UPDATE: Last week I summarized some tips for low-fat shopping and cooking from an article by Dr. Liz Applegate in the July issue of Runner's World. This week I will summarize the rest of the tips on food preparation and some low-fat eating tips.
Food preparation tips:1. Use evaporated skim milk instead of cream in sauce or dessert recipes. For every cup, you'll save 60 grams of fat.
2. Remove the hidden fat in stews and soups by chilling them in the fridge for a few hours and then skimming off the congealed fat from the surface.
3. When using frozen pizza at home, purchase cheese pizza and add fresh vegetable toppings such as mushrooms, onions and green peppers. Compared to typical pepperoni or sausage pizzas, you'll save over 100 calories and 12 grams of fat for each quarter of a 12-inch pizza.
4. Use reduced-calorie or non-fat mayonnaise or non-fat plain yogurt in pasta or potato salads.
5. Try yogurt "cheese" in recipes calling for cream cheese and save 19 grams of fat per 1/4 cup. To make yogurt cheese, simply take a carton of non-fat yogurt and let it drain in a colander overnight.
Low-fat eating tips:
1. For breakfast, choose cinnamon raisin bread or a bagel instead of a croissant or pastry.
2. Spread breads and bagels with fruit preserves or jam, which are fat-free, instead of butter or margarine.
3. Use fat-free, butter-flavored sprinkles on steamed veggies and pasta instead of butter.
4. Top baked potatoes with non-fat plain yogurt or non-fat ranch dressing instead of sour cream and butter.
5. Try a meatless version of your favorite entree. Vegetarian chili has 2 grams of fat per cup, while chili with meat has 12 grams.
6. When you're after something rich and sweet, opt for low-fat or non-fat frozen yogurt instead of premium ice creams. Premium ice cream has 32 grams of fat per cup; low-fat yogurt has 7 grams, and non-fat frozen yogurt is fat free.
Snacking tips:
1. Use pretzels instead of high-fat corn or potato chips. If you like chips, make your own by cutting corn tortillas into triangles and baking them at 375 degrees until light brown and crunchy.
2. Use air-popped popcorn instead of microwave versions that have added fat.
3. For a sweet treat, low-fat cookies such as fig newtons, gingersnaps and graham crackers will satisfy the cravings without as much fat.
4. For a cool snack, suck on a fruit juice bar instead of an ice cream bar.
5. Use low-fat crackers such as Rye-crisps and AkMak, instead of Ritz or other types of higher fat crackers.