Patient Information --> Medical and Surgical Information --> Healty Lifestyle Changes --> Dietary and Activity Guidelines --> Developing Healthy Eating Habits

Cooking Meals:

1. Trim all fat from meats & remove skin from poultry.

2. Bake, broil, boil, grill, steam, or microwave instead of frying foods. Use non-stick pan or vegetable cooking spray in place of butter, margarine , or oil if frying is necessary. If oil is used, count it as part of your fat/ oil allowance.

3. Cook & drain ground meat/ meatballs, then blot w/ paper towels before adding to sauce.

4. Use a rack when cooking meats. Separate meat from fat drippings. Use fat free salad dressing to marinate meat or add tomato sauce or broth to moisten meat without fat.

Switching From Whole to Skim Milk:

1. Make the change little by little. Switch from whole milk (3%) to 2% , then 1%, then skim.

2. Take your time. Stay with one milk about 2 weeks and then try one with less fat.

Making Soups & Sauces:

1. KEY: Prepare one day in advance of serving. Cook as usual. Refrigerate so that the fat will harden and rise to the top. Remove the fat by skimming off the top.

Other Suggestions:

1. Use 2 egg whites instead of one whole egg in any recipe, or try egg substitute.

2. Reduce the amount of oil or shortening in recipes by 1/3.

3. Go wild with herbs and spices to add flavor and reduce sodium.

4. Use skim, 1%, or evaporated skim milk for creamed soups/sauces.

5. Experiment with your baking recipes and use yogurt, applesauce or water for oil.

SUGGESTIONS TO LOWER SODIUM IN YOUR DIET

• 1 tsp. of salt contains about 2000 mg of sodium...That's about as much as you should have in whole day.
• Limit eating processed foods, especially canned soups and vegetables, processed meats and cheese, and processed frozen foods such as frozen dinners.
• Try not adding salt at the table. Never add salt before you have tasted the food.
• Try using herbs and spices in place of salt. ** DO NOT USE: garlic salt, onion salt, celery salt, seasoned salt, soy sauce, meat tenderizer, Worcestershire sauce, or regular bouillon cubes.
• Reduce the amount of salt you now use in cooking.
• Look for low sodium or "salt free" foods.
• Try to keep your sodium intake around 2400 milligrams per day.

WHAT ABOUT FIBER?

• Combined with a low fat, low cholesterol diet, fiber has many useful effects. Fiber, especially soluble fiber, can help lower blood cholesterol levels by halting the absorption and/ or production of cholesterol.
• You should eat 25- 35 grams of dietary fiber a day, of which 6 grams should be soluble fiber.
• Do not overdue a good thing. Eating more than 50 grams of fiber a day may hurt your body's ability to absorb vitamins and minerals.
  

The following list provides the fiber content as well as the soluble fiber content of many foods. Meat, eggs and dairy products do not contain fiber.