Need rice/pasta recipes for DH Lunchbox

Hi DH has hereditary high cholesterol and we saw a dietician yesterday to see how we are going with his current diet etc (not diet as in Weight Loss diet, diet as in the food he/we eat) She said we are pretty much doing the right thing but have to make a few little changes. She suggested that he take a small rice or pasta dish to work to have with his lunch - I usually cook extra at night and he takes it for lunch the next day but she also wants him to have the rice/pasta aswell so he is fuller for longer.

So I am after some quick tasty healthy recipes that he can take. Any ideas??

I sometimes do a pasta salad.

Cook, drain and cool the pasta (sometimes I add some cooked onion here). Add some chopped salad ingredients (cucumber, tomato, gherkin, sundried toms, sultanas, salad onion if you don't cook onion, celery, baby spinach leaves, pine nuts, olives, pineapple, chopped herbs or whatever you like) plus a tin of tuna and a tbs of mayo and a tsp of wholegrain mayo. Stir.

You can experiment with quantities and different ingredients too, depending on what you like and what fits your DH's diet. I've also done it without the tuna.

HTH

Hi Salad,

A bit off thread but my hubby had similiar issues - he managed to get off meds and has kept his cholesterol under control with diet. I thought it would be impossible - but he has done so well. The biggest help we found was making sure all rice, pasta and bread was wholegrain/brown/lowest GI choice (and watching portions also). He added almonds/walnuts and avocado as snacks to fill up also. Good luck!

Hi Mak, is your dh's cholesterol issue hereditary - thats the real issue with us is that he may have to be on medication (unfortunantely) because diet cannot reduce it.
This makes it really hard.

How about this:
Take a packet or 2 of 99% fat free 2 minute noodles, soak in hot water till soft.
In a pan, throw in sliced vegetables of choice, tonight I used carrots, capsicum, shallots, cauli, broc, cabbage. Fry off till getting softish (I don't use any oil, just a quick spray on the pan with canola spray), add in some water when the pan is hot to create steam and put the lid on at start to help soften vege.
Break up and throw in the softened noodles then add flavouring to you choice. I used soy, oyster and fresh ginger and a little chicken stock powder.
I think this is healthy!

Hi Salad - Yes DH's issues are hereditary, we moved and he got referred to another specialist who had a different approach. As he explained to us (apologies for the dodgy not very scientific explanation) - We generally ate quite healthily, home cooked lots of veges so it was a bit of a shock. DH makes more cholesterol himself so needed to ensure he gets lots of fibre which helps the body to expel the excess cholesterol. He also needed to make sure he got enough good fats also (we eat salmon at least once a week as well as the nuts/avocado). Your DH's issues may be completely different though. Initially DH took Metamucil as well, but has not needed to for 2 years now. Really we just tweaked a few things and DH dropped about 6 kg and he has not needed to go back on the meds yet. I was really stressed when DH first got diagnosed, as his parents both had strokes/heart disease in their 30's. Take care.

Hi Salad,

I too have high cholesterol from my mother.

I reckon a good stir fry with rice is the way to go.

Get some lean beef/pork/chicken. Add a few tablespoons of oyster sauce, add a pinch of salt, add a pinch of sugar and mix with chopped garlic. Cover for a littlle while

Stir fry with some veggies and serve with rice.

This recipe is the most simplest and works as a great marinade on chicken wings and pork (with pork add some pepper too) that can be grilled too.

Mak - yep dh is on the metamucil aswell he goes back to the Dr on 20th I think to see how he is progressing - hopefully it is coming down because they will then lower the dosage of the cholesterol meds a little. His pop and dad have both had triple by passes I really dont want him to end up going through the same thing - it is so worrying.