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Many of us seem to feel that heart-healthy cooking is an all or nothing sort of endeavor - meaning that you have to choose between heart-healthy foods or tasty foods.

This false belief often is reinforced when folks try to modify favorite family recipes at home by leaving out all the unhealthy ingredients. The result often is disastrous when it comes to flavor.

Although it is important to be aware of the amount of fat, salt and refined sugars we consume, these ingredients also have important texture and flavor impacts on the finished food. If you eliminate these ingredients entirely, you will be left with a bland meal and a poor outlook on all heart-healthy foods and cooking techniques.

A better way to go about modifying recipes for heart health is to work on gradually reducing saturated and trans fats, salt and added sugars in your cooking. It's also important to find other healthful ingredients to replace any decrease in flavor.

For example, you simply can reduce the amount of cheese in your casserole and add more veggies. This will make each serving lower in cholesterol-raising saturated fat and higher in cholesterol-lowering fiber and nutrients.

If you normally use full-fat cheese, don't suddenly switch to fat-free cheese. You don't have to replace all the sugar in your cookies with artificial sweeteners. If you enjoy eating canned or restaurant soups, which can be high in sodium, be sure to add at least a little salt to a homemade soup.

As you gradually reduce the amount of salt you add to recipes, you can increase your use of herbs, pepper, chili powder, citrus juice and vinegar. The dual result will be helping to manage blood pressure while maintaining great flavor.

In your baked goods, you generally can reduce sugar by one-quarter to one-half and reduce fat by one-quarter. You also can replace as much as half of the white flour with whole-wheat flour. This approach will achieve a healthier, yet still tasty, dessert. Add a little extra vanilla or spices such as cinnamon and allspice to help boost the flavor, if desired.

Changing your cooking methods also can help. For example, fully browning meat or poultry before adding it to a stew or soup can increase flavor without adding salt. To greatly reduce the amount of saturated fat, remove all the visible fat from meats, then grill, broil or bake on a rack.

Steaming, grilling or roasting vegetables will retain more nutrients than boiling or deep-frying them.

Remember - nowhere is it said that a heart-healthy diet has to contain no salt, no fat, no sugar and no flavor. There are just certain guidelines with these ingredients we all need to follow.

By gradually changing your cooking and eating habits, eating smaller portions of foods that contain higher fat, salt or sugar, and increasing your daily activity, you have the power to improve your heart and overall health.

Stephanie Yoo, MS, RD, a professional chef who formerly worked in Napa Valley, CA, is a dietitian with Heart Center of the Rockies.