I guess the older you get, the more you have to learn… voluntarily or otherwise!! A friend of mine just underwent a “Quintuple” Bypass Surgery. I’d heard of a triple before… never heard about the quadruple and definitely never a quintuple! Yikes! Fortunately I don’t think he even knew it was that bad before he headed in… if he did, he didn’t share it with his friends and co-workers!! Please note: he did not have a heart attack. He simply went for an annual check-up. Goes to show how important those are, at any age!!Â
Obviously the recovery from something like this is pretty substantial. I wouldn’t know first hand because the man didn’t want visitors!! Who can blame him, right? So I went to work on a care package for the guy.  Most important note: Think “Low Fat, No Salt”. That was the response I received when I inquired about the necessary diet during recovery (and I assume for the rest of his life…).Â
As it turns out, there are some tasty (and some admittedly not so tasty) little treats out there for the heart-conscious!! Here’s what I found so far:Â
- Unsalted pretzels
- Unsalted nuts
- Frozen grapes (sound pretty good when it’s 105 degrees outside)
- Fat-free yogurt
- Homemade Salsa with Baked Chips
- Raw veggies with hummus
- Fruit
- Rice cakes
A great idea for a care package? Call Whole Foods. They have a “concierge” service.  I know… I would’ve laughed at that a few years ago but now that I have two toddlers? Well, let’s just say I have a new appreciation for “time” and more so, “time not spent in a grocery store with two toddlers”.Â
That being said, one of the things they’ll do for you is put together a little care package! They actually prepared him a meal (grilled chicken breast, a corn & tomato salad, fresh fruit and a green salad) along with a sampling of some of the tasty treats above and delivered it (for a delivery charge of $18, of course). Money well spent, in my opinion!!
