A variety of your favorite recipes can be made healthier simply by substituting lower-fat ingredients. Go through the list of ingredients on your recipe. Then look at the table below to find if some of the ingredients are placed in the left column. In that case, you may make the recipe a healthier one utilizing the ingredient in the right column instead.

What Am i allowed to Substitute?

- Rather than: Whole eggs, egg yolks – Use: Egg-whites or ¼ cup egg substitute
- Rather than: Butter – Use: Liquid or tub margarine, unsaturated vegetable oils, butter-flavored granules, herbs and spices to flavor food
- In place of: Mayonnaise – Use: Nonfat yogurt, mustard, low-fat or nonfat mayonnaise
- In place of: Regular yogurt, sour cream – Use: Nonfat yogurt, nonfat sour cream
- As an alternative to: Potato chips – Use: Pretzels, low-fat or baked chips
- Instead of: Whole or 2% milk – Use: Skim or 1% milk
- In place of: Whole-milk ice cream – Use: Ice milk, low-fat frozen yogurt, low-fat or nonfat ice cream, sorbet
- Rather than: Whole-milk cheese – Use: Reduced-fat, low-fat, or nonfat cheese
- In place of: 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, for example safflower, sunflower, canola, and extra virgin olive oil
- As an alternative to: Regular salad dressings – Use: Low-fat or nonfat salad dressings, vinegars

Use less fat in recipes. If 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 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, it is possible to 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 guidelines for the healthiest 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 instead of 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 rather than whole-milk products.

More than once a week, substitute nonanimal protein sources, such as tofu, beans, peas, or lentils, rather than animal protein. This can take some getting used to if you are a so-called meat-and-potatoes guy. If this sounds new for you, evaluate some vegetarian cookbooks or magazines to get ideas for preparation methods and spices.

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

Dietary fiber can be found in each of the following:
- oats
- oranges
- pears
- Brussels sprouts
- carrots
- dried peas and beans

You can choose healthy food and after that without realizing it add unhealthy ingredients if you aren’t wise about how precisely you add flavor. Use herbs in place of butter or margarine. Or use a little unsaturated vegetable oil. Many cookbooks have lists of herbs that enhance the taste of foods. Try one or two. You’re apt to discover some new flavors that you like. Try basil on zucchini, in particular. Or use lemon pepper on broccoli.

The word homemade usually makes food sound better. And, and in addition 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, such as instant rice and pasta meals and instant cereals, often contain fat. It might appear less convenient initially, 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 with your own mix of spices. You might also be surprised at how little time other homemade dishes that don’t rely on a package really take.

In the event you cannot bring your LDL – the bad cholesterol – down to a healthy level by reducing the volume of fat and cholesterol you consume, try this. Add food products like margarines and salad dressings that reduce cholesterol.

A sample Low Cholesterol Recipe: Marinated Barbequed Vegetables

Ingredients
* 1 small eggplant, cut into 3/4 inch thick slices
* 2 small red bell 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 olive oil, fresh lemon juice, basil and garlic. Pour the mixture over the vegetables, cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least one 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 high cholesterol diet recipes blog , her personal hobby weblog devoted to guidelines to eat healthy to stop high cholesterol levels.

Author’s note: The info provided on this document were created to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her doctor. Georgia Rascon has not 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.

Before you run screaming out of the kitchen that you are going to starve to death, start thinking more creatively about how those basic foods on the list can be turned into meals much like you are used to eating.

The fact is you may not be able to eat a huge cheeseburger dripping with grease with this new eating plan, but you can create alternatives that will satisfy many of your cravings. For instance, what about a turkey burger instead? Once you hit phase two you could even put it on a whole grain bun with some of your favorite condiments.

Even on the more restrictive phase one, you do not have to eat just simple combinations of the foods you see on the approved list to make up your south beach diet meals. Those lists are meant to be jumping off points from which you create real meals that will sustain your body as well as your mental satisfaction level.

Let’s consider a couple ideas of how common foods that are not approved can be created solely from approved foods.

Mashed potatoes can be recreated from cauliflower. In fact, you can add in reduced fat cheese to give it some extra taste. Try this alongside a patty of lean meat and your required veggies and you have a tasty phase one meal.

In phase two, you could even experiment with breading a chicken breast in whole grain bread crumbs with egg yolk to create a delicious “mock” chicken sandwich.

Creating South Beach Diet meals may seem more complicated at first, but you can look around online to find an endless array of recipes created by everyday followers just like yourself.

By following the Mediterranean diet plan you will be able to reduce your risk of heart disease, reduce your cholesterol and even reduce the risk of having cancer. Foods generally found in the Mediterranean diet plan include vegetables, fruits, red wine, a small amount of red meat, regularly eating fish, small amounts of nuts, canola oil and olive oil.

Most individuals in the Mediterranean food diet eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, up to nine portions a day. The best fruits are those with a lot of color as they contain a lot of antioxidants. Antioxidants are the compounds that fight heart disease and keep your heart strong. Whole grains are preferred over processed grains and if you do eat bread then it should not be slathered with butter or margarine. Butter and margarine are fats that should be avoided.

Unlike most diets the Mediterranean diet plan does not restrict fat as long as you are eating foods that are high in unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. These acids are beneficial to your body and are not stored as fat. Nuts, fish and oils like canola and olive oil are all unsaturated fats. Virgin olive oil and extra virgin olive oil also contain a lot of antioxidants. Hydrogenated oils and saturated fats are fats that are harmful to the body and tend to be used in butter and fried or fast foods.

Wine is also included in the Mediterranean food diet plan though it should only be taken in moderation. Particularly red wine is important as red wine has the highest concentration of antioxidants in any food. Limiting oneself to one or two glasses, that contain about 3 to 5 oz, a day is the recommended consumption rate.

Next, CLICK HERE to find out more about the Mediterranean Food Diet