Low Cholesterol Recipes Please!

tSubh Dearg

So my other half has been told he had to lower his cholesterol and I have a few ideas of things to cook but to be honest my repertoire runs more to the red meat, offal and rich dessert end of things.

So I was hoping that you kind people could come up with some ideas for me to try out. The only problem is that he's not a big veg eater (he's slowly improving) and he can't eat eggs (they make him vomit) but one the plus side he is willing to try anything once.

I have an interesting Danish recipe for a fish and tomato bake type thing and I have some nice marinades for chicken but that's about it. He's only allowed red meat once a week.

I only hope that you can help. I've tried googling for low cholesterol foods but it's hard to find a good list I could print out and stick up in the kitchen, but I shall keep working on that.

Thanks in advance!

Fooz

Hello tSubh Dearg, I'm in the same position myself.
I found the following website very helpful: http://www.irishhealth.com/clin/cholesterol/basics2.html?artid=9672

I'm also going to give those Flora yoghurt drinks a shot as (apparently) one a day should help keep cholesterol down.

tSubh Dearg

Thanks for the link!
We've already swapped butter for Benecol spread except for special occasions when he's allowed a little bit.

Probably going to give the Flora or Benecol drinks a go too, he's really bad at eating breakfast so if I can get him to knock back one of those in the morning it will be something.

EDIT: Just had a quick look at that link and we're mainly doing the right stuff already, just too much red meat.

jos28

My husband's bad eating habits have finally caught up with him too. Very high cholesterol. So I know where you are coming from.
No actual recipes for you but some general guidelines:
Try to make him have porridge for breakfast, with slim line milk and honey.
No biscuits, cakes, crisps. Muffins are very high in fat.
If he has to have something sweet, meringues with fruit and yogurt are ok,
(I like the frozen summer fruits mix)
Carrot cake is not too high in fat either.
Try to eat oily fish 2 or 3 times a week (salmon, mackerel etc)
Stay away from shellfish (high fat content)
Loads of homemade vegetable soups with nice brown bread
The soup I like is basically a carton of passata with onions, carrots, peppers,lentils. Blitz it in the processor and he won't notice the veg.
General rule is to avoid fat. Had to teach my OH how to read food labels. But it paid off, he now thinks before he eats something and cholesterol has dropped dramatically.

The Hill Billy

tSubh:

Here's a couple of links that I found helpful.

Lowering Your Cholesterol With TLC (Theraputic Lifestyle Changes)

Keep The Beat Recipe Book



Best of luck to T.

Minder

I found Jill Dupleix's new book to be a great inspiration - an antidote to the sort of lifestyle that has lead me to have concerns over my own cholestrol levels. Some of it is common sense - cut down the red meat (but not cut it out), eat breakfast cereal, so porridge or museli. The recipes are wide ranging and all look delicious.

But I think that the only way to achieve a consistently lower cholestrol level is through regular exercise.

watna

My mum has very high cholesterol and didn't want to take the tablets so changed her (and mine while I was living at home!) diet. She didn't do anything radical, just made low cholesterol choices for what she eats. I'll have to ask her for specifics as I was also thinking about severely lowering the fat in my diet (my other half's father has already had a double bypass and may need another and he's only in his early fifties so I feel we need to do something now) but here's what I remember:

1) she uses sunflower oil as in small quantities it reduces your cholesterol. olive does not add to your cholesterol but it also doesn't reduce it.

2 she makes low fat versions of her favourite foods e.g. homemade chips by parboiling potatoes until they're a bit soft and then cooking them in the oven. This way they're not deep fried and there is no oil involved.

3) she cut out cheese completely as she knew if she had a bit she'd want a lot more. Her vice was also crisps which she cut out completely too.She uses the benecol spread and tries not to use oil or uses sunflower oil sparingly. She also reduced her meat intake (she works somewhere that only serves vegetarian lunch so that made it easier. Also, she was recommended if ou are female and reducing your dairy intake take calcium supplements to prevent osteoporosis

4) she makes low fat deserts so she still gets something sweet, jelly, fruit and greek youghurt feature heavily! She also makes a lovely very low cholesterol fruit mousse. I'll get the recipe from her and post it if anyone's interested!

5) she found low fat options for adding to food to make it interesting so she didn't get bored. This was in the place of creamy/buttery sauces. Things like chicken cooked in thai sweet chilli sauce in tinfoil in the oven, or added paprika with a small bit of greek youghurt and marinating chicken.

She's very good about it, and very dedicated as her father died at around the same age she is now of a heart attack. She reduced her cholesterol by 2 in a few months as far as I remember. The doctor was impressed she'd done that without tablest. She's away at the moment but next week i'm going to get some more specific recipes and I'll post them then.

neuro-praxis

Since I started eating to lose weight a few months ago I have cut right down on the red meat as it's so high in saturated fat and calories, eating more chicken and fish etc., and thankfully I have discovered lots of delicious meals without the red meat that I'm so fond of!

Below is a real Friday night type treat meal, really rich and filling, although it is low in calories and saturated fat and consequently low in cholesterol. Go easy on the cheese and creme fraische (yoghurt is better). You won't even notice the vegetables in it if they are thinly sliced and mixed with the rich sauce.

Chicken enchiladas

2 medium soft flour/wheatflour/corn tortillas per person
1-2 chicken breasts per person, depending on appetite
1 onion per person
1 pepper per person (I usually use a range of different colours)
1 quantity enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso red pepper and garlic enchilada sauce from a jar, and if there are lots of people for dinner I make it go further with some passata - however it is possible to make your own enchilada sauce from scratch and not at all difficult)
1-2 slices LowLow white cheddar per person (this melts deliciously well in the oven compared to other low-fat varieties)

To serve:

Crunchy green salad
Spicy rice (optional - brown rice cooked in stock with a little turmeric and chilli, and perhaps some chopped apricots)
Hot tomato salsa (again, Old El Paso hot chunky salsa is natural and delicious or you can make your own with chillis, garlic, chopped plum tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, scallions, worstershire sauce etc.)
A little half-fat creme fraische or some 0% fat plain Greek yoghurt

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Slice chicken, onions and peppers into thin strips.
2. Steam-fry chicken in a wok (or use a little olive oil). Add vegetables and toss for a few moments until tender. Pour in 2/3 of your enchilada sauce (or enchilada/passata mixture) and heat through.
3. Lightly grease (or use cooking spray) a lasagne dish. Lay out your tortillas on a flat surface. Divide the mixture evenly between the tortillas and roll each one up. Place tucked neatly side-by-side in the lasagen dish.
4. Using a spoon, spread the remaining sauce on top of the chicken and vegetable torilla rolls. Crumble up your cheddar slices on top and pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
5. Serve topped with a little salsa/yoghurt, salad and a spoonful of rice.

If this sounds nice to you I will post some more of my favourites.

tSubh Dearg

Thanks for all the ideas. I like the sound of the fruit mousse watna and the fajitas neuro.

Will certainly be giving them a try!

The Sweeper

Oats.

Eat oats every morning for breakfast. I know, I hate them too (I really wouldn't go "ooo! oats!" any given morning) but it's amazing the amount of energy they give you, plus they reduce your cholesterol.

Faith

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

Oats.

Eat oats every morning for breakfast. I know, I hate them too (I really wouldn't go "ooo! oats!" any given morning) but it's amazing the amount of energy they give you, plus they reduce your cholesterol.

Funny, I spent two hours listening to a presentation this morning about cholesterol, and how to lower it. Oats can, but only if eaten in massive, unfeasible amounts. Diet doesn't actually have a huge effect on cholesterol levels. Obviously, cutting out red meat and saturated fats will help. It won't really lower cholesterol though, rather just stop it increasing. The best advice I can offer is to drink one of those Benecol yoghurts a day. They contain the amount of plant sterols needed to reduce cholesterol in one drink, an amount which you won't feasibly consume yourself (to do so, studies have shown you'd need to eat 8 pieces of rye bread a day, or the equivalent of). Along with controlling the levels of cholesterol in your food, you'd really be on the right track.

/edit: This is in no way, shape or form medical advice. Just in case anyone gets any ideas.

The Sweeper

Ah - I thought they did! I'm never believing the internet again.

Faith

Well, they will if you eat loads and loads and loads of them! They do really provide you with loads of slow-releasing energy though, and are pretty much the best thing you can eat in the morning.

The Sweeper

There's no way I'm going to manage loads and loads and loads of them. I'm going with the idea that they offset my cholesterol by keeping me full so I don't end up grabbing a handful of biscuits with my mid-morning coffee.

mike65

I have a level of 5.2 which is considered borderline. I eat very little red meat these days and used to drink Benecol but got out of the habit. I'll get back on them! As for the Omega 3 spread - boy thats stuffs expensive.

Mike.

Faith

Omega-3 is found in oily fish too, and lots of eggs have enhanced omega-3 these days.

I know I read something recently about coffee being good for something or other, but I can't find it... It's not great for your cholesterol either, though. This is the most understandable report I could find on it.

mike65

I only drink 3 cups of coffee and two cups of tea a day at most. I'm not cutting back any further dammit!

Mike.

Tree

smoking has a particularly large effect on cholesterol. as does how your own body metabolises teh fats.