Eating a diet that is good for your heart can be fun, easy and delicious! You will find a selection of heart healthy cookbooks in the online store, including WomenHeart’s ALL HEART Family Cookbook. The ALL HEART Family cookbook features 40 foods proven to promote heart health and over 175 delicious recipes your whole family will enjoy.

Monthly Fruit and Vegetable

April's fruit of the month is the quince and the vegetable of the month is fennel.

Fennel Citrus Salad

Often mistaken for celery by looks, fennel has a much different flavor that is similar to anise or licorice. Fennel is native to southern Europe and Mediterranean area.

Select fennel that have firm, straight stalks and green leaves. Avoid fennel that shows signs of discoloration and splitting. Before storing, cut the stalks off and store separately from the bulb in plastic bags. It is best to use fennel as soon as possible, but can keep for 3-4 days in the crisper section of the refrigerator. Wash fennel stalks thoroughly prior to use. The bulb must be washed and trimmed at the base and then can be sliced and used as indicated in recipes.

Quinces Slices with Honey and Lime

A relative of the apple and pear, the quince belongs to the pome fruit family. It is one of the earliest known fruits and for over 4,000 years trees have grown in Asia and the Mediterranean. Today it can be found in Latin America, the Middle East and the United States.

In its raw form the rind is rough and the fruit is unpalatable. In the United States the quince is commonly made into preserves and jellies. When prepared as a jelly, the quince flavor is a cross between an apple and a pear. Select fruit that is firm and yellow with little to no green. Quinces must be handled carefully as they bruise easily. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months in a plastic bag.

Still Hungry?

Make sure to read Heart to Heart, WomenHeart's montly e-newsletter, for the latest recipes and nutritional information.  Don't receive Heart to Heart? Get it here!