|
Home
Steps
|
I walked out of the doctor's office with a long list of foods divided into two categories -
"good" and "avoid". The list was overwhelming -- how would I ever remember
this? It seemed like all my favorite foods were on the "avoid" side. I was terrified to eat anything and
convinced that I'd be restricted to a bland psycho-low-fat diet for the rest
of my life. ;-( After educating
myself, I
found some diet programs that helped explain the
fundamental principles and they gave me lots of healthy low-cholesterol options
to choose from. I tried to focus on finding some foods I love that are good for me, rather
than on what I would have to eliminate. Here are some of my favorites:
Mailorder
grass-fed meat
Red wine
Dark chocolate (especially gourmet chocolate)
Pomegranate juice
Vitamins and
supplements
Cookbooks
Ok, I'll admit, while I'm a handy chopper, I'm not the real cook in the
family -- my wife is. We picked out some new cookbooks, and these were
our favorites:
|
|
The Mayo-Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook
by John Phillip Carroll, Chris Shorten
One of the things that plagued me about the first set of heart-healthy
cookbooks I looked at was that the food just didn't seem yummy. The books were focused on creating low-fat
versions of heavier classics instead of just making great tasting food
that happened to be low-in-fat.
This cookbook is different, it has beautiful pictures, modern recipes,
and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. Many of the recipes
are good for weeknight cooking. Everything I've made from the book
so far has been delicious, and some of desserts are so good you can't
tell they're low fat. |
|
|
The Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
by the Moosewood Collective
My wife has cooked from this book since college, and many of the
recipes are regular recipes we've always loved.
The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home is also a favorite - and
while it's not specifically about heart-healthy eating, the recipes are
very healthy and delicious, as well as quick to prepare. |
Grocery Shopping: The first thing we
did (at my wife's insistence) was to change supermarkets. We started
going to a health food store instead of the regular store. Here's why:
- Our health food store does not stock anything
with trans-fat. Trans-fat is terrible for you (whether you have
high-cholesterol or not). That made reading labels less of an issue.
- Not having the crummy foods staring me in the face
made the transition easier, plus this grocery store was a whole new adventure. We tried to keep it fun & focused on finding
new foods.
- I wasn't faced with walking past rows of Oreo
Cookies and other foods on the "avoid" list. Instead, I had
to choose from new things, and there was no reason not to make those
choices low in cholesterol and low in saturated fat.
I have no
relationship with the solutions or businesses I describe and created this site
only to inspire others. If you're interested in trying some of the
same solutions I used, please consult your doctor.
If you find this website
useful, please add a link to it from your website or blog. |
|