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Most of your preferred recipes can be made healthier simply by substituting lower-fat ingredients. Consider the menu of ingredients on your recipe. Then consider the table below to check out if one of the ingredients are placed in the left column. If so, you can 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 1/4 cup egg substitute
• Instead of: Butter - Use: Liquid or tub margarine, unsaturated vegetable oils, butter-flavored granules, spices and herbs to flavor food
• As an alternative to: Mayonnaise - Use: Nonfat yogurt, mustard, low-fat or nonfat mayonnaise
• As an alternative to: Regular yogurt, sour cream - Use: Nonfat yogurt, nonfat sour cream
• Rather than: Potato chips - Use: Pretzels, low-fat or baked chips
• In place of: 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
• 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
• Instead of: Coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil - Use: Unsaturated oils, like safflower, sunflower, canola, and essential olive oil
• Rather than: 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 1/2 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 mixer. 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 the following tips for the healthiest low cholesterol recipes 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 preference to 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.

Several times a week, substitute nonanimal protein sources, for example tofu, beans, peas, or lentils, instead of animal protein. This will take some getting used to if you are a so-called meat-and-potatoes woman / man. If this is new for you, evaluate some vegetarian cookbooks or magazines to get ideas for preparation methods and spices.

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

Dietary fiber is found in all the following:

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

You may choose healthy foods and without realizing it add unhealthy ingredients if you aren't wise about how exactly you add flavor. Use herbs in place of butter or margarine. Or utilize a little unsaturated vegetable oil. Many cookbooks have lists of herbs that bring out the flavour of foods. Try some. You're apt to discover some new flavors that you like. Try basil on zucchini, for example. Or use lemon pepper on broccoli.

The term homemade usually makes food sound better. And, not surprisingly perhaps, many times, it 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, 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 simple for you to cook dishes in fresher, healthier ways using your own mix of spices. You might also be amazed at how very little time other homemade dishes that don't rely on a package really take.

If you cannot bring your LDL - the bad cholesterol - down to a normal level by reducing the amount of fat and cholesterol you eat, try this. Add food products like margarines and salad dressings that lower cholesterol levels.

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 fresh 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, freshly squeezed 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.

The author - Georgia Rascon writes for the low cholesterol chicken recipes blog , her personal hobby blog focused entirely on ideas to eat healthy to stop high cholesterol levels.

Author's note: The information provided on this document were created to guide, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her doctor. Georgia Rascon hasn't 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.

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