Get Rid of High Cholesterol Levels

by Georgia Rascon
(Massachusetts, USA)

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Little Known Cooking Approaches to Get rid of High Cholesterol Levels

To lower the cholesterol and fat in what you eat, follow the following tips when you are cooking.

Many of your best recipes can be made healthier merely by substituting lower-fat ingredients. Look at the menu of ingredients on your own recipe. Then evaluate the rows below to check if any of the ingredients are placed in the red rows. If so, you can make the recipe a healthier one by using the ingredient in the green row instead.

What should I substitute?

Rather than: Whole eggs, egg yolks
Use: Egg whites or ¼ cup egg substitute
Rather than: 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
Instead of: Potato chips
Use: Pretzels, low-fat or baked chips
Rather than: Whole or 2% milk
Use: Skim or 1% milk
Instead of: Whole-milk ice cream
Use: Ice milk, low-fat frozen yogurt, low-fat or nonfat ice cream, sorbet
As an alternative to: Whole-milk cheese
Use: Reduced-fat, low-fat, or nonfat chees
Instead of: Whole-milk sour cream
Use: Nonfat or low-fat sour cream or yogurt
Rather than: Coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil
Use: Unsaturated oils, for example safflower, sunflower, canola, and olive oil
In place of: Regular salad dressings
Use: Low-fat or nonfat salad dressings, vinegars

Use less fat in recipes. Where a recipe normally requires 1 cup of butter, use ½ cup butter and replace the other half with 1/4 cup of prune puree. You may make prune puree by pureeing 1 1/3 cups of pitted prunes and 6 tablespoons of hot water in a blender or food processor. This makes one cup of puree. For baked goods, it is possible 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 only a little oil.
• Use nonstick pans.
• Spray a light coating of vegetable oil in place of liquid oil or butter, or cook with defatted broth, bouillon, fruit juices, or wine.
• Thicken sauces and soups with skim or 1% milk and a little flour or cornstarch instead of whole-milk products.

Once or twice each week, substitute nonanimal sources of protein, such as tofu, beans, peas, or lentils, in place of animal protein. This will take some getting used to if you are a so-called meat-and-potatoes man. If it is new for you, check out a couple of vegetarian cookbooks or magazines to get ideas for preparation methods and spices.

Make gradual changes. As time passes, you'll get used to your new meals, and your tastes will change. Adding more vegetables could also raise your dietary fiber, and that helps lower your LDL - or bad - cholesterol.

Dietary fiber can be found in all the ollowing:

• oats
• oranges
• pears
• Brussels sprouts
• carrots
• dried peas and beans

You possibly can choose healthy food and without realizing it add unhealthy ingredients if you aren't wise about how precisely you add flavor. Use herbs in preference to butter or margarine. Or try a little unsaturated vegetable oil. Many cookbooks have lists of herbs that reveal the flavor of foods. Try a few. You're apt to discover some new flavors that you like. Try basil on zucchini, as an example. Or use lemon pepper on broccoli.

The word homemade usually makes food sound better. And, and in addition perhaps, it often is more enjoyable too. The true key is that it is 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 look like less convenient initially, but try recipes for rice dishes from low-fat cookbooks or magazines.

Soon you will have a few recipes memorized. This makes it simple for you to make dishes in fresher, healthier ways making use of your own mix of spices. You might also be amazed at how little time other homemade dishes that don't rely on a package really take.

In case you cannot bring your LDL - the bad cholesterol - down to a good level by reducing the quantity of fat and cholesterol you consume, try this. Add food products like margarines and salad dressings that lower cholesterol.

A sample Low Cholesterol Recipe: Marinated Barbequed Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 small eggplant, cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
• 2 small red 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 extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, basil and garlic. Pour the mixture over the vegetables, cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least one 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.

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The author - Georgia Rascon writes for the low fat low cholesterol recipes blog, her personal hobby blog site focused on suggestions to eat healthy to avoid high cholesterol.

Author's note: The info provided on this document are made to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her doctor. Georgia Rascon hasn't business intent and doesn't 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 is not driven by an advertising purpose.

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