Tempura vegetables, French fries, beer battered fish, donuts and fry bread! Who doesn’t love the fat saturated foods that make our taste buds sing? Apparently, our heart and our health have a few things to say about our love of fried food.

Unfortunately, while fried food might be tasty, it also poses a threat to our heart health increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. That’s the bad news. The good news is you can make some tasty substitutions for some of your favorite fried foods that won’t batter your heart.

What type of fat or oil are you using when cooking? Cut down on saturated and trans fats, or those that are solid at room temperature, by using unsaturated fats, those that are liquid at room temperature, instead.

… frozen mashed bananas. Seriously. Those bananas that started to turn before you got to them, throw them in the freezer and pull them out when you’re in the mood for ice cream. Toss them in the blender and whirl. If you don’t eat straight away store in an airtight container in the freezer. Add some sliced almonds for a little crunch, or perhaps a few dark chocolate chips for some decadence. You’ve got a sweet dessert with no added sugar or fat. You’ll need at least one banana per serving.

Try roasting some potato wedges instead. Forget peeling, just scrub those potatoes, the nutrients are concentrated in the skin of the potato, not the flesh. This is fiber heaven. Cut into two-inch wedges and place on the baking dish. Measure out your olive oil, we drizzle one tablespoon per pound of potatoes. Add some chopped rosemary, chopped garlic and some no salt seasoning and toss for coverage. Now roast away for 50-60 minutes at about 425F.

Take advantage of the nutritional powerhouse of sweet potatoes. Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, thinly cut a couple of sweet potatoes (peels still on) into rounds. Toss in ½ tsp of olive oil, and a little salt and pepper and lay in a single layer on a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 20 minutes before turning and baking for a further 10-20 minutes. While the chips cool, chop up a couple of avocados and mash with the back of a fork. Squeeze a lime over the mashed avocado. Add a couple of tablespoons of chopped onions, a ¼ cup of chopped tomatoes and a chopped clove of garlic, and some chopped cilantro.

You can also bake corn tortillas in the oven for about 10 minutes at 450F, flip and cook another 5 minutes for crisp, almost zero fat tortilla chips