Nepali Recipes @ Sanjaal

To lower the cholesterol and fat in what you eat, follow these tips when you are cooking.

A good number of your preferred recipes can be made healthier merely by substituting lower-fat ingredients. Go through the menu of ingredients on your own recipe. Then look at the table below to discover if one of the ingredients are placed in the left column. In that case, you can make the recipe a healthier one with the ingredient in the right column instead.

What May i Substitute?

• Instead of: Whole eggs, egg yolks – Use: Egg whites or ¼ cup egg substitute
• As an alternative to: 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
• Instead of: Regular yogurt, sour cream – Use: Nonfat yogurt, nonfat sour cream
• In place of: Potato chips – Use: Pretzels, low-fat or baked chips
• As an alternative to: Whole or 2% milk – Use: Skim or 1% milk
• As an alternative to: Whole-milk ice cream – Use: Ice milk, low-fat frozen yogurt, low-fat or nonfat ice cream, sorbet
• Instead of: Whole-milk cheese – Use: Reduced-fat, low-fat, or nonfat cheese
• As an alternative to: Whole-milk sour cream – Use: Nonfat or low-fat sour cream or yogurt
• In place of: Coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil – Use: Unsaturated oils, like safflower, sunflower, canola, and extra virgin olive oil
• Instead of: Regular salad dressings – Use: Low-fat or nonfat salad dressings, vinegars

Use less fat in recipes. When a recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use ½ cup butter and replace the other half with 1/4 cup of prune puree. You can make prune puree by pureeing 1 1/3 cups of pitted prunes and 6 tablespoons of hot water in a blender or mixer. This makes one cup of puree. For baked goods, you can replace 1 cup of butter, oil, margarine, or shortening with 1 cup of applesauce and still have a moist, great-tasting item without many of the fat and calories.

Follow these tips for the healthiest cooking methods.

• Bake, broil, roast, steam, microwave, poach, grill or stir-fry with just a little oil.
• Use nonstick pans.
• Spray a light coating of vegetable oil in place of liquid oil or butter, or cook with defatted broth, bouillon, fresh fruit juices, or wine.
• Thicken sauces and soups with skim or 1% milk and a little flour or cornstarch rather than whole-milk products.

Several times each week, substitute nonanimal sources of protein, such as tofu, beans, peas, or lentils, in preference to animal protein. This may take some getting used to if you are a so-called meat-and-potatoes woman / man. If this is new for you, check out a few vegetarian cookbooks or magazines to get ideas for preparation methods and spices.

Make gradual changes. Over time, you’ll get used to your new meals, and your tastes will change. Adding more vegetables might also raise your dietary fiber, and that helps lower your LDL – or bad – cholesterol.

Dietary fiber can be found in all of the following:

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

You possibly can choose healthy foods and without realizing it add unhealthy ingredients if you aren’t wise about how precisely you add flavor. Use herbs rather than butter or margarine. Or utilize a little unsaturated vegetable oil. Many cookbooks have lists of herbs that reveal the flavour of foods. Try some. You’re apt to discover some new flavors that you like. Try basil on zucchini, as an example. Or use lemon pepper on broccoli.

The word homemade usually makes food sound better. And, not surprisingly perhaps, it often tastes better too. The important key is that it is usually healthier for you. Use fewer prepackaged foods. Prepackaged sauces and mixes and instant products, for example instant rice and pasta meals and instant cereals, often contain fat. It might appear less convenient at first, but try recipes for rice dishes from low-fat cookbooks or magazines.

Soon you’ll have a few recipes memorized. This makes it easy for you to cook dishes in fresher, healthier ways using your own mix of spices. You could also be surprised 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 good level by reducing the amount of fat and cholesterol you consume, try this. Add foods such as 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 lemon juice
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

Directions

1. Place eggplant, red sweet peppers, zucchinis and fresh mushrooms in a medium bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, basil and garlic. Pour the mixture over the vegetables, cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 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.

About the Author – Georgia Rascon writes for the low cholesterol diet recipes blog , her personal hobby blog site devoted to tips to eat healthy to avoid high-cholesterol.

Author’s note: The words provided on this document are made to support, 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 supplied by her is based on her editorial judgment and it is not driven by an advertising purpose.

Originally posted 2010-06-08 15:59:44.

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