Guest guest Posted May 11, 2002 Report Share Posted May 11, 2002 Hi, My family has switched to a vegetarian diet for a little over a year now, all meals were well until Dh was told he has high cholesterol. We are working on lowering his fat intake/cholesterol intake and this has put a damper on our eating ways. I will not buy anything that has hydrogenated oils, diglycerides and products containing trans fatty acids. I use applesauce in place of butter/oil. I have limited olive oil down to 1 small bottle a month! Sugar is a no-no here also, even the "good" sugar! Sugar can play a part on his fat intake. I make our bread and pizza...We are having problems figuring out what to eat. I make pasta, pasta and pasta with homemade sauce. Pizza is made once a week with minimal cheese for us and fat free (YUCK!) cheese for dh. I was making veggie potpie, south of the border pie, taco salad and many other yummies before dh came home with his cholesterol news. Now, dinner is boring, I don't even look forward to making it! Which is so not like me Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated!! Shell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 11, 2002 Report Share Posted May 11, 2002 Hi, I'm a man who has had to deal with lowering cholesterol. It is challenging at times. However, it is extraordinary how effective a low-fat vegetarian diet combined with exercise (mostly walking for me) can be. In the past two years I have managed to drop 60 lbs. and have trimmed around 60-70 points off my total cholesterol number---it is now in the acceptable range. As a benefit, my blood pressure has also improved ('though it wasn't terrible before). For an additional source of recipes, you might want to check out some of John MacDougall's (or it may be McDougall) books. They are radically low fat. Dean Ornish also has some vegetarian recipes, and he is also a low fat (though not as extreme as McDougall) advocate. Hang in there and keep experimenting with recipes. I do find that spices can add alot to a meal. Also it is fun to find various ethnic recipes that are naturally low-fat. I also think it is important to treat myself occasionally to cheese, butter, ice-cream...perhaps once a month or even once every other month. Good luck. George , shelljamm@a... wrote: > > Hi, > > My family has switched to a vegetarian diet for a little over a year now, > all meals were well until Dh was told he has high cholesterol. We are > working on lowering his fat intake/cholesterol intake and this has put a > damper on our eating ways. I will not buy anything that has hydrogenated > oils, diglycerides and products containing trans fatty acids. I use > applesauce in place of butter/oil. I have limited olive oil down to 1 small > bottle a month! Sugar is a no-no here also, even the " good " sugar! Sugar can > play a part on his fat intake. I make our bread and pizza...We are having > problems figuring out what to eat. I make pasta, pasta and pasta with > homemade sauce. Pizza is made once a week with minimal cheese for us and fat > free (YUCK!) cheese for dh. I was making veggie potpie, south of the border > pie, taco salad and many other yummies before dh came home with his > cholesterol news. Now, dinner is boring, I don't even look forward to making > it! Which is so not like me > Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated!! > Shell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2002 Report Share Posted May 12, 2002 You could try stir-fries, they use a little bit of oil, but you don't even have to use that. I have to admit it's not authentic, but I just use a nonstick skillet and some water or vegetable broth and " steam-saute " the veggies. Most of the time I use just a sprinkling of low-salt soy sauce and some pepper. We love Mollie Katzen's Sweet and Sour Tofu with Cashews too. I just make sure to buy the fruit juice that is unsweetened. (I'm pre-diabetic and have high triglycerides, the nutritionist recommended that I watch my fruit and fruit juice intake, it raises the tri's.) We also use canola and olive oils to cook with (I don't do a lot of baking so that's not much of a problem). I've found the easiest thing to do is find stuff that doesn't rely on cheese in the first place, and we have cheesy things once a week. We aren't total vegetarians (I've slowly changed hubby from 3 days a week to 5 now, and most weekend stuff is meatless) I am not vegan either, I use eggs and some dairy (I have trouble with too much so most is as cheese or yogurt, soy everything else. I have dropped my cholesterol to a normal level without drugs and impressed the doctor (now if I could just lose weight as easily! I need to exercise more). Anyway, here's my menu for next week: 1. Asparagus with Fried Egg and Pasta (I buy Eggland's Best Eggs with Omega 3's we usually eat two total a week. I will use a touch of REAL Parmesan because I don't even like the fake) 2. Gazpacho 3. Mashed Potato Enchiladas (this is the main " cheese " dish) 4. Baked Chickpeas Provencale 5. Kasha topped with Mushrooms in Sour Cream I supplement with salads (try seasoned rice wine vinegar instead of an oil/vinegar combo, I love it). Something else that has helped is ethnic food in general. A lot of Indian food is without dairy, usually the dairy is in the form of yogurt or butter (I use oil). Thai and chinese are also good picks without the dairy focus, just watch the fish sauce and shrimp paste. Sorry to type so much, hope it helps at least a little! JJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2002 Report Share Posted May 13, 2002 , shelljamm@a... wrote: > > Hi, > > My family has switched to a vegetarian diet for a little over a year now, > all meals were well until Dh was told he has high cholesterol. We are > working on lowering his fat intake/cholesterol intake and this has put a > damper on our eating ways. I will not buy anything that has hydrogenated > oils, diglycerides and products containing trans fatty acids. I use > applesauce in place of butter/oil. I have limited olive oil down to 1 small > bottle a month! How about a Vegetarian shepherd's pie with or without veggie meat crumbles? I'm pretty sure it conforms to your dietary requirements and its tasty, too. Spray a little Pam in a pan and then add 1 chopped onion 1 leek, sliced white part only 1 lb chopped mushrooms - I use portabello if I'm not using crumbles 1 large carrot sliced 1 lb meat substitute crumbles 3/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted Once the mushrooms release their liquid, stir in 1-2 T flour, some dried thyme and dried rosemary. Then add 1 can veggie stock and simmer until gravy forms and reduces. Meanwhile, make low-fat mashed potatoes using boiled peeled potatoes and veggie stock and garlic. You put the mixture in a baking dish and spoon the potatoes on top and bake at 400 for around 30 minutes until the top begins to brown a little. It's also really good with chopped sweet potatoes and parsnips added to the stew (boiled " al dente " first). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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