High cholesterol is an universal problem and is perhaps the single most factor behind making cardiac diseases the most prevalent and recurrent disease of this world. Given our current lifestyle and dietary habits it’s very obvious that our body will have excess of cholesterol.
In order to reduce this cholesterol lifestyle changes are very important. Incorporating a healthy lifestyle along with proper exercises goes a long in reducing this problem. Since most of the cholesterol enters our body through the food we consume, it’s important that we eat foods which are low on cholesterol and yet manages to provide the necessary nutrients that our body requires.
However it should be remembered that simply avoiding fats or oily products from food items doesn’t serve the purpose. It’s important to choose the right kind of foods in order to ensure that you get the maximum benefit out of your cooking methods.
Here we shall give a brief description of various cooking methods and food items that can guide you about different methods of how to cook low cholesterol meals.
How to Cook Low Cholesterol Meals
Broiling or Microwaving Broiling
Broiling or Microwaving Broiling is a method of cooking low fat recipes where the excess fat drains out into the bottom of the pan. Microwaving is another popular methods where food can be prepared in very little time using very little or no oil.
Example- Micro-Baked Beans (Prep time: 5 min, cooking time: 10 min)
1 lb of untrained canned baked beans
1 lb of drained canned red kidney beans
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup finely chopped onions,
1 tsp mustard
Method: – Mix all the ingredients well in a microwave bowl and cover it with a waxed paper . Use spices as per your imagination along with salt to taste. Microwave the entire contents for 9-10 minutes on HIGH, stirring it accordingly twice or thrice until the color becomes brown and the onions are moist. You can use your own imagination to decorate and serve them.
Roasting and baking
Roasting and baking are two popular low cholesterol cooking methods adopted by many families to keep down the fat content. Roasting gives the food a unique flavor while retaining all its health benefits while baking uses radiation heat and minimizes the use of any fat to cook the food
Example- Low Fat Beef and Bean Bake (Prep time: 15 min, cooking time: 30 min)
Ingredients;
8 ounces of -lean ground beef
1/2 chopped yellow onion,
1 chopped jalapeno pepper
2 tsp of cumin powder
1- 15.5 ounce of drained can pinto beans
1 tbsp of tomato paste
3- 8-inch corn tortillas
1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheese
Method- sprays the oven with cooking spray and preheats the oven to 350 degrees on medium high. Cook the beef for about 5 minutes until its pink color has disappeared. Add onion, cumin and jalapeno pepper till they becomes moist, the add beans, tomatoes and tomato paste and stir well.
Spray a pie plate with cooking spray and place a tortilla on the bottom and pour a portion of the beef and bean mixture on it, then place the second one and repeat the process. Finally place the last piece of tortillas and garnish it with cheese. Bake the entire contents for 15 minutes and serve.
Boiling, grilling, poaching and stir frying
These are some of the other methods which can be used to cook to cook a meal in zero oil or low cholesterol cooking oil.
Patients suffering from high cholesterol should try to follow more of a vegetarian diet, concentrating more on fresh vegetables and fruits.
Switching to rice, pulses and more whole grain products helps to combat high cholesterol problem. If you are following a non-vegetarian diet, then try to remove all kind of saturated fat from the food items and try switching to chicken and turkey instead of beef or mutton.
Last but not the least try having foods that are prepared at home, as they are healthier and helps to maintain the cholesterol level in the blood.
