent Source of Potassium and Fiber

Savory Noodles With Vegetables 

By Amanda Plevell 

 

2 cups lentil noodles, cooked 

1 can cannellini beans 

½ zucchini, quartered 

½ c chopped asparagus 

1pre-baked sweet potato, diced 

1 tsp rosemary 

1 tbsp basil 

1 tsp garlic salt 

2 tbsp olive oil 

Directions: 

Pre-cook the noodles.  Here I chose lentil noodles. 

Drain noodles and set aside.  

Saute the rosemary, basil and garlic salt in the olive oil and then add the zucchini and asparagus. Saute until tender. 

Add the sweet potato and drained can of cannellini beans. 

Finally, toss the noodles in with the vegetable mixture and serve immediately. 

 

Nutrition: 

This dish highlights the substitution of the sweet potato as the carbohydrate in place of traditional noodles.  In this way, we are increasing nutrition as sweet potato has greater nutrient density than noodle.  Sweet potatoes are rich in calcium, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C.1  Each also contains almost 4g of fiber and 2 g of protein.1  

Health Benefits: 

This dish is exemplary of culinary medicine as it is a good blend of phytonutrients, proteins, fiber, and fats.  This is an excellent dish for atherosclerosis as it contains calcium and potassium, important to the heart’s electrical functioning and flexibility of the arterial walls.2  The herbs bloomed in olive oil increases flavor perception3 and it’s easy to digest, so the dish is pleasing without difficulty.  The sweet potato is a good source of fiber at 4g each2 and fiber has been studied and shown to be associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.4 

Herbs are a great way to add health benefit.  For example, in our purposes for this recipe, rosemary has been shown to be cardio restorative after myocardial infarction.5  Rosemary also is known to have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties6 and is shown to be neuroprotective and anti-spasmodic which is great support for cardiovascular disease.7 

1. Calories in Sweet Potato and Nutrition Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2021, from https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/sweet-potato 
2. Stone MS, Martyn L, Weaver CM. Potassium Intake, Bioavailability, Hypertension, and Glucose Control. Nutrients. 2016;8(7):444. Published 2016 Jul 22. doi:10.3390/nu8070444 
3. Redmond, M. Presented Flavor Perception : Nutrient- Density & Vegetable Intake.  Presented as part of the Masters in Clinical Nutrition, SCNM. Retrieved August 22, 2021. Canva online. 
4. Brum, J., Ramsey, D., McRorie, J., Bauer, B., & Kopecky, S. L. (2018). Meta-Analysis of Usefulness of Psyllium Fiber as Adjuvant Antilipid Therapy to Enhance Cholesterol Lowering Efficacy of Statins. American Journal of Cardiology, 122(7), 1169–1174. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.AMJCARD.2018.06.040 
5. Nieto G, Ros G, Castillo J. Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, L.): A Review. Medicines (Basel). 2018;5(3):98. Published 2018 Sep 4. doi:10.3390/medicines5030098 
6. Ghasemzadeh Rahbardar M, Hosseinzadeh H. Therapeutic effects of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and its active constituents on nervous system disorders. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2020;23(9):1100-1112. doi:10.22038/ijbms.2020.45269.10541 
7. Murino Rafacho BP, Portugal Dos Santos P, Gonçalves AF, et al. Rosemary supplementation (Rosmarinus oficinallis L.) attenuates cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction in rats. PLoS One. 2017;12(5):e0177521. Published 2017 May 11. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0177521