Must Read: Triglycerides, How They Are Influenced”  and Calculate Cholesterol, Choose TLC Menu Plan”  both articles provide a better over view of how to confront cholesterol and achieve reduced total cholesterol.

Choose your foods wisely to improve your daily nutritional intake, and cleanse your body, optimizing it’s overall function in keeping you healthy. Highlighted words will take you to healthy recipes.

Various foods, beverages and spices are known for reducing, or interfering with bad cholesterol (LDL) and carrying it out of the body.

•  Fruits and Vegetables (totaling 9 per day)
• Teas 2-4 cups a day
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 -3 Tablespoons
• Cinnamon:  1-4g (1/3 tsp – 1 1/2 tsp a day)
• Ginger (250 mcg/day capsule form)
• Honey 3 1/2 tablespoons / day

Maybe applied to any Meal Plan of choice.   Before doing your grocery shopping choose five foods from each catagory to buy and put in your refrigerator…………………

FRUITS choose 4 for daily consumption.

• 
• Apples, 1/2 cup
• Apricots: Dried, cooked, unsweetened 1/2 cup
• Banana, raw 1 medium
• Cantaloupe, raw About 1/2 cup diced
• Grapefruit juice 3/4 cup. If taking statins avoid grapefruit.
•  Honeydew, Cantaloupe & Watermelon 3/4 cup
• Nectarine, raw 1 medium
• Orange juice 6 ounces 
• Peaches: Dried, Cooked, Unsweetened 1/2 cup
• Pears: Dried, uncooked 1/2 cup
• Pomegranate,  1 medium
• Prunes, dried, cooked, unsweetened 1/2 cup
• Prune juice, unsweetened 1/2 cup
• Raisins 1/4 cup
• 
• VEGETABLES choose 5 for daily consumption. Click on for recipe.
• Artichoke recipe,or Risotto with Artichokes globe (french), cooked 1 medium
• Asparagus, cooked 1/2 cup
• Beans: Green, cooked 1/2 cup
• Avocado, 1/4 cup
• Cauliflower  cooked 1/2 cup
• Chard cooked 1/2 cup
• Corn cooked 1/2 cup
• Eggplant cooked 1/2 cup
• Legumes cooked 1/2 cup
• Mushrooms cooked 1/2 cup
• Parsnips cooked 1/2 cup
• Peas, green cooked 1/2 cup
• Plantain  1 medium
• Potato: Baked or boiled, with or w/o skin 1 medium
• Pumpkin, cooked 1/2 cup
• Rutabaga, cooked 1/2 cup
• Spinach, cooked 1/2 cup
• Squash, winter, cooked, mashed 1/2 cup
• Sweet-potato: Baked 1 medium or Boiled 1 medium
• Tomatoes: Raw 1 med., Stewed 1/2 c., Tomato juice, canned 3/4 c. 
• Zucchini: saute` 1/2 cup

Red Meat, Pork and Poultry 3 ounces should be consumed in reduced amounts. If individual has  high Triglycerides Pork may be eliminated from the diet completely.

Laura’s Meat is a nice lean meat that will be beneficial to reducing LDL while obtaining protein. Purchase the 92% lean red meat.

• Meat and Poultry Beef: lean only once day for a weight of 3 ounces
• Ground Meat; extra lean, lean, or regular; baked or broiled 1 patty
• Pot roast, braised, lean only 3 ounces
• Roast, rib, roasted, lean only 3 ounces
• Short-ribs, braised, lean only 3 ounces
• Steak, lean only: Baked or broiled 3 ounces + Braised 3 ounces
• Stew meat, simmered, lean only 3 ounces
• Chicken, without skin: Breast, broiled or roasted 1/2 breast
• Chicken Leg (thigh and drumstick), broiled or roasted 1 leg
• Cornish hen, roasted, without skin 1/2 hen
• Ham, roasted, lean only: Fresh, Smoked or cured 3 ounces
• Lamb, lean only: Chop, shoulder; baked, braised, or broiled 1 chop Lamb Roast, leg or shoulder, roasted 3 ounces
• Pork: Chop, baked or broiled, lean only 1 chop
• Pork Cutlet, baked or broiled, lean only 1 cutlet
• Pork Roast, roasted, lean only: Loin 3 ounces
• Pork Shoulder 3 ounces
• Turkey, light or dark meat, roasted, without skin 3 ounces
• Veal, lean only: Chop, braised 1 chop Cutlet or steak, pan broiled 1 cutlet, Roast, leg, roasted 3 ounces

FISH 3 ounces. All Fish should be checked for dietary cholesterol;  most shellfish can be high in cholesterol and limited in consumption. 

• 
• Carp, catfish, flounder, or mullet; baked, broiled, grilled 3 ounces
• Haddock, Mackerel, or Porgy; baked, broiled, grilled 3 ounces
• Clams: Canned, Steamed, poached 3 ounces
• Cod, Croaker, Pompano, or Trout; baked, broiled, grilled 3 ounces
• Crabmeat, steamed 3 ounces
• Lobster, steamed or boiled 3 ounces
• Mussels, steamed, boiled, or poached 3 ounces
• Ocean Perch, Pike; baked, broiled, grilled 3 ounces
• Oysters: Canned, undrained 3 ounces
• Sea Bass, or Whiting; baked, boiled, grilled 3 ounces
• Salmon: Baked, broiledgilled, smoked 3 ounces
• Scallops: Baked, broiled, grilled, steamed 3 ounces
• Swordfish steak, baked, broiled, grilled 3 ounces
• Tuna, canned, baked, seared, grilled 3 ounces

Legumes (Meat Alternate) 1 cup cooked is loaded with fiber and protein which will assist in eliminating LDL cholesterol.

• Dry Beans, Peas, and Lentils Beans, cooked: Bayo, black, brown, or red kidney 1/2 c
• Calico, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), mung, or pinto 1/2 cup
• Fava, Lima, soybeans, or white 1/2 cup
• Lentils, cooked 1/2 cup
• Peas, split, green or yellow, cooked 1/2 cup
• Soy milk 1 cup

MILK, CHEESE, AND YOGURT should be monitored carefully, or eliminated from the diet while reducing Triglyceride levels. 

• Parmesean Cheese 1 oz
• Milk 1% or skim
• Chocolate skim milk 1 cup
• Lowfat / non fat cheese 1 oz
• Milk-based fruit drinks 1 c
• Yogurt: Flavored, made with lowfat milk 6 ounces
• Frozen Yogurt 6 ounces,
• Frozen Fruit Yogurt made with lowfat or nonfat milk 6 ounces