GrainsBreads, brown and regular rice, ready-to-eat flaky whole grain cereals, pasta, oats, tortillas, pita breadBaked goods made with heart-unhealthy fat (See Fats & Oils below)VegetablesAll fresh, frozen, and canned vegetablesVegetables topped with cream sauces, whole milk cheese, and butterFruitsAll fresh, frozen, and canned fruitsFruits topped with creamDairy FoodsNonfat and low fat milk and yogurt, reduced and low fat cheeses, and light ice creamWhole milk, 2 percent milk, whole milk cheeses, and full fat ice creamMeats & Meat AlternativesLean cuts of meats, such as tenderloin, sirloin, round, and lean or extra lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken, low fat luncheon meats and hot dogs, dried peas and beans, skinless poultry, fish, beans, tofu, peanut butter, nuts, egg whites, and egg substitutes (Keep meat, poultry, and fish to about six ounces daily)Fatty cuts of meat such as untrimmed meats, hot dogs, sausages, and bacon, excessive egg yolks*, organ meats (liver), poultry with skin, and fatty luncheon meats, such as bologna and salamiFats and OilsSoft margarine, olive, soybean, canola, corn, peanut, sunflower, and sesame oilsWhole milk, yogurt, and cheeses, full fat ice cream, cream *Since an egg yolk contains over 200 milligrams of dietary cholesterol, these need to be balanced within your diet in order to harness your daily cholesterol intake. Egg whites are free of dietary cholesterol.
- By Joan Salge Blake, MS, RD, LDN. Blake is a nutrition professor at Boston University and a nationally known writer, lecturer and nutrition expert.