TLC Daily Food Guide to Lower Your Cholesterol

1. Cholesterol Levels Slideshow Pictures
2. Lowering Cholesterol Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the Cholesterol Quiz

Sweets and Snacks

Some sweets and snacks -- like baked goods (cakes and cookies) cheese crackers, and some chips -- often are high in saturated fat and cholesterol.

Here are some low fat sweets and snacks to buy and use only now-and-then:

• Angel food cake topped with fruit puree or fresh fruit slices
• Fat free or low fat brownies, cakes, cheesecake, cupcakes, and pastries
• Fat free or lowfat cookies like animal crackers, devil's food cookies, fig and other fruit bars, ginger snaps, and vanilla or lemon wafers
• Frozen lowfat or nonfat yogurt, fruit ices, ice milk, sherbet, and sorbet
• Gelatin desserts - watch the whip cream!
• Graham crackers
• Puddings made with 1% or skim milk

Just remember that, while these treats are may be low in fat, most are not  low in calories. So choose them only every now-and-then, especially if you are trying to control your weight to improve your blood cholesterol levels.

Not all snack foods are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Buy some of these low fat ones and keep them on hand for snack attacks:

• Bagels
• Bread sticks*
• Ready-to-eat cereals without added sugar*
• Frozen grapes or banana slices; or other fresh fruit
• Fruit leather or other dried fruit
• Low fat or fat free crackers* like melba toast, rice cakes, rye crisp, and soda crackers
• No-oil baked tortilla chips*
• Popcorn (air popped or "light")*
• Pretzels*
• Raw vegetables with nonfat or low fat dip

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*If you are watching your sodium intake, be sure to look for low sodium or unsalted varieties.

Portions of the above information has been provided with the kind permission of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (www.nhlbi.nih.gov/).