September is Heart Awareness Month so start taking care of your heart this month by including monounsaturated fats in your diet.

Monounsaturated fats can help reduce bad cholesterol levels in your blood when replacing other fats in the diet, and therefore lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. They can also improve insulin sensitivity.

Monounsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature, but can turn solid in the refrigerator. They contain one double bound in the chemical structure.

All fats contain a mixture of different types of fat. Good sources of monounsaturated fats include avocado pear, olives, olive oils, hummus (made with sesame/ olive oil), peanut butter, nuts and seeds.

How to increase your mono unsaturated fat intake:

• Use a drizzle or teaspoon of olive oil when cooking instead of butter or sunflower oil.
• Spread your sandwich with quarter of an avocado pear instead of butter/margarine.
• Make up your own mezze platter using warm slices of toasted pita bread, vegetable crudites, grilled baby marrows and hummus when entertaining.
• Use olive oil instead of vegetable oil in salad dressings and marinades.
• Make a delicious peanut satay sauce for chicken from peanut butter.
• Instead of croutons and bacon, add a handful of nuts and seeds in a salad for a satisfying crunch.

Remember that all oils have the same number of kilojoules. One tablespoon of oil, whether it is olive, canola or sunflower contains 15 grams of fat and 560kJ (130 calories).