RSS

11/01/2010

Cholesterol Lowering Recipes - Cooking Tips and Recipe Ideas to Lower Cholesterol

Believe it or not, there are many great cholesterol lowering recipes out there that are not only tasty, but easy to make as well. You can make tasty dishes at home that do not have a lot of salt or fat, helping you to reduce your risk of negative health problems. If you are not sure how to start preparing the right recipes to keep your cholesterol at a healthy level, here is a look at some great tips and recipe ideas that will help.

Reduce Saturated Fat in Meats

When you start cooking, one of the important things you should do is to reduce the saturated fat in meats. Depending on how you prepare meats and the cuts you choose, the saturated fat can vary. There are some things you can do to make sure you reduce the amount of saturated fats that are in the meats that you cook up.

One idea is to make sure you go with lean meat cuts that do not have a lot of fat on them. When it comes to beef, loin, chuck, sirloin, round are the leaner options. Before you cook the meat you can trim off the fat on it as well. Instead of frying, broil the meats and use racks so you can drain away the fats. Removing the skin from meats like turkey or chicken can reduce saturated fats and staying away from organ meats or processed meats is imperative as well.

Add Seafood to Your Diet

Some of the best cholesterol lowering recipes out there use seafood in them and seafood should be added to your diet a couple times each week. While there are fatty and lean fish options, either way fish will be low in the saturated fats. Do not ruin the seafood by frying it. Instead broil, boil, grill, or bake the seafood. A lot of seafood has important Omega 3 fatty acids in it as well, which can help to reduce levels of bad cholesterol.

Use Fresh Vegetables on a Regular Basis

Another important cooking tip to keep in mind when fixing cholesterol lowering recipes is to use fresh vegetables on a regular basis. Fresh veggies are part of a healthy diet. Just make sure you don't ruin them by frying. Steam or sauté them with a small amount of olive oil. Use seasonings instead of fat and salt to make vegetables tasty. A few ideas include using basil along with tomatoes, zucchini and oregano, peas with some rosemary, and carrots seasoned with marjoram.

Go with Egg Whites

You should also consider making your recipes with egg whites instead of with whole eggs if at all possible. Eggs are a great source of protein and if you eliminate the yoke, you help to cut down on the cholesterol that you are taking in. Every egg should be replaced with two egg whites when you are substituting.

These are just some easy tips that you can use when cooking to make sure you are eating a healthy diet on a regular basis. Use these tips along with your cholesterol lowering recipes and you will be able to quickly see results, lowering bad LDL levels and raising your good HDL levels of cholesterol.

No comments: