Hello Lovelies! In case you missed yesterday‘s post, I talked a little bit about cholesterol and how I plan to lower mine. Before dropping the topic (getting redundant, eh?) I want to share a few foods that some researchers say can naturally lower cholesterol. Since I’m eating them anyway, what better time to do it that What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW)?
Snack: 15 raw almonds (Mayo Clinic mentions almonds in its article, “Cholesterol: Top five foods to lower your numbers.“)
Lunch: an apple with 1/2 can tuna in water and a 100-calorie pack of Wholly Guacamole (The fiber from the apple, the omegas in the tuna, and the healthy fats from the avocado are all big players here, though salmon is widely accepted as “better” than tuna.)
Snack: carrots and low-fat cottage cheese… but after one bite, I realized my cottage cheese had gone bad (yuck!), so I had to sub this bar instead. It’s not as healthy as the cottage cheese, but I guess I could have done worse.
Dinner: slow cooker lentil stew with cornmeal dumplings (This was good- not amazing, but good. I added some of my own extra spices and was very glad I did. I also used some heart-healthy olive oil in the dumplings. Going meat-less is definitely cholesterol friendly, especially with all the fiber in those lentils!)
Dessert: half a cup of organic chocolate ice cream… maybe not so heart healthy, but definitely heart happy!
I don’t plan on eating quite this many healthy fats on a daily basis, but I wanted to give it a whirl. However, I do plan to increase my consumption. Hopefully I’ll be able to increase my consumption of fish too, but that’s hard for someone who’s not a huge seafood fanatic… except for shrimpies. I’m always happy to have shrimpies!
- Are you eating or have you eaten anything to alleviate or cure any specific health concerns?
January 30, 2013 at 6:22 am
Huge oats and nuts fan as well. I am thinking about switching to soy milk, but otherwise try to keep things pretty balanced.
January 30, 2013 at 7:17 am
Love oats and nuts too! I have very high Cholesterol too. Do you take a fish oil supplement? I am taking a Coromega 3D squeeze. My doctor wanted me to take 2 fish oil pills a day and I could not! but love the tropical orange squeeze. I am due in February for a check up, it will be interesting to see if mine had gone down at all.
January 30, 2013 at 8:47 am
I hope it helps! I’m not taking one yet, but I’m thinking about buying some.
January 30, 2013 at 8:12 am
Oh your dumplings are so cute! You should check out http://www.happyheartcourse.com online cholesterol lowering course. Plant based food for four weeks complete with all the advice, learning and recipes you’ll ever need!
January 30, 2013 at 8:47 am
Interesting! I’ll definitely look into it.
January 30, 2013 at 9:01 am
As contradictory as this sounds when it comes to being healthy, right now I’m avoiding eating massive amounts of veggies in one sitting. My stomach just doesn’t handle the bulk well and I’ve been feeling a lot better since cutting down. Hope you start to see some positive results from your diet changes too!
January 30, 2013 at 10:37 am
I do try to up my healthy fats for my cholesterol issue. I do find that being on weight watchers has decreased the whole grains, nuts and healthy fats I consume so I need to find a way to keep on my weight loss goal while still eating things that will lower my cholesterol. One day at a time, I guess!
January 30, 2013 at 12:32 pm
Your cholesterol will be down ASAP with a diet like that! I’d love to have some fresh raspberries- sadly, I probably won’t eat any for months until summer is back.
I’ve actually had to increase my sodium intake to help with thyroid issues. I was shocked to learn I need more salt!
January 30, 2013 at 12:46 pm
Oats are always good in my book
I try to make sure I am eating low GI, as I notice that if I have too much simple sugary things I can get a bit jittery, plus my Mum is diabetic so I have to be careful I think.
But generally a balance is all good.
January 30, 2013 at 1:30 pm
mmm all looks so tasty – i have oats virtually every day; theres so many different things you can do with them they never get boring!
I try to avoid simple sugars and things that’ll spike my blood sugar levels massively.
January 30, 2013 at 1:55 pm
Looks like one delicious eating day! I’ve been dipping into ice cream lately, too… I’m not sure why I bought it, as I know I have zero will power. But it’s definitely heart happy.
You’re eating a great diet to lower cholesterol!
January 30, 2013 at 2:51 pm
That dinner looks and sounds so good. Good luck with everything – I think you’re on the right track to lowering your cholesterol!
January 30, 2013 at 3:23 pm
My dad is having issues with his cholesterol so I will show him this! Thank you
January 30, 2013 at 5:05 pm
I don’t know what is worse than soured dairy products. I have never liked milk and I used to buy it in college to make mac and cheese (picture of healthy, yes I know) and I remember after anxiously awaiting the noodles to be cooked I dumped in the cheese powder (kraft baby) and went to pour milk in and PLOP. Needless to say I lost my appetite.
January 30, 2013 at 6:46 pm
I think it’s awesome you’re taking action and trying to change some things up in your diet to lower your cholesterol before going right to the meds.
January 30, 2013 at 7:08 pm
Looks like a good day. I’m a huge fan of oatmeal with walnuts. Add some maple syrup and it’s like dessert for me…
January 30, 2013 at 9:12 pm
I love cottage cheese and fruit for breakfast sometimes.. i also just discovered edamame hummus and its my most recent obsession!!
January 30, 2013 at 10:30 pm
I don’t care that it’s only six thirty in the morning, I want to lick your dinner bowl clean
January 31, 2013 at 6:12 am
I try to include lots of antiinflammatory foods to help after tough workouts: berries, salmon, pineapple, etc.
January 31, 2013 at 10:59 am
My dad swears by the oatmeal, almond small grape juice combo for bfast. Boring maybe but he swears it lowers his…without doing anything else! You’ll get it down Tiff!
xoxo from Trinidad
January 31, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Love the vibrant color of your breakfast!
I eat lots of oats, walnuts and almonds so it’s great to hear that they lower cholesterol