Here’s a list of cholesterol-lowering foods that you can keep in your kitchen cupboard to give you plenty of options for meals and snacks:-
Tinned Beans & Pulses
There are lots of different varieties of tinned beans and pulses cheaply available in the supermarket and they’re all great at lowering cholesterol. They’re also really convenient because you can add them to all sorts of meals straight from the tin (make sure you drain and rinse any that are in salted water though). Here are the ones I eat on a regular basis:-
- Baked Beans
- Black Beans
- Butter Beans
- Cannellini Beans
- Chickpeas
- Green Lentils
- Kidney Beans
These are some of my favourite cholesterol-friendly recipes that contain tinned beans and pulses:-
- Chicken Tikka Masala Curry
- Sausage & Bean Casserole
- Black Bean & Spinach Enchiladas
- Olive Oil Houmous
- Warming Pesto Butter Beans
- Salmon & Chickpea Filo Pie
- Black Bean Chocolate Brownies
You can also buy uncooked beans and lentils in packets that are even cheaper than the tinned varieties, but many need to be soaked overnight and then boiled so they take longer to prepare.
Nuts & Seeds
I have a couple of tablespoons of nuts and seeds every day to help lower my cholesterol. It’s best to use raw nuts and seeds, and avoid any that are salted or covered in sugar. These are the best ones for lowering cholesterol:-
- Almonds
- Brazil Nuts
- Chia Seeds
- Hazelnuts
- Peanuts
- Pecan Nuts
- Pistachio Nuts
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Sesame Seeds
- Sunflower Seeds
- Walnuts
Here are some of my favourite ways to eat cholesterol-lowering nuts and seeds:-
- Sprinkle flaked almonds on your porridge
- Add whole or chopped nuts to your muesli
- Mix sunflower seeds into your cereal
- Add chia seeds to your smoothies
- Add toasted pumpkin seeds to your salads
- Sprinkle sesame seeds on your stir fries
- Add flaked almonds to your curries
Note:- Ground flaxseeds are also great for lowering cholesterol and can be added to porridge, cereal, smoothies, curries etc. They need to be kept in the freezer though, once opened, to stop them going rancid.
Nut Butters
Nut butters are great for a quick and healthy cholesterol-lowering breakfast or snack. I have a tablespoon of nut butter on wholemeal toast with chopped banana, or on oatcakes. I buy the ones made with 100% nuts and no added sugar or oil, like these:-
- Biona Organic Mixed Nut Butter
- Biona Organic Almond Butter
- Meridian Almond or Peanut Butter
- Pic’s Peanut Butter
- Pip & Nut Almond or Peanut Butter
- Tesco 100% Almond or Peanut Butter
- Tesco 100% Crunchy 3 Nut Butter
Other Cholesterol-Lowering Foods
- Brown Rice
- Chickpea / Lentil Pasta
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- High fibre cereal (see this post)
- Infused Olive Oil (Basil, Chilli or Garlic)
- Longlife unsweetened almond milk
- Oatcakes (with no palm oil)
- Rapeseed Oil
- Rapeseed Oil Spray
- Rolled Oats / Oatmeal
- Seeded Ryvitas
- Wholewheat Pasta / Spaghetti
apples-and-beans 