Controlling the amount of cholesterol and fats you eat through the foods you cook is an excellent way to lower your risk of high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. Furthermore, you can diminish the signs and symptoms of such diseases if you use healthy alternative ingredients for your recipes. Recipe revisions to lower cholesterol must also reduce saturated and trans fat content, as such fats actually increase the level of circulating cholesterol in your blood.
Step 1
Brown ground meats when cooking, then drain through a colander and rinse the meat under hot running water to remove as much of the remaining fat and cholesterol as possible, before continuing with your recipe. Use 99 percent lean ground meats and poultry, for even less cholesterol and fat.
Step 2
Replace the whole eggs called for in your recipes with a no-cholesterol, fat-free egg substitute. Use ¼ cup of liquid egg substitute per one whole egg.
Step 3
Add brown rice or beans to your dish, replacing some of the pasta or white rice. Brown rice and beans contain water-soluble fiber, which lowers cholesterol.
Step 4
Include peas and carrots for a portion of the other vegetables called for in your recipes; these veggies also have more water-soluble fiber.
Step 5
Substitute the vegetable or canola oil in your recipes with olive oil. Olive oil contains plenty of monounsaturated fat, which lowers your bad, or LDL cholesterol.
Step 6
Use fresh avocado mixed with a squeeze of lemon juice to replace mayonnaise or sour cream in some recipes. Avocados also contain cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fat.
Step 7
Replace butter in your recipes with margarine specifically labeled "cholesterol-lowering."
Step 8
Select low-fat or fat-free dairy items to replace full-fat products, and add 1 tbsp. of olive oil to your recipes to account for this switch. The olive oil give palatability usually provided by the dairy fat, without the cholesterol-raising effect.
Tips and Warnings
- Be sure to write down your lower-cholesterol substitutions, so you can make the recipe again.
Things You'll Need
- Colander
- Egg subsitute
- Brown rice
- Beans
- Peas
- Carrrots
- Olive oil
- Avocado
- Fresh lemon
- Cholesterol-lowering margarine
- Low-fat or fat-free dairy products
References
- "Exercise Physiology, Energy, Nutrition & Human Performance"; William McArdle, et al.; 2007
- American College of Sports Medicine's "Health & Fitness Journal"; Eat Like You're in Crete: Teach Your Clients the Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet; Janet Bond Brill, Ph.D., R.D.; September/October 2007
