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Getting Started with DASH

It's easy to adopt the DASH eating diet. Here are some ways to get started:

Change gradually.

• If you now eat one or two vegetables a day, add a serving at lunch and another at dinner.
• If you don't eat fruit now or have only juice at breakfast, add a serving to your meals or have it as a snack.
• Use only half the butter, margarine, or salad dressing you do now.
• Try lowfat or fat free condiments, such as fat free salad dressings.
• Gradually increase dairy products to three servings per day. For example, drink milk with lunch or dinner, instead of soda, alcohol, or sugar-sweetened tea. Choose lowfat (1 percent) or fat free (skim) dairy products to reduce total fat intake.

Treat meat as one part of the whole meal, instead of the focus.

• Buy less meat. If it's not there, you won't eat it.
• Limit meat to 6 ounces a day (two servings)--all that's needed. Three to four ounces is about the size of a deck of cards.
• If you now eat large portions of meat, cut them back gradually--by a half or a third at each meal.
• Include two or more vegetarian-style (meatless) meals each week.
• Increase servings of vegetables, rice, pasta, and dry beans in meals. Try casseroles and pasta, and stir-fry dishes, having less meat and more vegetables, grains, and dry beans.

Use fruits or lowfat foods as desserts and snacks.

• Fruits and lowfat foods offer great taste and variety. Use fruits canned in their own juice. Fresh fruits require little or no preparation. Dried fruits are easy to carry with you.
• Try these snack ideas: unsalted pretzels or nuts mixed with raisins; graham crackers; lowfat and fat free yogurt and frozen yogurt; plain popcorn with no salt or butter added; and raw vegetables.

How to Lower Calories on the DASH Eating Plan

The DASH eating plan was not designed to promote weight loss. But it is rich in lower calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables. You can make it lower in calories by replacing higher-calorie foods with more fruits and vegetables--and that also will make it easier for you to reach your DASH diet goals. Here are some examples:

To increase fruits

• Eat a medium apple instead of four shortbread cookies. You'll save 80 calories.
• Eat 1/4 cup of dried apricots instead of a 2-ounce bag of pork rinds. You'll save 230 calories.

To increase vegetables

• Have a hamburger that's 3 ounces instead of 6 ounces. Add a 1/2 cup serving of carrots and a 1/2 cup serving of spinach. You'll save more than 200 calories.
• Instead of 5 ounces of chicken, have a stir fry with 2 ounces of chicken and 1 & 1/2 cups of raw vegetables. Use a small amount of vegetable oil. You'll save 50 calories.

To increase lowfat or fat free dairy products

• Have a 1/2 cup serving of lowfat frozen yogurt instead of a 1 & 1/2 - ounce milk chocolate bar. You'll save about 110 calories.

And don't forget these calorie-saving tips:

• Use lowfat or fat free condiments, such as fat free salad dressings.
• Eat smaller portions-cut back gradually.
• Choose lowfat or fat free dairy products to reduce total fat intake.
• Use food labels to compare fat content in packaged foods. Items marked lowfat or fat free are not always lower in calories than their regular versions.
• Limit foods with lots of added sugar, such as pies, flavored yogurts, candy bars, ice cream, sherbet, regular soft drinks, and fruit drinks.
• Eat fruits canned in their own juice.
• Add fruit to plain yogurt.
• Snack on fruit, vegetable sticks, unbuttered and unsalted popcorn, or bread sticks. Drink water or club soda.

Heart Healthy Recipes

By making a few changes in your eating habits, you can help lower your high blood pressure. Follow these links to some great recipes that show you how eating less fat, cholesterol, salt, and sodium can make a difference and taste great too.

Recipe links

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