Little Known Cooking Tips to Help Reduce High Cholesterol Levels

To reduce the cholesterol and fat in your diet, follow these tips when you are cooking. Lots of your preferred recipes can be made healthier simply by substituting lower-fat ingredients. Consider the menu of ingredients on your recipe. Then look at the table below to find out if any of the ingredients are listed in the left column. If that's the case, you may make the recipe a healthier one using the ingredient in the right column instead.

What Am i allowed to Substitute?

- In place of: Whole eggs, egg yolks - Use: Egg whites or ¼ cup egg substitute
- In place of: Butter - Use: Liquid or tub margarine, unsaturated vegetable oils, butter-flavored granules, herbs and spices to flavor food
- In place of: Mayonnaise - Use: Nonfat yogurt, mustard, low-fat or nonfat mayonnaise
- In place of: Regular yogurt, sour cream - Use: Nonfat yogurt, nonfat sour cream
- Rather than: Potato chips - Use: Pretzels, low-fat or baked chips
- As an alternative to: Whole or 2% milk - Use: Skim or 1% milk
- In place of: Whole-milk ice cream - Use: Ice milk, low-fat frozen yogurt, low-fat or nonfat ice cream, sorbet
- In place of: Whole-milk cheese - Use: Reduced-fat, low-fat, or nonfat cheese
- Rather than: 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, like 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. When a recipe 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 warm water in a blender or food processor. This makes one cup of puree. For baked goods, you could replace 1 cup of butter, oil, margarine, or shortening with 1 cup of applesauce and still have a moist, great-tasting item without all of the fat and calories.

Follow these guidelines 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 in preference to 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.

Once or twice a week, substitute nonanimal protein sources, 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 some vegetarian cookbooks or magazines to get ideas for preparation methods and spices.

Make gradual changes. Over time, you'll get used to your new meals, plus your tastes will change. Adding more vegetables might also increase your dietary fiber, and that helps reduce your LDL - or bad - cholesterol.

Dietary fiber is found in all of the following:

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

It is possible to choose healthy foods and then without realizing it add unhealthy ingredients if you aren't wise about how exactly you add flavor. Use herbs rather than butter or margarine. Or make use of a little unsaturated vegetable oil. Many cookbooks have lists of herbs that enhance the taste of foods. Try one or two. You're apt to discover some new flavors that you like. Try basil on zucchini, for instance. Or use lemon pepper on broccoli.

The term homemade usually makes food sound better. And, and in addition perhaps, it often is more enjoyable too. The important secret is that it's usually healthier for you. Use fewer prepackaged foods. Prepackaged sauces and mixes and instant products, such as instant rice and pasta meals and instant cereals, often contain fat. It may seem less convenient in the beginning, but try recipes for rice dishes from low-fat cookbooks or magazines.

Soon you will have a few recipes memorized. This makes it easy for you to prepare dishes in fresher, healthier ways using your own mix of spices. You can also be very impressed 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 quantity of fat and cholesterol you eat, try this. Add foods just like margarines and salad dressings that reduce cholesterol.

A sample Low Cholesterol Recipe: Marinated Barbequed Vegetables

Ingredients

* 1 small eggplant, cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
* 2 small red sweet peppers, seeded and cut into wide strips
* 3 zucchinis, sliced* 6 fresh mushrooms, stems removed* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

Directions

1. Place eggplant, red peppers, zucchinis and fresh mushrooms in a medium bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together extra virgin olive oil, fresh 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 2 to 3 minutes per side, brushing frequently with the marinade, or to desired doneness.

About the writer - Georgia Rascon writes for the cholesterol recipes blog , her personal hobby web site focused on ways to eat healthy to prevent high cholesterol.

Author's note: The words provided on this document are created to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her doctor. Georgia Rascon has not 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’s not driven by an advertising purpose.