Reducing fat and cholesterol in your family's diet may not be as easy as you think. Many foods once thought to be staples of a well-balanced diet are loaded with fat and cholesterol. Here's a simple six month plan to help reduce fat and cholesterol in your family's diet:

When purchasing meat, select lean, well-trimmed cuts of beef or pork. When cooking, use vegetable oil or softened margarine instead of lard or butter. Replace two red meat meals each week with poultry or fish meals.

Continue recommendations from month one. Switch from whole milk to 2%. Eat two fewer eggs each week. Cut your consumption of high fat foods such as bacon, cream, cold cuts, ice cream, cakes, pies and other desserts.

Continue recommendations from first two months. Avoid non-dairy creamers. Limit organ meat meals to two per week. Cut down on use of cheddar cheese and cream cheese.

Continue recommendations. When recipe calls for two eggs, use egg whites and only one egg yolk. Limit intake of meat, fish, poultry to 8 ounces (cooked weight) per day. When ordering salad in a restaurant, ask for the dressing on the side, then use sparingly. Make dressings at home using safflower, corn or sunflower oils.

Continue all previous recommendations. Switch from 2% milk to 1% or skim milk. Limit your consumption of high fat foods such as bacon, cold cuts, cheeses, etc. Limit fried foods to one serving per week. Eat only low-fat variety cheeses.

Continue all previous recommendations. Eat no more than three egg yolks per week. Replace five red meat meals with fish or poultry, or high protein vegetables. Limit organ meat meals to one per week. Limit your intake of meat, fish or poultry to 4 ounces cooked weight per day. Prepare and eat poultry without skin.