Amazon.com Review
High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart disease, the number one cause of death in the U.S. Experts recommend reducing dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. This means cutting down on the animal fat present in meat and eating more high-fiber, high-quality, complex carbohydrates. To help you do this, the American Heart Association has developed the Step-One Diet and the Step-Two Diet. Both are similar in recommending that 30 percent or less of your calories come from fat, 10 to 20 percent from protein, and 50 to 60 percent from carbohydrates. The Step-Two is more restrictive of saturated fat and cholesterol.

The AHA makes these changes easy to put into action with 200 recipes and clear explanations of how to shop, cook, and substitute ingredients. You'll learn alternatives to high-fat staples. For example, make Mock Sour Cream with skim milk, lemon juice, and low-fat cottage cheese, or try the Artichoke and Spinach Spread instead of mayonnaise. Blend peanut butter with cooked carrots to keep the peanut taste while lowering the fat. The recipes include a variety of appetizers, soups, salads, fish, poultry, meat, vegetarian dishes, vegetables, sauces, breads, and desserts. There's nothing austere or "diet"-like about these recipes: Spinach-Stuffed Pizza, Beef Stroganoff, Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken, Halibut Kabobs, Chinese Vegetable Stir-Fry, and treats like Mocha Cheesecake and Chocolate Soufflé. Each recipe includes a nutrient analysis of calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat (total, saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated), cholesterol, and sodium.

You'd be smart to avoid the popular and unhealthy eat-all-the-meat-and-fat-you-want fad diets and take your nutritional advice from an organization that exists solely to help you keep your heart healthy. --Joan Price