"The heart wants what it wants- or else it does not care."

When a good friend of ours had a heart attack a couple of years back, my husband and I were stunned. Not only was this someone we hung out with on a regular weekend cook out basis, but he was just fifty-one! That was less than a year older than we both were at the time. It seemed surreal. I mean we were young still, right?

Our eldest children had grown up together and were now juniors in high school, his wife and I were the best of friends, it was like almost hearing the news hit way too close to home for us. Especially since we were gearing up for another super bowl party, a tradition we had for almost a decade now. He and I were the "foodies" and the spouses were the "tasters" in every New Years Eve, Birthday, Holiday, or just because the weather was nice gathering. We had a passion for being amature chef's and out tasting one another.

Truth being told, we delved into recipes that were savory, spicy, rich and full of yummy fats. Pork Belly's and juicy rib-eyes, twice baked everything with a side of yumminess was our normal menu, so as the days followed his life changing event, we had to take a step or two back and re-examine delicious, how to re-construct mouth watering and most importantly, how to sway ourselves from what the heart wanted, and find a new way of cooking.

From that came a renewed challenge to one-up each other in who could make the better tasting, use-this-for-that healthy meals that would satisfy of love of cooking as well as our good friends new take on life. From that I created the fun meal below. It has become one of my main staples as it lends itself to almost a "make it how you like it" appeal. I loved it so much my husband and I entered it into a charity cooking event and took home second place out of 23 chef teams. It also has become one of the hottest food trends spreading like wild fire I seen in a while. I give you the humble Poke' Bowl.

This classic Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl is made with chunks of fresh tuna (it is vitally important you use sashimi grade ahi tuna. I have found this readily available at Lowes grocery stores) tossed in liquid aminos (or low sodium soy sauce), sesame oil and green onion.

To make it even more heart healthy, we substituted cauliflower rice we bought at Costco for white or brown rice as our base of our poke bowl.

The perfect poke bowl has a mixture of distinct textures such as creamy, crunchy and spicy. Those complex ingredients put together can make a delicious meal. It's rich and buttery taste pairs perfectly with sweet mango slices or creamy avocado (we used mango to keep from avocado turning brown for a lengthier service) and so a little heat we used a pickled carrot and cucumber relish. For crunch, shelled edamame or chopped macadamia nuts are perfect.

We added a zig zag of wasabi crema and siracha mayo across the top and a sprinkle of tuxedo sesame seeds and pinch of cilantro added a perfect final touch.

Each bowl is loaded with protein, healthy fat and carbs. Basically, it's the ultimate well-balanced meal! The best part is you assemble prior to eating, fresh and fabulous, made to order. It’s a fun meal to serve at your next dinner party.

Ahi Tuna Poke:

1 pound sushi grade ahi tuna, cut into cubes (wild-caught, sushi grade)

3 tablespoons Bragg's liquid aminos

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional for spicy)

1/3 cup chopped green onion (about 2 stalks)

Toss all together prior to serving. Serve immediately for best taste.

Pickled cucumber and carrot relish:

4 Chinese or English cucumber sliced thin (we used a mandolin)

2 medium-sized carrots, skin peeled and cut thin (we used match stick)

2 green chilies chopped fine (optional for spicy)

1 medium-sized onion sliced fine (we used 3 shallots)

3 tablespoons of sugar

1/2 cup rice or white vinegar

1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes

Salt to season

Method

Wash the cucumber and cut them into thin rounds. set aside.

Wash, peel and cut the carrots into thin rounds.

Chop the onions and green chilies. set aside.

In a smaller bowl mix sugar, vinegar, red pepper flakes and season with salt.

Taste the vinaigrette and make sure you have the sweet and spicy flavors balanced.

Add all the chopped vegetables into a larger bowl and pour the sweet and spicy vinaigrette into it.

Combine well, season with salt if necessary.

Let it rest for 10 minutes and serve.

Wasabi Crema

1/2 cup (4 oz./125 g) sour cream (or Greek Yogurt)

2 Tbs. heavy cream

1 1/2 tsp. wasabi paste

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce

To make the wasabi crema, in a bowl, stir together the sour cream, heavy cream, wasabi paste, lemon juice, soy sauce and 1/4 tsp. salt. Let stand at room temperature to allow the flavors to blend until you are ready to serve.

Store in a squeeze bottle.

Siracha Mayo

1 cup Mayonnaise (or Greek Yogurt)

¼ cup Sriracha

2 teaspoons Soy Sauce

¼ teaspoon Sesame Oil

To make siracha mayo, add the mayonnaise, sriracha, soy sauce, and sesame oil to a small bowl and mix.

Store in a squeeze bottle.