There are certain heart health rules we all know well – stay away from butter and bacon for one, cook with olive oil and eat more salmon.
For the more than 7.6 million Britons living with cardiovascular disease, these diet changes can be crucial – helping to prevent premature death and life-long health problems.
But whilst good for blood pressure, these swaps aren’t always the easiest on the wallet.
A one litre bottle of olive oil will now set you back around £7.50, having doubled in price in the past five years. A standard two-pack of boneless salmon fillets in UK supermarkets, meanwhile, ranges in cost from £4.15 to £6.25 for just 250g.
According to analyses from The Food Foundation’s Broken Plate report, rising inflation means 1,000 calories-worth of healthier food now costs twice as much as less-healthy alternatives.
So it’s no surprise, therefore, that eating healthily can often seem to equate to added expense.
But experts speaking to the Daily Mail say there are plenty of heart-healthy ingredients that won’t break the bank – you just need to know what to look for.
Whole grains, such as brown rice, can help to lower the risk of heart disease, and legumes, like kidney beans, contain soluble fibre, magnesium, and potassium – which all help to regulate blood pressure.
As detailed by dietitian and author of How Not To Eat Ultra-Processed, Nichola Ludlam-Raine, read on to find out how you can have heart-healthy meals for under £5 per day…
Breakfast
It may not be the most glamorous of breakfasts. But research shows the humble bowl of porridge can hold myriad benefits for the heart
Porridge with milk, a banana and a spoonful of peanut butter (around £1)
It may not be the most glamorous of breakfasts.
But research shows the humble bowl of porridge can hold myriad benefits for the heart.
A form of wholegrain – the umbrella term for food made using all parts of the grain, which are typically lost during processing – porridge oats are packed with nutrients, antioxidants and minerals that support healthy blood pressure.
A 2016 study from researchers at Imperial College London, involving more than 700,000 participants, found that people who ate 90g of whole grains per day (equal to about three servings) had a 22 per cent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 19 per cent lower risk of developing coronary heart disease than those who did not.
Porridge oats also contain soluble fibre, which lowers cholesterol by forming a gel that binds to cholesterol-rich bile acids in the digestive system and passes them out in stool, rather than reabsorbing them into the bloodstream.
Adding banana and a spoonful of peanut butter adds further heart benefits, says dietician Ms. Ludlam-Raine.
The potassium in bananas also helps to counteract any negative effects of sodium by prompting the kidneys to expel it through urine – ultimately helping to lower blood pressure.
Peanut butter, meanwhile, adds a healthy dose of unsaturated fats.
‘Oats bring the fibre, and frozen berries are often much cheaper than fresh – and contain more of the antioxidant vitamin C too,’ says Ms. Ludlam-Raine.
Overnight oats with plain yoghurt and frozen berries (around £1-£1.50)
Another way up your wholegrain consumption is through overnight oats – which can be made easily the night before by combining porridge oats with yoghurt and frozen berries and sticking it in the fridge.
‘Oats bring the fibre, and frozen berries are often much cheaper than fresh – and contain more of the antioxidant vitamin C too,’ says Ms. Ludlam-Raine.
While fresh berries can cost £3 per punnet (usually between 150g-400g), you can buy a 1kg bag of frozen berries for around the same price – making them a far more budget-friendly option.
Wholemeal toast with baked beans and grilled tomatoes (around £1-£1.50)
Wholemeal toast is another good first source of whole grains, while baked beans provide an additional heart-healthy element, says Ms Ludlam-Raine.
A 2017 study led by researchers at the University of Catania found that higher legume consumption resulted in a 10 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Baked beans, therefore, can help to provide a plant-based protein option filled with heart-healthy soluble fibre, says Ms Ludlam-Raine.
Adding a side of tomatoes also provides heart-healthy antioxidant lycopene, which can help to lower blood pressure and can stop LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol from oxidising and clumping together to form artery-clogging plaque.
Grilling the tomatoes first, research shows, improves the body’s ability to process and absorb lycopene.
‘Beans on toast is a simple way to get fibre from both the bread and beans, plus a portion of vegetables’, says Ms. Ludlam-Raine.
Lunch
While salmon is often touted as a heart-healthy oily fish; sardines are far more affordable and still offer the same benefits, says dietician Ms Ludlam-Raine
Tinned sardines in tomato sauce on wholemeal toast, with cucumber or tomatoes (around £2-£3)
While salmon is often touted as a heart-healthy oily fish; sardines are far more affordable, while still offering the same benefits, says dietician Ms Ludlam-Raine.
A group of researchers at McMaster University in Canada investigated the correlation between fish consumption and cardiovascular disease in 2021.
They found that eating just two 85g servings of oily fish a week led to a 16 per cent lower risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure.
One of the main benefits of oily fish are the Omega-3s that they provide.
These fatty acids both reduce the levels of blood fats that cause heart disease and work to prevent blood clots.
A 100g serving of cooked salmon contains roughly the same amount of Omega-3s as tinned sardines – for a fraction of the price.
‘Sardines provide heart-healthy omega-3 fats, and the wholemeal bread adds fibre,’ says Ms Ludlam-Raine.
Lentils are part of the heart-healthy legume family, while wholemeal bread provides another serving of whole grains
Homemade lentil and vegetable soup with wholemeal bread (around £1-£2)
Lentils are part of the heart-healthy legume family, while wholemeal bread provides another serving of whole grains.
‘Lentils are an affordable source of protein and soluble fibre, and frozen vegetables work brilliantly here’, explains Ms. Ludlam-Raine.
1kg of frozen vegetables can be bought from supermarkets for less than £1.50, making them more affordable than fresh, while still providing the same health benefits.
Jacket potato with baked beans and a side salad (around £1.50-£2.50)
Jacket potatoes can help to provide potassium – which works to offset the effects of sodium on blood pressure – while beans provide a heart-healthy portion of legumes.
Potatoes can also be stored in the fridge to help them last for several weeks, and a single baking potato costs less than 40p.
As a meal, Ms. Ludlam Raine explains that this is ‘filling, high in fibre and easy to make with inexpensive staples’, while also providing benefits for your heart.
Dinner
Here, chickpeas provide a serving of legumes, brown rice adds a portion of whole grains, and tomatoes give an added boost of heart health via lycopenes
Chickpea and spinach tomato curry with brown rice (around £1.50–£2.50)
Here, chickpeas provide a serving of legumes, brown rice adds a portion of whole grains, and tomatoes give an added boost of heart health via lycopenes.
The spinach also provides a heart-beneficial element of potassium when cooked, which helps to lower blood pressure.
‘Chickpeas provide fibre and protein; frozen spinach adds vegetables without much waste – but cook with a little rapeseed oil instead of ghee’, says Ms. Ludlam-Raine.
‘Rapeseed oil is also a useful swap for butter when cooking because it contains more unsaturated fat, and you only need a small amount.
‘Olive oil is lovely too, but you don’t need to buy it to eat well for your heart.
‘I’d also look for lower-salt tins where possible, and avoid adding much salt during cooking.’
Rapeseed oil is also much kinder to your wallet, costing about half as much as olive oil, priced at around £3 for a litre.
Another option that provides whole grains, legumes, and lycopenes is a wholewheat pasta dish with lentil and vegetable tomato sauce
Wholewheat pasta with lentil and vegetable tomato sauce (around £1.50–£2.50)
Another option that provides whole grains, legumes, and lycopenes is a wholewheat pasta dish with lentil and vegetable tomato sauce.
‘This is a budget-friendly alternative to a meat-heavy sauce, with plenty of fibre from the lentils, pasta and vegetables,’ says Ms Ludlam-Raine.
Wholewheat pasta has between three and four times more fibre than white pasta, as well as a lower glycemic index – which means that you’ll feel fuller for longer.
Sardine, tomato and pea pasta (around £2-£3)
Here, oily fish helps to provide you with heart-healthy omega-3s, while tomatoes provide lycopenes.
Peas are an inexpensive addition, costing less than £2 for 1kg, and they’re also a good source of plant-based protein, dietary fibre, and potassium.
According to Ms. Ludlam-Raine, this dish is, ‘a quick way to include oily fish, alongside fibre and vegetables’.
