Heart Healthy Yumminess - Win Win!

This month we got to partner with  Mazola® Corn Oil  and make some recipes with their Heart Healthy Mazola® Corn Oil.

The first recipe I tried was Pork Carnitas with Cilantro Tomatillo Sauce 

A plate of deliciousness

This was a really terrific recipe.. delicious and easy. The great thing about this recipe is it can just as easily be made in a crock pot... just sear the meat and then toss it in the slow cooker for a few hours. I liked that this was in chunks rather than shredded as this was a different way to eat it, but you could easily shred this too. The only thing I will do different next time is use pork tenderloin instead of shoulder. I found the shoulder to be a little too greasy for me... but it was delicious!  The tomatillo salsa was good as well.. I added a bit of salt and it was great. Since I cannot eat raw fruit and vegetables, I cooked the salsa... great this way.

The second recipe I made was Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Grapefruit Salsa

Made into a burger,, yum

I had some salmon burgers in the freezer so I decided to use those. The rub was stellar on the salmon and it cooked perfectly. I really liked the flavors. Due to a possible medication interaction, grapefruit could not be used so I subbed oranges.  I have to say for my taste, this had far too much red pepper in it and I did taste the salsa raw and cooked... didn't care for it either way. I'll make the salmon again, but not the salsa

As far as the oil itself, it has a nice light flavor and it was a nice change from the canola and olive oil I usually use. I was surprised to learn new research, sponsored in part by ACH Food Companies, Inc., shows Mazola Corn Oil lowers cholesterol more than extra virgin olive oil.  Corn oil lowered LDL cholesterol by 10.9 percent compared to extra virgin olive oil’s 3.5 percent reduction, making corn oil more effective.  Keeping my LDL in the heart healthy range is one of the reasons I have been using olive oil for years so this was nice news... another oil that I can add to my diet

Since I had this nice big bottle of oil, I decided to check out some other of Mazola's recipes on Allrecipes.com.  I decided to make this one this past weekend Slow Cooked Chipotle Chicken

Slow cooker easy peasyness

This was yummy and creamy and had a nice spice to it. My only substitution was Greek yogurt for sour cream. The recipe calls for cooking this on HIGH, which I found unusual but it came out fine. You could also cook this on LOW for 5-6 hours and it would come out just as tasty.


If you are interested in these recipes or any others check some out here  Mazola recipe collection on Allrecipes.com  Mazola also has a Facebook page Mazola® Corn Oil - check them out

Being heart healthy has always been important to me due to family history and as I get older it becomes more important. My father passed away 27 years ago from a heart defect and my uncle was just sent to the hospital four days ago with a heart attack.  Healthy eating ( most of the time) lots of cardiovascular activity and stress reduction (HA) are all important components to living a long and healthy life, so I try to make sure I hit on all areas.  I put HA next to stress reduction as that is still something I struggle with. I've picked up yoga, but I gotta tell ya.. it hasn't relaxed me yet. :D  I also wear a Fit Bit to track my daily activity, steps and sleep.  It's a lot of fun and I am having a friendly competition with a bunch of new Fit Bit friends to see who can nail their targets the most often.

Oh one last thing I do for my healthy heart... I have the love of a furry companion. Recent research has shown all sort of health benefits from living with a fur baby Cats are good for your health

So give your kitty and hug and a kiss on the nose because they are keeping you healthier.


I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mazola®. I received a sample to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating