Cholesterol is no joke, and you need to start taking care of yourself if you have high cholesterol. There are many low cholesterol foods that you can eat to prevent raising your cholesterol further, but the thought of these foods to lower cholesterol may have you cringing.
However, just because you have high cholesterol and have to watch what you eat doesn’t mean you have to suffer through a dinner of boiled beans and rice, served with only a pinch of paprika for flavor. Eating foods prepared according to low cholesterol recipes doesn’t mean you have to suffer, and you might find that there are lots of delicious low cholesterol recipes that you can enjoy.
Yes, you will need to stop eating all those Big Macs, pork ribs, and chicken wings that you love, but look at the excess flab around your midriff and ask yourself, “Are those foods really good for me?” You need to remember that these foods that are greasy and flavorful may be finger licking good, but they will raise your cholesterol levels with every lick. If you are serious about kicking your cholesterol to the curb, then you need to do what it takes to fight back and get rid of your cholesterol once and for all. It may not be a tasty way to enjoy life, but it will help make life last a lot longer. After all, heart attacks, strokes, and death all tend to restrict your freedom of movement somewhat.
Read on to find some of the best recipes with low cholesterol for each of your favorite foods.
Meat
Everyone loves a thick, juicy steak on their plate, but, unfortunately for you, steak is no longer an option. However, just because you can’t have steak doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some dishes with meat, and there are some great low cholesterol recipes you can make using tip or flank steaks or pork chops that are low in fat.
Lean Loin Pork Chops
Buy some lean pork chops with as little fat and marbling as possible, and use a salt, pepper, and lemon rub to add some flavor. Fire up your grill and grill them until they are delicious and ready to eat. Low fat pork chops should be eaten as infrequently as possible, but they are permissible every once in a while if they contain very little fat.
Tip Steak Fajitas
Purchase a package of tip steak with as little fat as possible, and slice it into strips. Add some sliced bell peppers, onions, and garlic, and grill the mixture without any oil. Heat up some corn or brown flour tortillas, and whip up your own low fat salsa by blending up some boiled tomatoes, onions, chilies, and garlic. You can even use some low fat cream if you absolutely must.
Flank Steak Beef Stew
Chop up some flank steak along with carrots, potatoes, onions, and garlic. Drop them into a pot with a few cups of non-fat milk and vegetable broth. Let the stew boil until the meat is thoroughly cooked, then stir in a small amount of cornstarch to thicken the stew. Serve with homemade brown bread and stenol-enriched margarine.
Chicken and Turkey
Chicken and turkey are the birds of a feather sticking together in your low cholesterol recipes, and you will find that there are hundreds of delicious meals you can make with poultry. Make sure to remove the fat from the birds before preparing, and always eat the breasts for the lowest fat possible.
Chicken Curry
Slice chicken breasts into small cubes, and dice garlic and onions. Fry the garlic and onions in a small amount of olive oil, and add the chicken cubes once the aromatics are cooked. Once the chicken is cooked, add the curry powder to the mix and fry it for 5 minutes or until dark brown. Add a cupful of vegetable broth and non-fat milk, and stir in some crushed red peppers. Cook until the curry has thickened, and serve with fresh brown rice, low fat yoghurt, and brown flour chapattis.
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Everyone loves grilled chicken breasts, and you can have fun experimenting with different spices to determine which one is your favorite. Simply slice the breasts into thick steaks, and add your favorite spices. You can try a lemon and red pepper rub, or a pepper, salt, and garlic rub. Try marinating the chicken in light beer, or poaching it in vegetable broth. Chicken breasts have the least amount of fat but can be the most fun to cook.
Turkey Fingers
Slice the turkey breast into thin fingers, dip in some egg whites, and roll in brown flour, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic mixed together. Use a napkin to apply a thin coating of oil to the bottom of your frying pan, and cook the turkey fingers on the pan. There is very little oil needed for these turkey fingers, as the egg whites will cause the flour to adhere nicely to the meat. All in all, you get a tasty treat that will be a great low fat way to add some variety to your menu.
Seafood
Seafood is one of the best foods that you can make when on a low cholesterol diet, particularly the low cholesterol recipes containing fish. Fish will give you everything you need to lower your cholesterol, but you may find that your mouth is watering for a dish with lobster or crab. Shrimp is a much better choice for your low cholesterol diet, therefore a shrimp recipe is included for your low cholesterol recipes list.
Grilled Shrimp and Chinese Broccoli
Grilled shrimp is incredibly easy to make, as you only need to throw some whole shrimp on the grill after pulling off the heads and tails. Cooking the Chinese broccoli means lightly steaming the broccoli until it is slightly darker than normal, placing the broccoli in a wok, and stir frying it lightly with a drop of sesame seed oil and some soy sauce. Add some chopped ginger, garlic, and onion to enhance the flavor of the broccoli. You can even add some string beans to the mix to enhance the flavor, and toss the shrimp with the broccoli and sauce to complete the dish.
Spicy Sour Salmon
Rub your salmon down with a bit of salt and pepper, as well as some crushed red pepper flakes. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice onto the salmon, and place it on a baking tray in the oven. Let the salmon cook for a few minutes before removing it from the oven and sprinkling a few chopped jalapenos onto the fish. Return it to the oven to cook until completed.
Grilled Red Snapper with Spinach
Whip out your red snapper fillet and rub it down with salt, pepper, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, and some chopped ginger. Place the fish on the grill to cook, and chop some spinach to stir fry lightly with soy sauce and a drop of sesame oil. Arrange the spinach into a bed on which the delicious grilled fish will be placed, squeezing a few drops of lime juice onto the fish to complete its flavors.
Legumes
Legumes, the “ugly duckling” of the these recipes. If you enjoy legumes, you are a part of a small minority who will reach for a bowl of hummus or baked beans over a juicy steak or a healthy chicken leg. While legumes may not be your favorite choice, you will find that preparing a tasty bean, lentil, or garbanzo bean dish will be the perfect way to control your cholesterol.
Healthy Hummus
Boil a pot of garbanzo beans with a few cloves of garlic in them until soft, and place the beans in the food processor. Add a spoonful of olive oil, 1 whole lemon or 2 spoons of vinegar, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Blend until the garbanzos are thoroughly ground, and serve with whole wheat bread or crackers. Not only will the garbanzo beans provide you with a lot of protein, but the garlic-rich food will help maintain healthy cholesterol levels in your body.
Hearty Bean Salad
Chop some spinach and lettuce leaves together and toss them in a bowl. Add a chopped tomato, half a chopped onion, and some low fat cheese of your choice. Cook up some black beans, brown beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans in separate pots, and add them to your bean salad to make a complete and healthy meal. Serve with a low fat homemade Italian dressing, and avoid serving a starch altogether to make this meal as healthy as possible.
Mexican Nachos
Mexican nachos are easy to make, and you can make your own nacho chips by chopping tortillas into chips and baking them in the oven. Once the chips are thoroughly cooked, remove them from the oven. Boil black beans with garlic and onions, and use a potato masher to pound them into a pulp. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and a few tablespoons of low fat milk to complete the refried beans. Scoop the beans onto the baked tortilla chips, top with fresh, low fat white cheese, sprinkle jalapenos on top, and bake for 5 minutes. Serve with a homemade salsa made from grilled tomatoes, chilies, onions, garlic, and lemon juice.
Eggs
Most people get so accustomed to the taste of whole eggs on their plate that the thought of an egg white omelet or scrambled egg whites loses all appeal. You might be surprised to find out that egg whites are the bets tasting part of the protein, and you may end up disliking the cholesterol-y taste of your eggs in the morning. Here are some great recipes with eggs for you.
Mexican Huevos Rancheros
Mexican huevos rancheros involve eggs being cooked together with chopped tomatoes, onions, and green chili peppers, but you can use the egg whites instead of the whole eggs. Use two egg whites for every egg you would use, and make sure that the vegetables thoroughly cooked before adding the egg whites. Add salt and pepper to complete the flavors, and serve with whole wheat or corn tortillas and a nice homemade salsa.
Egg White and Cheese Omelet
Cut some onions into small cubes, and sauté them lightly in a pan with a drop of olive oil. Add chopped tomatoes, chopped spinach, cubed zucchini, and a generous helping of your favorite low or non-fat cheese. Beat four egg whites in a bowl and pour them into a frying pan with a drop of olive oil on the bottom. Scoop the vegetable and cheese mix into the egg and fold it in half to complete your delicious low fat omelet.
Egg White Drop Spinach Soup
Heat a pot on the stove, dropping in a chopped onion, chopped garlic, and diced carrots. Add vegetable broth to infuse your soup with flavor, and cook it until the carrots are nearly cooked. Beat some egg whites in a bowl off to one side, and drop in the egg minutes before you turn off the soup. You will find that the iron, antioxidant, and protein-rich soup will be one of the best meals to warm you up on a cold day.
Vegetarian
Vegetarians may usually be seen as meek and mild-mannered, but so is Clark Kent, also known as Superman. While a purely vegetarian diet may not be the best for you, it can’t hurt to eat a few more greens in your low cholesterol diet. Here are some great vegetarian recipes that are also low cholesterol recipes and that you can enjoy without risking elevating your cholesterol.
Ratatouille
Slice egg plant and zucchini into small circular slices 1/8th of an inch thick. Place them in a baking tray, and sprinkle them with a layer of non-fat cheese. Cook blended tomatoes until they have turned into a proper tomato sauce, and pour the sauce over the vegetables. Sprinkle with another layer of cheese, add salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and thyme to the pan, and bake until the eggplant and zucchini is soft.
Pasta with Marinara
Heat up water to cook your whole wheat pasta, and set some tomatoes on the stove to boil. Once the pot is boiling, remove the stewed tomatoes and puree in your food processor or blender. Return the blended tomato sauce to the stove and continue cooking it for another hour or so, adding salt, pepper, oregano, and parsley as desired. Chop zucchini into small chunks and cook it on the stove with a tablespoon of stenol-enriched margarine. Add the zucchini into the marinara sauce and serve it over the pasta.
Tofu Stir Fry
Purchase some of the hard Thai tofu, not the silky Japanese kind. Chop garlic and onions as small as possible, and fry them in a wok with the tofu and a few drops of sesame seed oil. Add chopped bell peppers, broccoli, zucchini, cabbage, and any other vegetables that you might enjoy. Make sure to add plenty of chopped ginger into the stir fry, and add a dash of soy sauce to complete the flavors. Serve with some fresh brown rice, and find some low-sodium soy sauce with which to top the dish.
Sweets and Snacks
Snacks and sweets are usually the two worst things to eat when on a low cholesterol diet, as the sugar and oil in these snacks will usually send your cholesterol levels through the roof. However, just because you are ditching regular snacks and sweets doesn’t mean you have to avoid them altogether, and here you can find some simple tasty recipes for healthy snacks.
Natural Trail Mix
Rather than buying trail mix, buy all of the fresh nuts that you could want to eat. Buy raw pecans, almonds, peanuts, cashews, and macadamia nuts. Toast them lightly in a pan on low heat, and cook them for 30 minutes without letting them burn. Once they have cooled, add in raisins, dried cherries, dried apricots, and any other dried fruits you might want to add.
Frozen Yoghurt and Fruit Juice Popsicles
Go to your store and purchase some popsicle trays, or simply use small plastic cups. Pour some low-fat fruit yoghurt into the popsicle tray, insert a popsicle stick, and place it in the freezer. Squeeze some oranges, blend the orange juice with some 100% natural pineapple juice, and repeat the popsicle-making process. Any time you feel like you need a bite of ice-cream, open your freezer and remove one of your homemade healthy snacks.
Exotic Fruit Salad
Purchase some exotic fruits like mangoes, apricots, pineapples, peaches, and papaya. Chop them up into a fruit salad, and serve the fruit salad with every meal as your dessert. You can even purchase some coconuts, drain the coconut milk, and grate the meat to add to your fruit salad. Sprinkle some raisins and dried cherries on top to complete your delicious dessert.
Cholestrol Care and Cure
What are the Carbohydrated Foods, Protein Foods and what are the best food for diabetic patient having more cholestrol?
The best thing to do is to find out if there is a dietician or nutritionist that can explain this to you locally and may be able to be a support person if you run into difficulties.
Basics are:
Carbohydrates are the sweet and starchy foods – breads, cereals, rice, pasta, potato, sweet potato, legumes, fruit and things like candy and soft drink are all sources of carbohydrates.
Protein foods are meats, eggs, legumes and dairy (legumes are things like lentils, dried beans eg. garbanzo, kidney, etc., split peas etc.)
Fat includes all fats and oils, including fats in meat, butter, margarine, and all cooking oils.
For diabetes, we need some carbohydrate foods at each meal. Different carbohydrate foods produce different rates of blood sugar levels rising, so there are better choices. Best choices are whole grain breads and cereals, basmati rice, sweet potato and legumes. That said, monitoring is still crucial.
Things like candy and soft drinks (regular not diet) tend to cause a big rise in blood sugar levels. If you are looking for more information on how carbohydrate foods affect blood sugar levels, the glycaemic index or GI is a measure of this. Information can be found on the internet, or I would recommend any books on the subject by Jenny Brand-Miller.
Milk, yoghurt and fruit all contain some sugar, but unless you eat large volumes in one go, tend to only cause a small rise in blood sugar levels.
The amount of fat in your diet will affect your cholesterol. Choosing low fat where possible is the biggest help. Cholesterol is made from fat, and choosing low fat limits the amount that can be made. That said, different fats will effect cholesterol differently – fats from animals, animal products such as butter, cream and milk, coconut and palm oil tend to increase the bad (LDL) cholesterol, where as other fats may help increase the good (HDL) cholesterol.
If you stick to a low fat, high fibre diet, with a small portion of carbohydrate food at each meal, plenty of vegetables, a piece of meat/chicken/fish about the size of the palm once a day, a few pieces of fruit and 2-3 serves of low fat dairy food every day, this will be the basic foods for managing diabetes and cholesterol.
Monitoring your blood sugar levels is IMPORTANT and will allow you to adapt your carbohydrate intake to your need. If your sugars are high, reduce your serve size the next time, if they are low, increase. Recording sugar levels and what you have eaten/done also will help work out foods which eaten irregularly may be affecting your sugar levels.
Exercise is also a big part of controlling your diabetes. It helps lower blood sugar levels on average. Even increasing your exercise slowly to about 30 minutes of walking 4-5 times per week can have a huge effect on blood sugar levels.
This information is very, very basic, and want to reinforce seeking advice locally is the only way to find out locally applicable information (food labelling and availability may affect your food choices greatly).