If you’re planning on going on a low cholesterol diet it can be a bit of a worry that you are going to be cutting out so many of the foods that you love. That’s the trouble with many diets – the stuff that is bad for you tends to be the stuff that you really like. But thankfully there are plenty of great and tasty options for you if you’ve decided to go low cholesterol in your diet. It is just about knowing where to look, and given that it’s sometimes hard, we’ve prepare d a list of delicious and nutritious low cholesterol options.
Instead of croutons, use walnuts
A salad is always healthy right? Well, the trouble is that while the main components of a salad are extremely healthy and good for you, many people like to add optional extras such as croutons which really push up the calories, fat and that nasty cholesterol we all want to avoid. So how about swapping them out of your salads for walnuts? Walnuts give that same crunch you’re looking for and also add a little more flavour and texture to the monotony of salad.
Drink wine, not cocktails
We all like to indulge sometimes and enjoy a little drinking. Maybe we’ll have a cocktail with dinner or maybe just when we want to relax. Unfortunately all the stray ingredients used in cocktails can be very bad for us. Depending on the cocktail you can see things used such as coconut cream, sugar syrup and other foodstuffs that are filled with cholesterol. So, next time you’re drinking you should make sure you drink wine instead. Red wine has one tenth of the carbohydrates that you will find in a single margarita. Now that’s food (or should that be drink?) for thought.
Try edamame beans and nut, not cheese and crackers
Who doesn’t like a bit of cheese and crackers? The problem is that as a snack it is completely brimming with cholesterol and therefore it needs to be avoided. Try eating nuts such as almonds or choosing edamame beans as your snack next time you feel a little peckish. It will do wonders for your waistline and you’ll be putting another foot forward in your quest to eradicate cholesterol.
Vinegar and lemon juice, not salad dressing
We’re back to salads again! Now that you’ve substituted those croutons for walnuts let’s take a look at the other problems (and this one is even bigger). You can make a salad as healthily as you like, but then throw it away in an instance by pouring on a gloopy salad dressing that is positively made of calories and virtually nothing else. The intense cholesterol-packed sauce will take your salad from a healthy meal and turn it into a nightmare. But help is on the way and it comes in the form of lemon juice and vinegar. This flavoursome duo adds a kick to your salad without the cholesterol.
Use margarine, not butter
Many of us love the creamy taste of butter on everything from toast to jacket potatoes to a topping for vegetables. But butter is packed with cholesterol and is clearly going to be naturally bad for you. So the best plan to swap it out and choose instead a spread with low levels of cholesterol. A great choice is a spread that is based around olive oil, but really any margarine will be an improvement on the cholesterol-heavy nature of butter. This is another great way to save on cholesterol and help to keep your healthy.