All right. So I must admit it. I’m on a diet to maintain a healthy weight. I’ve eaten my fruits and vegetables, cut back on fatty foods, substitute chicken and fish instead of fatty meat, watch what I’m taking in as far as sweets go and it’s still not enough to worry about my weight, but also my cholesterol level. What’s a person to do? I admit that I have a sweet tooth and have had to find other means of satisfying my lust for sweet food and keep my cholesterol low at the same time. I have found several foods that can do that, but will tell you of two and the reasons why they satisfy me. Whenever my brain starts telling my stomach it’s time to eat something that seems sinful but isn’t I head to my cabinets and get a box of low sodium pretzels or make myself some pop corn. There is just something wonderfully decadent about munching on pretzels. I love to hear the crunch, crunch sound, it takes a while to chew them and I am fooling my brain into thinking I’m putting more in my stomach than I am. The same holds true for popcorn. I can sit there with a bowl in front of me, watch my favorite television program and know I am doing something that is healthy for my body. These two items cost very little money to purchase and should be kept on hand whenever you feel the urge to indulge yourself. Just be sure to get the low sodium type of pretzels and don’t load your pop corn up with butter which will defeat the purpose of trying to lower your cholesterol. If you’re used to loading up on the butter on your pop corn, you can always find a low sodium substitute instead. It’s not all that hard to change your lifestyle to lower your cholesterol with all the helpful foods that are available to you and that includes the “snack attacks” that most of us go through. It just takes a little effort on your part. Happy, healthy eating, everyone.