Today, those recipes sit yellowing in a kitchen drawer. Susan hasn't taken so much as a bite of steak since 1997. The former meat-lover favors meatless meals that get their flavor not from fat but from unique, zesty condiments and seasonings.

What brought about Susan's change of heart? A massive heart attack in August 1996, followed by a year of trying to rein in her dangerously high cholesterol, which had climbed to an astounding 400. "As I recall, my LDL was around 200, and my HDL was about 20," she says. "My overall profile could not have been much worse."

Realizing the seriousness of her situation, Susan immediately snuffed out her 20-year, two-pack-a-day smoking habit. Surprisingly, that wasn't her greatest challenge. "It was much easier than giving up meat," she admits.

At first, Susan followed the American Heart Association diet, which permitted occasional servings of lean beef and poultry. Her cholesterol--which was being tested monthly--didn't budge. Even cholesterol-lowering drugs didn't help. "I felt like I was another heart attack waiting to happen," she says.

Then Susan's doctor recommended that she enroll in the Rice Diet Program at Duke University in Durham, NC. Susan stayed at the clinic for 2 1/2 months, attending classes in nutrition and cooking, exercise, and meditation. In addition, she was put on a very low fat, low-sodium diet featuring plenty of rice, fruit, and steamed vegetables.

"In just 3 weeks, my cholesterol dropped dramatically. When I left the clinic, it was down to 170," Susan says. "When I saw the numbers, I knew that diet had done the trick."

Once she left the clinic, Susan vowed to stick with her newly reformed eating habits. A passionate cook, she invested in cookbooks featuring fat-free, low-sodium meatless recipes and browsed specialty shops for interesting, healthy condiments and seasonings. "You can make very tasty dishes, even with no fat and very little salt," she says. "For example, I serve my sea bass with a wonderful roasted garlic and onion jam from a company called Stonewall Kitchen. And I found a great no-salt mustard that I mix into tuna salad instead of mayonnaise."

Susan also spritzes balsamic vinegar on her salads, drizzles Hunt's No Salt Added Ketchup on her baked potatoes, and stuffs squash into her ravioli. Even her breakfast cereal gets special treatment. "Fat-free milk is off-limits, so I pour pineapple juice over my puffed wheat," she says. "I think it tastes great!"

Susan's savvy use of condiments and seasonings has kept her loyal to her heart-healthy diet. That--combined with a regular walking regimen and cholesterol-lowering medication--has improved Susan's cholesterol profile even more. Her latest test results are nothing less than impressive: total cholesterol of 145, with her LDL at 67 and her HDL at 58.

While Susan has worked hard to achieve those numbers, she doesn't take all of the credit. "I truly believe the only reason I am here is because of the Rice Diet Program," she says. "The doctors were wonderful. They saved my life!"

Winning Action
Expand your flavor repertoire. There's no denying that fat makes food taste good. But eaten in excess, it can drive cholesterol to a dangerously high level. That said, cutting your fat intake doesn't have to mean giving up flavor. These days, you can buy all sorts of condiments and seasonings that add fat-free zest to your favorite recipes. Your supermarket probably has an array of products from which to choose--but don't forget to check out health food stores and specialty stores as well. Remember, too, that certain herbs and spices--like garlic and turmeric--contain compounds that help lower cholesterol. What a wonderful bonus.