EAST BAY - If one of your resolutions was to live healthier this year, the American Heart Association offers up a simple recipe: Get active and eat better. It's easier than you think when you and your family follow these healthy, step-by-step directions:

Get more active. The body benefits from being physically active for at least 30 minutes each day. Regular activity can help you use more calories and build long-term heart health. That's important because heart disease and stroke continue to be America's No. 1 and 3 killers. So turn off the TV and video games and take walks with the family. Stride briskly through the entire mall before stopping to shop. Take the stairs rather than the elevator. Think of household chores as opportunities to exercise. In short, get up and move.

Add a healthy diet. Good food and good health are ingredients that go together in this simple, healthy living recipe. It's just a matter of selecting the right combination of foods to fuel your body and satisfy the tastes you love. The first step in building your family's healthy and flavorful eating plan, says the American Heart Association, is to select a wide variety of foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Then, to complete your good nutrition resolution:

* Fill your grocery cart with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are naturally low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

* Choose whole-grain products including oatmeal, rice and whole grain breads.

* Select lean protein sources, such as skinless poultry, fish, legumes and extra-lean meats.

* Substitute low-fat, low-cholesterol snacks for traditional high-fat, empty-calorie snacks. (Try baked tortilla chips and salsa or fruit and low-fat yogurt dip, for instance.)

* Look for the American Heart Association's red heart with the white check mark on food labels to identify foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

Blend with smart shopping. With so many foods in the grocery store, it's hard to spot heart-healthy choices. That's why the American Heart Association created the heart-check mark. Backed by science, the distinctive red heart with the white check mark helps you easily and reliably identify heart-healthy foods that can be part of a sensible eating plan. Food packages bearing the simple logo have been evaluated to ensure they meet the Association's criteria for heart-healthy levels of saturated fat and cholesterol for healthy people.

To make shopping for your recipe for good health even easier, create your list of heart-healthy foods online before you go. Log on to heartcheckmark.org, click on "My Grocery List," select, print and shop.

Watch the serving size. With many Americans often eating two or three times the recommended amount of a food, reading a product's nutrition facts panel for the suggested serving size is a good measurement to follow. This helps you get the nutrients you need while helping control added calories you don't.

Learn more about reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke through good nutrition by visiting the American Heart Association web site at americanheart.org, or call 1-800-AHA-USA1 for your free copy of the "Shop Smart with Heart" brochure.

Sweet Corn Soup With Crab and Asparagus

Serves 8

* 1 1/2 lbs. fresh asparagus

* 1/4 cup water

* 4 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

* 15-ounce can of no-salt-added cream-style corn

* 2 tsp. low-salt soy sauce

* 1/2 tsp. salt

* 2 tbsp. cornstarch

* 2 tbsp. cold water

* egg substitute equivalent to 3 eggs

* 12 ounces canned crabmeat, rinsed and drained

* 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

* 6 medium green onions (green part only), finely chopped

* chili garlic sauce to taste (optional)

Trim the asparagus and cut into 1-inch pieces. Put in a microwave-safe dish with 1/4 cup water. Microwave, covered, on high power for 5 minutes or until tender-crisp (don't overcook). Drain well.

In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the corn, soy sauce and salt. Return to a boil.

Meanwhile, put the cornstarch in a cup. Add 2 tbs. water, stirring to dissolve. Pour into the broth mixture, stirring constantly.

Pour the egg substitute into the boiling soup in a thin stream. Remove from heat.

To serve, spoon 1/2 cup asparagus into each bowl. Ladle the broth mixture over each serving. Top with the crabmeat and sesame oil. Sprinkle the green onions over each serving. Serve the chili garlic sauce on the side.

Nutrition analysis per serving: 138 calories, 15g protein, 17g carbohydrates, 38mg cholesterol, 1.0g total fat, 278mg sodium

Look for the heart-check mark

All products bearing the red heart with the white check mark meet the American Heart Association's nutrition criteria per standard serving:

* Low fat (less than or equal to 3 grams)

* Low saturated fat (less than or equal to 1 gram)

* Low cholesterol (less than or equal to 20 milligrams)

* Moderate in sodium, with less than or equal to 480 milligrams for individual foods

* Nutritious, containing at least 10 percent of the daily value of one or more of these naturally occurring nutrients: protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron or dietary fiber

* For meats to be eligible for the heart-check mark, they must meet the USDA standard for "extra lean."