Tips & Other Recipes

The Ultimate Cholesterol-Friendly Food List

Alice

When I first found out I had high cholesterol I thought I’d be really limited in terms what I could eat. I knew oats and beans were key for reducing cholesterol naturally, so I was imagining a life of bland porridge, boring bean salads and tasteless stews. But (thankfully!) after doing lots of research, I discovered there are actually tons of foods that fit into a cholesterol-friendly diet, and lots of delicious ways to cook them.

Here’s a list of the cholesterol-friendly foods I eat on a regular basis:-

Meat/Fish

  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Salmon fillets
  • Tuna steaks
  • Cod fillets
  • Extra lean beef mince
  • Low fat chicken sausages

Dairy/Alternatives

  • Semi-skimmed milk
  • Unsweetened almond milk
  • Unsweetened soya yoghurt
  • Fat free natural yoghurt
  • Benecol yoghurt drinks
  • Low fat cottage cheese
  • ‘Eatlean’ protein cheese

Breakfast Cereals

  • Alpen No Added Sugar
  • Good Grain Puffed Wheat
  • Nestle Shredded Wheat
  • Post Grape Nuts
  • Weetabix Original

Bread

  • Wholemeal/wholegrain bread
  • Multi-seed bread
  • Oatmeal bread
  • Seeded sourdough bread
  • Seeded rye bread
  • Wholemeal pitta bread
  • Wholemeal tortilla wraps

Spreads

  • Almond butter (100% nuts)
  • Peanut butter (100% nuts)
  • Honey
  • Marmite

Rice/Pasta

  • Brown uncooked rice
  • Microwave brown rice
  • Wholewheat spaghetti
  • Wholewheat pasta
  • Chickpea pasta
  • Lentil pasta

Tinned Goods

  • Tuna (in water)
  • Baked beans
  • Black beans
  • Chickpeas
  • Kidney beans
  • Cannellini beans
  • Chopped tomatoes
  • Sweetcorn
  • Low fat soup

Oils/Sauces

  • Olive oil
  • Basil-infused olive oil
  • Chilli olive oil
  • Garlic-infused olive oil
  • Olive oil spray
  • Rapeseed oil
  • Rapeseed oil spray
  • Dijon mustard
  • English mustard
  • Horseradish
  • Soy sauce
  • Worcestershire sauce

Nuts & Seeds

  • Almonds (whole/flaked)
  • Walnuts
  • Ground flaxseeds
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Chia seeds
  • Sesame seeds

Fruit & Vegetables

  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Bananas
  • Berries
  • Melon
  • Grapes
  • Lemons
  • Limes
  • Raisins
  • Dates
  • Dried Apricots
  • Avocados
  • Spinach
  • Rocket
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Baked potatoes
  • New potatoes
  • Sweet peppers
  • Tomatoes
  • Carrots
  • Courgettes
  • Peas/beans
  • Aubergines
  • Mushrooms
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Ginger
  • Olives
  • Sundried tomatoes

Other

  • Rolled oats/oatmeal
  • Herbs & spices
  • Stock cubes
  • Guacamole *
  • Houmous
  • Taco shells *
  • Tomato salsa
  • Soya (Edamame) beans
  • Bisto gravy granules
  • Poppadoms *
  • Naan bread *
  • Oatcakes
  • Seeded Ryvita
  • Breadsticks
  • 70% dark chocolate

*Make sure they contain less than 1.5g saturated fat per 100g

Recipes

Here are some of my favourite cholesterol-friendly recipes:-

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