I use two excellent books for most of my recipes, both written by The American Heart Association. The first is Healthy Recipes Kids Love published by Publications International, Ltd, 2005. This wonderful small book contains main dishes (meat, poultry,seafood, and vegetarian), soups, salads, snacks, and breakfast dishes. All are easy to prepare and kid friendly too! The second book I like is the American Heart Association's Low-Fat & Luscious Desserts (Clarkson-Potter Publishers, New York).

However, the American Heart Association has published more than 15 cookbooks for easy, quick, low-cholesterol meals. Each book usually gives nutrition analyses as well as how to adapt your favorite recipe to fat-free cooking.

Remember what's good for the heart is good for the brain too! We've got to keep those blood vessels open and avoid clogging our arteries with cholesterol. Keep diabetes under control and avoid foods that would increase blood pressure.

The American Heart Association's cookbooks are fantastic. And now you can access some of their great recipes online. Delicious Decisions is basically an interactive cookbook with dozens of heart-healthy recipes, a shopping guide, and information about making healthy choices when eating out. Just don't forget to click the "low salt" button when you search for recipes. Bon appetit!