Little known cooking solutions to lower high cholesterol
Written by Georgia Rascon who writes for the cholesterol reducing recipes blog, her personal hobby blog site related to ideas to eat healthy to stop high-cholesterol
To lower the cholesterol and fat in your diet, follow these guidelines when you are cooking:
A large number of your preferred recipes can be made healthier simply by substituting lower-fat ingredients. Evaluate the list of ingredients on your own recipe. Then evaluate the table below to view if some of the ingredients are listed in the left column. If so, you can make the recipe a healthier one utilizing the ingredient in the right column instead.
What May I Substitute?
- In place of: Whole eggs, egg yolks - Use: Egg whites or ¼ cup egg substitute
- Instead of: Butter - Use: Liquid or tub margarine, unsaturated vegetable oils, butter-flavored granules, spices and herbs to flavor food
- Instead of: Mayonnaise - Use: Nonfat yogurt, mustard, low-fat or nonfat mayonnaise
- As an alternative to: Regular yogurt, sour cream - Use: Nonfat yogurt, nonfat sour cream
- As an alternative to: Potato chips - Use: Pretzels, low-fat or baked chips
- Rather than: Whole or 2% milk - Use: Skim or 1% milk
- Rather than: Whole-milk ice cream - Use: Ice milk, low-fat frozen yogurt, low-fat or nonfat ice cream, sorbet
- Instead of: Whole-milk cheese - Use: Reduced-fat, low-fat, or nonfat cheese
- As an alternative to: Whole-milk sour cream - Use: Nonfat or low-fat sour cream or yogurt
- In place of: Coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil - Use: Unsaturated oils, such as safflower, sunflower, canola, and extra virgin olive oil
- In place of: Regular salad dressings - Use: Low-fat or non fat salad dressings, vinegars.
Use less fat in recipes. In case a recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use ½ cup butter and replace the other half with 1/4 cup of prune puree. You can make prune puree by pureeing 1 1/3 cups of pitted prunes and 6 tablespoons of hot water in a blender or mixer. This makes one cup of puree. For baked goods, it is easy to replace 1 cup of butter, oil, margarine, or shortening with 1 cup of applesauce and still have a moist, great-tasting item without all the fat and calories.
Follow the following tips for the healthiest cooking methods:
- Bake, broil, roast, steam, microwave, poach, grill or stir-fry with just a little oil.
- Use nonstick pans.
- Spray a light coating of vegetable oil instead of liquid oil or butter, or cook with defatted broth, bouillon, fresh fruit juices, or wine.
- Thicken sauces and soups with skim or 1% milk and a little flour or cornstarch as an alternative to whole-milk products.
Several times each week, substitute non animal protein sources, like tofu, beans, peas, or lentils, in preference to animal protein. This will take some getting used to if you are a so-called meat-and-potatoes person. If this is new for you, take a look at some vegetarian cookbooks or magazines to get ideas for preparation methods and spices.
Make gradual changes. After a while, you'll get used to your new meals, plus your tastes will change. Adding more vegetables may also raise your dietary fibre, which helps reduce your LDL - or bad - cholesterol.
Soluble fibber can be found in every one of the following:
- oats
- oranges
- pears
- Brussels sprouts
- carrots
- dried peas and beans
You can choose healthy food and after that without realizing it add unhealthy ingredients if you aren't wise about how exactly you add flavour. Use herbs instead of butter or margarine. Or use a little unsaturated vegetable oil. Many cookbooks have lists of herbs that reveal the taste of foods. Try some. You're apt to discover some new flavours that you like. Try basil on zucchini, in particular. Or use lemon pepper on broccoli.
The term home-made usually makes food sound better. And, and in addition perhaps, it often is more enjoyable too. The real secret is that it's usually healthier for you. Use fewer prepackaged foods. Prepackaged sauces and mixes and instant products, for example instant rice and pasta meals and instant cereals, often contain fat. It may seem less convenient at first, but try recipes for rice dishes from low-fat cookbooks or magazines.
Soon you'll have a few recipes memorized. This will make it simple for you to cook dishes in fresher, healthier ways using your own mix of spices. You might also be surprised at how little time other homemade dishes that don't rely on a package really take.
In the event you cannot bring your LDL - the bad cholesterol - down to a healthy level by reducing the volume of fat and cholesterol you consume, try this. Add food products such as margarines and salad dressings that reduce cholesterol levels.
A sample Low Cholesterol Recipe: Marinated Barbecued Vegetables
Ingredients:
* 1 small eggplant, cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
* 2 small red bell peppers, seeded and cut into wide strips
* 3 zucchinis, sliced
* 6 fresh mushrooms, stems removed
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Directions:
1. Place eggplant, red bell peppers, zucchinis and fresh mushrooms in a medium bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, basil and garlic. Pour the mixture over the vegetables, cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least an hour.
3. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
4. Place vegetables directly on the grill or on skewers. Cook on the prepared grill two to three minutes per side, brushing frequently with the marinade, or to desired doneness.
Author's note: The words provided on this document are made to guide, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her doctor. Georgia Rascon has no business intent and does not accept direct source of promotion coming from health or pharmaceutical businesses, doctors or clinics and websites. All content provided by her is based on her editorial judgment and it's not driven by an advertising purpose.