With visions of valentines dancing in our heads, we’ve asked the dynamic duo of Jen & Jaclyn from BeFitNPretty.com to return as guest bloggers for the month of February to help us all fall in love with good nutrition. These are two gals after our own hearts…

February is Heart Health Month, so with our hearts on our minds and love in the air, we thought we would kick off our month of guest posting with some tips to keep your heart pumping with luuuuv for years to come!

Read on to get Jen & Jaclyn’s heart healthy nutrition tips…

Nut-trition: Ditch the cookies and chips and munch on a heart healthy snack of nuts like almonds, walnuts, or peanuts instead. These types of nuts contain heart healthy compounds like omega-3 fatty acids, unsaturated fats, vitamin E, and plant sterols. And with the added bonus of containing a good amount of fiber, nuts can help fill you up and keep you fuller for longer. Just be sure to not over do it; nuts are also high in calories so keep it to a 1 oz serving, 4-5 times a week. Oh, by the way it doesn’t really count if they are honey roasted, candied or covered in chocolate!

Eat a “heart”y breakfast: Start your day with a heart healthy breakfast of oatmeal and blueberries. Oats are packed with soluble fiber, which has been proven to help lower cholesterol and may help reduce the risk of developing heart disease. And blueberries are loaded with heart-healthy and disease-fighting compounds like anthocyanins (a type of antioxidant), vitamin C and fiber. Delicious and good for your heart? Yes, please!

Ditch the salt shaker: When our diets contain too much salt or sodium it can increase our risk of developing high blood pressure, which can eventually lead to heart disease. Lose the salt and instead season your foods with salt-free substitutes like lemon juice, pepper, or use this opportunity to test out a variety of fresh herbs and spices. And stay away from processed foods, which typically contain high amounts of sodium, or look for those that say “low-sodium” on the package.