My fridge has a whole shelf dedicated to dressings and sauces that I use for all sorts of recipes and for adding to leftovers. I also like having a few dips like houmous and guacamole in the fridge to add to salads and sandwiches, and to snack on with oatcakes, carrot sticks or pitta bread.
Cholesterol-friendly eating doesn’t need to be boring. You can continue to eat some of your favourite foods and still lower your cholesterol.
The foods listed below are low in saturated fat, meaning you can eat them as part of a cholesterol-friendly diet. They’re fairly high in salt however, so are best eaten in moderation and eaten with foods that actively lower cholesterol (suggestions included below):-
This is going to sound like the weirdest combination of ingredients, but it really does taste good, and is soooooo filling! And the best thing is it contains 5 of the top cholesterol-reducing foods (oats, chickpeas, avocados, seeds and nuts), making it the perfect cholesterol-friendly snack.
Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to fit lots of cholesterol-reducing foods into your daily diet. This smoothie contains 4 of the top cholesterol-lowering foods:-
Eating more oats can do wonders for your cholesterol levels, as oats are rich in dietary fibre, which reduces the amount of cholesterol in your blood. I try to eat oats every day, so I’m constantly experimenting with new ways to fit them into my daily diet. Here are some of my favourites:-
A great way to reduce cholesterol naturally is to add more beans to your diet. There are tons of ways to do this (here are some suggestions), but one of the easiest ways is to add them to your main meal. Not only do they help to lower cholesterol, but they’re also a good source of protein, and they help keep you fuller for longer.
Oatcakes are so cheap and versatile – I eat them all the time. I have them for breakfast topped with cottage cheese or almond butter, for lunch topped with tuna or houmous, or as a snack dipped in houmous or with sliced avocado on top. Eating them is a great way to add more fibre to your daily diet, which helps to lower cholesterol. I always carry a packet around in my bag, and have boxes of them at home and at work, and find they work really well as an afternoon snack to tide me over until dinner.
There’s no need to miss out on delicious comforting roast dinners when you’re managing your cholesterol, as long as you stick to these simple rules:-
These chocolate truffles contain dates, nuts and seeds, all of which help to lower cholesterol and provide tons of nutrients. They also contain 70% dark chocolate, which can help to lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol when eaten in moderation.
Experts recommend eating at least two servings of oily fish a week to keep your heart healthy. Oily fish, like salmon, is rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which help to increase good cholesterol (HDL), reducing the risk of heart disease.