Recipe Modifications for Low Cholesterol, Low Saturated Fat Diet

By using the following substitutions, you can significantly lower the cholesterol and fat content of standard recipes.

For this product:	Try this alternative:
Cheese	Low-fat cheeses (less than 3 grams of fat per ounce) part skim cheeses, fat-free cheeses
Creamed cottage cheese	Low-fat cottage cheese, nonfat cottage cheese
Mozzarella & ricotta cheese	Part-skim mozzarella and ricotta
Heavy cream	Evaporated skim milk
Whipped cream	Low-fat whipped topping
Sour cream	Fat-free sour cream, nonfat yogurt
Ice cream	Sherbet, Italian ices, fat-free ice cream, nonfat frozen yogurt
Whole milk	Low-fat milk (1 percent) or skim milk
Butter	Tub or squeeze margarines *
1 cup solid shortening	2/3 cup vegetable oil *
Buttering breads and vegetables	Olive or sesame oil used lightly, fat-free margarines or dressings
Salad dressings	Fat-free salad dressings
1 egg	2 egg whites, 1/4 cup egg substitute
Lunch meats	Those with less than 3 grams of fat per ounce. or turkey and chicken breast
Tuna packed in oil	Water-packed tuna
Self-basting turkey	Regular turkey, baste with fat-free bouillon
Red meat protein sources	Lean cuts such as sirloin, tenderloin and round or dried beans, split peas or lentils
Prime or choice grades of meat	Good or standard grades of meat
Organ meats	Avoid organ meats, choose lean cuts and moderate portions of meats, fish and poultry
Regular bacon	Canadian bacon or lean ham
Commercial gravies	Homemade gravies, skimmed off fat
Preparing gravies	Chill until fat sets and remove, dip a paper towel into warm gravy or use gravy skimmer
Cooking poultry	Remove skin
Cooking meats	Trim all visible fat from meat before cooking, cook on a rack, drain fat
Sautéing foods in fat	Sauté in nonstick skillet without oil or use skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray
Cooking vegetables in butter	Steam vegetable, flavor with herbs
1 ounce bakers chocolate	3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon safflower oil
Chocolate cake	Angel food cake
Chocolate	Fat-free fudgesicles, nonfat hot cocoa mix, fat-free chocolate pudding
Pastries	Graham crackers, vanilla wafers
Biscuits, muffins, croissants	Hard rolls, pita, Italian or French bread, sandwich bread
Potato chips, corn chips	Pretzels, air-popped popcorn, baked chips
High fat crackers	Bread sticks, melba toast, soda, oyster or whole-grain crackers

* This lowers SATURATED fat, but not TOTAL fat

UCSF Health medical specialists have reviewed this information. It is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or other health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any questions or concerns you may have with your provider.