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All About Low Fat |
How To Find Low Fat Alternatives Finding low fat alternatives to your favorite dishes can be difficult to do especially if they are dishes that are designed to have fat in them. There are a few things however that you can do to still enjoy the foods you love without adding additional fat to your diet. The first thing that you need to consider is the ingredients of your dish. Pick a favorite dish and sit down and look at the ingredients for example let us say beef stroganoff which is a dish done with unions, and beef in a cream sauce which is then placed over noodles. Sounds good but it has a huge content of fat so usually is wiped off a low fat diet. However with a few modifications even this dish can be made into a low fat alternative. The first thing to do is look at the beef. You can do this dish with either ground beef or with chunked beef. If you are using ground beef choose ground sirloin instead of ground chuck or regular ground beef. You will want something that is 80/20 or higher. 80/20 refers to the ratio of fat 80% fat free in this case. If you are using chunked beef, then choose a cut of beef that is lean you can even use stew beef since this is usually a lean cut of meat. If you are using stew meat be sure to tenderize it to avoid toughness. Next look at the sauce it is usually made with things like sour cream and creamed soup. Choose non fat sour cream instead of regular sour cream and a low fat cream soup use water or non fat milk instead of whole milk. Doing this turns this high fat meal into a low fat alternative without a lot of hassles. You can follow these principles with any dish. However if you are on a low fat diet it is usually best to avoid cream and cheese sauces since naturally these tend to automatically be higher in fat content. Whenever possible look for low in fat alternatives to the foods you love such as low fat cheeses, like mozzarella, some Swiss cheese and provolone, meats should be evenly marbled without a lot of extra fat and the same goes for chicken. How to Make Fun of Fruits and Vegetables Any good, low fat diet requires a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables. However, preparing fruits and vegetables the same way day after day can quickly become routine and boring. This, in turn, will tempt you to abandon your healthful eating habits and look for a more flavorful alternative, usually something full of sugar and fat with little or no nutritional value. • Give your Italian beans an authentic Italian flavor. Mix them with fat free Italian dressing. It doesn’t taste any different than the version that includes fat and it adds a nice tangy taste to this otherwise bland vegetable. It also tastes great mixed with broccoli and cauliflower. • Are you in the mood for French fries but you are trying to stay away from those fatty fried foods? Cut up a potato into fries, spread an even layer on a baking sheet, spray with Pam cooking spray, sprinkle with Creole or other seasoning and put them in the oven for a few minutes. You will have tasty French fries with a kick but without all the fat. • If you like all of your vegetables to have a little spice to them, try this. Cut up cauliflower into bite size pieces. In a bowl toss the cauliflower with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Put the cauliflower pieces on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam cooking spray and put in a 400* oven until cauliflower is tender, not mushy, about 10-20 minutes. Be sure to stir halfway through. • Not sure what to do with those berries? Whether it’s strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries, there are a number of tasty ways you can add these to your fat free diet. When you first bring berries home from the grocery store, wash them and put them in an airtight container. When you have a craving for berries, you will be more likely to grab a handful if they are easily accessible and ready to eat. Layer the berries in a parfait dish alternating with low fat yogurt or mix with the yogurt. You can also stir them in jell-o before setting. Sprinkle them on your oatmeal or cereal in the morning or grab a handful for an afternoon snack. • Slice bananas, apples, peaches and whatever else sounds good to you and sauté them in a non-stick skillet with just a little vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. You can add a little more flavor with a few drops of orange or pineapple juice. • Change your menu around a little. Once a week, choose a fresh fruit or vegetable that you have never tried or that you have not had in long time. It will be fun to experience new tastes and interesting to discover new favorites. There are so many ways to jazz up your fruits and vegetables. These are just a few. Be creative and think of your own ideas. You could discover some great new tastes on some age old foods. Low Fat Can Taste Great Have you been wanting to start a low fat diet but after having tried many of the low fat products that are out there are less then convinced you can make it because of the taste. Most low fat alternatives to foods can be well rather bland and make it difficult to stay on a low fat diet. It does not however have to be that way. There are a number of ways that low fat dieting can taste just as great as the meals full of fat you just have to know what to do and where to look. The first place to look if you are someone who loves to cook is Asian cooking. Oriental cooking has some of the lowest fat content of any cooking type and not only is it healthy for you it tastes great. An oriental diet is rich in three things, rice, vegetables, and fish or poultry. Their sauces are flavorful but very light and they believe in cooking at high temperatures for shorts amount of time. The reason for this, it traps in the flavor. There are a number of cook books on actual oriental cooking that you can find that will provide you with a wealth of recipes to try most of which will be low fat. Tofu is something else that is a main staple and easily provides a high protein and low fat alternative to meat. The texture may take a bit of getting used if you have never tried it before however tofu usually takes on the flavor of what it is cooked with so taste is not hard to get used too. Most of the ingredients can be found in your local supermarket but you may want to check out the local Oriental market for things like Daikon some vegetables and specialty foods. Oils that are used are usually sesame oil or peanut oil both of which are healthier than most vegetable oils. If you prefer more western cooking styles you can still find alternatives to your favorite foods. Choose items that are low in saturated fats. If possible find alternatives that are also low in unsaturated fats but if having to make a choice choose low in saturated fats these are fats that come from animal byproducts and are usually what causes issues in high fat diets. Small changes like lower fat milk and milk based products, fruit instead of higher calorie and fat dessert options are just a few of the alternatives to keep great tasting and healthy food. Low Fat Cooking for Vegetables You may be looking at ways to cut back the fat in your diet and total miss looking at your vegetables, after all vegetables are healthy, good for you and you are suppose to be eating them in a decent quantity every day. However, you may be adding a significant amount of fat to your diet with the vegetable dishes you are serving. There are a few ways that you can easily cook vegetables without creating any added fat to your diet. The first thing is to avoid store bought side dishes with vegetables, the kind that come with sauce and are designed to provide elegant sounding or expensive sounding side dishes that are quick and easy to prepare. They are loaded in fat and while you are providing vegetables are killing the nutritional value. If you are going to choose frozen vegetables then consider choosing ones that are individually packaged or meal sized packages but that do not contain sauce. It does not take much to whip up a low fat alternative to most of the sauces that are added to these vegetables if necessary. How many times have you or someone you know done this, when cooking corn or green beans or even peas on the stove they and things like bacon fat or butter while it's cooking. Sure it adds great flavor but you are adding a huge amount of fat to the vegetables as well. Fat that is not necessary and you probably are not counting in your diet plans. If you are boiling vegetables simply avoid adding these things into it. When ever possible steam vegetables this not only helps to retain the nutritional value but it also produces better tasting vegetable dishes that can usually be eaten with a minimal of additives. Cheese and cream sauces should be avoided unless necessary and if they are added should be made from low fat or no fat ingredients. For salads, and this is one of the biggest places where fat is added to the diet, consider instead of creamy dressings, something that contains red wine like a vinaigrette or an olive oil and vinegar based dressing. They can take a bit of getting used too however they are usually lower in fat than cream based dressings. Look for low fat alternatives if the dressing you uses is an absolute necessity for your salad. They also make spray dressings which can help lower the amount of dressing and thereby the amount of fat that ends up added to your salad. Low Fat Cooking Ideas for Desserts Dessert is probably one of the biggest traps and hardest things to give up when looking at a low fat diet. Most desserts are loaded with fat and sugar, it is part of what makes it so appealing and they can totally devastate a low fat diet. However, cutting dessert out completely for most people is a sure fire way to fail in their low fat dieting. The trick is not to cut it out, in fact enjoy dessert. You just have to know the right types and kinds of dessert to go after. The first and probably easiest dessert option is fruit. Fresh fruit is best but you can use frozen. Avoid can fruit if possible only because they add additional sugar in most and preservatives. You will want to avoid those if possible. It is easy to make a delicious dessert by taking some ice, fruit, and low fat yogurt. Depending on consistence you may want to add a bit of low fat milk but you are going for something thick. You have two options either use a blender and the entire fruit to make a smooth and cool fruit yogurt or use a juicer and make something more along the lines of a thick smoothie. Use strawberries and apples to help give it a sweet flavor or add a bit of sweetener to it but just enough to sweeten it. This is a great alternative to high fat desserts and provides a number of additional nutrients that the body needs. If you are someone who loves cookies consider low fat options, there are quite a number of different types and kinds available in the store or make some yourself. Use Splenda instead of sugar and butter substitutes instead of butter. The thing to watch out for here is the fact that butter substitutes are not always lower in fat. Carefully read over the ingredient labels to be sure that the alternative you are using is actually lower in fat content than butter. Sugar free or low fat candies at the suggested serving size can also be a great way to enjoy a little sweet after dinner without compromising your low fat diet plan. There are a number of recipe sites and online resources that can provide you with alternative for most desserts. You can also consider purchasing low fat dessert options from the frozen food section of your local market. As with any frozen food check to make sure that they are actually low in all fats prior to purchasing, some products are actually only lower in saturated fats but may be high in non saturated. You will want products that are low in both types to get the most benefit. Low Fat Cooking Ideas for Meat The first step to low fat cooking with meat is the selection of meat that is to be used for the recipe. Choosing a low fat meat option for example creating hamburgers out of sirloin instead of ground chuck is the first step in low fat cooking. If possible choose meat that is lower in fat than red meats. This means fish, chicken and turkey. Goose is not considered a low fat meat since this poultry tends to have a significantly higher level of fat content than most meats. You will want to get lean meat in other words non fatty fish there are some fish that have high fat contents. Check with the seafood counter or online for specific information as to how much fat is in each type of fish. It is a good idea to stay away from fish sticks or breaded fish products; these tend to be higher in fact then if you were to purchase fish yourself and bread it at home. Chicken should have very little fat on it, and chicken breast is usually better than thighs, legs or drumsticks. If possible cut all additional fat off the chicken prior to cooking. This will lower the fat content of the meat. The same goes with turkey. Red meat choose ground beef that is at least an 80/20 mix if possible this means it is about 80% fat free. It is hard to get past this and have ground beef that does not end up like shoe leather when you cook it. You can go higher but it is best to use that type of meet in things like spaghetti sauce and other types of mixed dishes rather than as hamburgers. Steak should be lean with only a small amount of fat on the edges, marbling should be consistent and the veins small. Choose leaner cuts like sirloin to cut the fat back even more. Tenderize meat thoroughly these separates the grains and not only helps to soften lean cuts of meat which do not have the fat content to make them tender but also helps to remove a little more unneeded fat from the meat. When cooking meat do not add fat by using vegetable oil or butter. Choose a non fat cooking spray or a small amount of olive oil. Use just enough to prevent the meat from sticking. Bake rather than fry, even pan frying can add extra unnecessary fat. If at all possible grill meat as this allows fat to drip away from the meat providing a leaner product. These are just some ideas for choosing and cooking meat that is healthy, low fat and will not have you compromising on one of the most important aspects, taste. Low Fat Cooking on a Budget The cost of food is continually on the rise, not to mention the added expense of finding the leaner cuts of meat or the specialty “diet” foods. You don’t have to spend twice as much of your hard earned dollar to eat healthfully. There are several techniques to making healthier food choices without putting unnecessary dollars in the merchant’s pocket. • Plan your meals: Create a weekly menu. Then make a shopping list and check your pantry and refrigerator against the list. Mark off anything on your list that you already have on hand. This will save you the added expense of purchasing something that is already occupying your food pantry. • Keep it clean and organized: Cleaning out your pantry, fridge or anywhere you store food on a regular basis is essential to knowing what you have on hand and what you are running low on. Throw away items that have passed their expiration date or smell or look rancid. Keep these areas organized and put the items that are nearing their expiration date toward the front. This will make them easier to see and to reach and will cut down on unnecessary waste. • Stick to your shopping list: If it’s not on the list, don’t buy it. The majority of unnecessary expense is impulse buying. If it isn’t on your list, chances are you don’t need it. Sticking to your list will also keep you from sabotaging your diet with that needless bag of cookies. • Clip coupons and watch for sales: You can shave several dollars off your grocery bill by checking sales adds and clipping coupons. Place your coupons in your purse immediately after clipping them to they don’t get left behind when you head to the store. Don’t purchase something you don’t need just because it’s a good price and you have a coupon; and don’t waste your valuable time cutting out coupons you won’t use. • Go meatless: Prepare vegetarian or meatless dishes one or two nights a week. It will save you money as well as fat. To still get your protein, however, serve red beans or fish in place of the meat. • Buy in bulk: Buy your lean ground beef and boneless, skinless chicken breast in large variety pack and divide them up by the pound or the chicken breast. You can use what you need per meal and you have saved a ton of money. You work hard for your money. You certainly don’t want to throw it away trying to eat right. With just a few simple steps you should be able to save money and be on your way to a healthier, slimmer you. Low Fat Cooking Are you constantly looking for ways to reduce the fat in your diet but you are tired of the same old dry or boring chicken breast or tasteless and bland vegetables? You no longer have to sacrifice flavor for a healthy, fat free diet. There are a number of things you can do in your everyday cooking to reduce fat intake and your family will never know the difference. • Use applesauce instead of oil or butter for baking cakes, breads and other baked goods. It tastes great and significantly reduces the fat. • Use skim milk instead of whole milk whenever possible. • Low fat yogurt instead of sour cream in stroganoff and other dishes doesn’t affect the taste but it does affect the amount of fat. You can also use low fat yogurt or skim milk in place of heavy cream. • Two egg whites can replace one whole egg. Consequently, three egg whites replace two whole eggs. • Using sharp cheeses gives you a stronger taste, so you don’t have to use as much. You can also use fat free cheese. Fat free cheese, however, does not always melt well, so you can sometimes use a mixture of fat free with regular cheese. • Cook with extra lean ground beef and drain it well. • Remove the skin from chicken and trim all visible fat from meat. • Stir fry or sauté in chicken broth rather than oil. It not only reduces fat, but it adds a nice flavor to your foods. • Stay away from fried foods no matter how tempting they look. • Cook with cooking spray in place of oil. • Reach for that juicy piece of fruit instead of the fat filled cookie or donut. • If your sweet tooth is absolutely having a fit and you just cannot shake the temptation, there are several reduced fat or fat free versions of your favorite treats such as cookies, ice cream and even yummy cakes. No one ever said that watching your diet would be easy, but it will be worth it. Keep it up and it will soon become second nature. Before long you will do these things automatically without even thinking about them. You will soon notice a healthier, more energetic you and your family will appreciate knowing that you care about their health as well. They will soon be begging for your special "chicken broth stir fry" or "Lemon Pepper Chicken". The best part is that you only made small, unnoticeable changes in your diet and cooking habits. Low Fat Diet Options When Eating Out Finding low fat diet options when you head out to a restaurant can be difficult to do. Most of the time the menus are designed for what the majority of customers want or the ingredients are based on what is the cheapest way to create that particular dish. This means there are huge pitfalls when it comes to fat in restaurant foods. There are some ways that you can find alternatives to high fat meals even if you are eating out. Look for fish dishes that are baked or grilled and not in butter sauces. These will usually be lower in fat than fried fish. Grilled chicken is another good alternative and there is usually something on just about every menu that has grilled chicken. If you are getting a sandwich ask for light dressing rather than the standard amount they place on sandwiches and if possible ask for a lower fat cheese. Most often white cheeses will be lower in fat than yellow. Choose real cheese over imitation cheese. Cheese slices usually have added vegetable and saturated fats. Ask for your vegetables to be steamed many times people will do in restaurants what they do at home when cooking, fat will be added to the vegetables for additional flavor. This goes for grilled too but the fat added is usually lower. Seasoned vegetables usually have added fat as well. Some establishments have been adding low fat menu options in order to keep up with the changing times. If this is the case choose from this menu. If you are unable to find anything that suits the low fat needs of your diet go with a regular salad and choose a low fat dressing. There is usually one or two options for this. Buffets are a great way to be able to find low fat meal options because you are able to pick and choose. You may have some difficult if you go to an Oriental buffet. Choose dumplings, fried rice and meat dishes that have large amounts of vegetables or little sauce or ask for a meal from the menu instead. You will find if you ask for it to be cooked traditionally. You will end up with a lower fat dish. Oriental cooking unless it is adapted to more foreign tastes is usually incredibly low in fat. These are just a few of the options that are available to look into if you are eating out. It is best to cook as much as possible or eat in when managing a low fat diet as this helps to control exactly what is going into the food however getting out is a good thing occasionally and in some cases as with work can not be avoided in these cases finding low fat alternatives will help you to maintain your lifestyle without compromising on you life.
Low Fat for Kids One thing about kids is that they love sweet things, for the most part and with the large amount of sweet and fat filled foods that are available getting them to go for healthier items can be a bit of a challenge there are a few things however that you can do that can help your kids love low fat snacks without losing out on the sweet. The first thing to do is consider carrots. Sure, they are vegetables and the larger carrots are not that great when it comes to having a sweet flavor however baby carrots are an entirely different story. Not only are they healthy and low fat but they are also sweet. Daikon radish is another sweet and crunchy low fat alternative. They may be hard to find outside of oriental or Asian markets however since they are primarily used in Oriental cooking. You will want a smaller American grown Daikon as those tend to be sweeter than their larger Oriental cousins. School lunches are a great convenience and for some families a necessity however, they are not the healthiest options when it comes to meals. It is a good idea if possible to send lunch to school with your children so you know what they are getting. While they might still trade around more often than not they'll eat what they brought. This can be a great way to make sure they are eating healthily. A sandwich made with low fat dressing, meat and cheese along with a drink, water is best and there are a number of additives that can make drinking it more appealing as well as a low fat pudding or carrots can round out an excellent balanced meal that won't have your children cringing as they open the lunch box. There are also a number of low fat snacks that are available from yogurt to pudding to even cookies and cake options. Be sure to check the fat contents because low fat may simply mean low fat in a certain type of fat not low fat overall. You will want to make sure that the snack foods you are giving your kids are actually low in all fat content. These are just a few ideas for presenting low fat options to kids that will provide them with healthy eating and give them the taste they want from their snack foods. Low Fat Ideas for the Busy Person Consider some facts. The average person works more than a 40 hour week. If they are parents they are also engaged in school activities adding another 10-20 hours a week. If you count in house hold responsibilities you are looking at just enough time to eat and sleep. This makes for a hectic and busy schedule and most people do not want to add to it by having to spend time in the kitchen. The result of this is a large number of prepackaged processed foods that are high in a number of things like salt, sugar and fat. All of these things lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. This makes for tired bodies and minds that are less able to process information and deal with stress. There are a few things however that people can do that can help provide low fat meals for their families as well as for themselves. The first step is to avoid fast foods. While they are convenient and driving by on the way home from work and picking up dinner is a great way to eliminate cook time it is also adding a great deal of unnecessary fat to your diet. Frozen dinners may provide a low in fat alternative but you end up adding salt and other preservatives which can be equally as bad. Maintaining a low fat lifestyle is not just about cutting out fat it is about eating healthy. How often have you been busy at work and just grabbed something from a fast food place or a donut or snack from a vending machine for a meal while rushing to complete this project or on your way to that meeting. You are doing yourself and your work a disservice. Taking the time to eat properly produces better results than the quick pick me up options. Here are some alternatives, when making meals make double or triple the recipes. Then using freezer storage containers, they make some now that are the size of plates and can freeze an entire meal like a tv dinner, freeze individual meals in the freezer. Then all you have to do is pull it out and reheat. It saves time and produces low fat meals easily. Buy low fat snacks to keep with you at the office or in your car. If you have a full busy schedule and meal times seem to be from vending machines, fast food restaurants or you drink your meals consider low fat breakfast bars, snack bars or things that store well or can be eaten either warm or cold. These will give you quick on the go healthy alternatives eliminating the vending machine and the fast food joint from your diet without causing inconveniences. Low Fat options for Traveling Traveling is something that can be done for business or for pleasure and often times in either sense grabbing something out of a vending machine for a snack or eating out is something that is commonly done. However, these options are usually packed full of fat and calories that are not needed and often stored since traveling involves little actual exercise and movement. Luckily there are a number of low fat alternatives that can provide everything a person needs while traveling with none of the high fat consequences. The first thing to do whether you are traveling for business or pleasure is to invest in a cooler. This is going to give you a place to store all the snacks and meals that you will be brining along. Technology has advanced that there are even coolers that can plug into your cigarette lighter as a power supply. These are usually expensive so the most cost effective option is to purchase ice or ice packs. Fill the cooler with sandwiches made from low fat meat and cheese or other need to be refrigerated low fat snacks like pudding, celery sticks and carrots. It is also a good idea to fill up on water, there are a variety of flavorings that can be used that provide better alternatives to soda and juice and that will not mess up a low fat diet plan. For food and snacks that do not need to be kept cold consider options like low fat snack bars or cereals. There are a variety of options available on the market that can provide a quick pick me up without dumping a huge amount of things you do not need into your body. Fruits are also good low fat traveling foods, apples provide a sweet treat and bananas help provide a number of vitamins that can help with the tired cramped feeling that comes from long hours of driving both are low fat and healthy. If you are a coffee drinker especially when traveling consider bringing along your own creamer, the powdered stuff will not do anything to cool your coffee down, if you are using creamer for part of this consider asking for ice in your cup, but often times has less fat than can be found in the creamers provided by fast food restaurants. If possible make coffee at home or in a hotel and store in a thermos. This will also prevent the get a donut or a hamburger while grabbing coffee situation. When traveling maintaining a low fat diet is somewhat difficult if you do not plan ahead, the urge to eat out and eat conveniently is greater when traveling. However by packing a few low fat snacks and meals and providing yourself with health alternatives you can eliminate the needs for high fat foods from restaurants. Secrets of the Slim You’ve done it. You decided once and for all to put away all foods laced with fat and calories and replace them with a healthy diet plan. But how do you do it? What are the secrets that contribute to shedding those unwanted pounds? Here are a few tips to help you get started on your weight loss plan. • Eat an apple one hour before meals. Eating a whole apple one hour before lunch or dinner will curb your appetite and you won’t eat as much at the table. Don’t try this “trick” with another fruit because it won’t work. An apple is the only fruit that has this effect. • Drink plenty of water. You need lots of water to keep you hydrated throughout the day. If you are dehydrated, you will falsely believe you are hungry and will tend to eat more. Drinking plenty of water will also make you feel fuller. • Don’t shop while hungry. You not only tend to buy more when you are hungry, you tend to buy more sweets and fat filled snacks. An occasional indulgence is okay, in fact, it is recommended. If you indulge in the sweeter things in life once a week or so, you are less likely to overeat. • Don’t keep sugary, fatty snacks in the house. This will only tempt you to grab the junk food for a snack instead of a healthier alternative. Keep plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables on hand. They make a great spur-of-the-moment snack and you won’t be sabotaging your diet. • Don’t skip meals. You may think that skipping meals will help you lose weight faster. In fact, it will slow your weight loss down. It will confuse your metabolism and will make you more likely to overeat at your next meal or grab an unnecessary extra snack. • Don’t starve yourself. This is another misconception about losing weight. Starving yourself will not speed up your weight loss. Your body will try to compensate by storing extra fat that can be used for nourishment when you don’t feed it. It will also weaken you, making it impossible to exercise or perform any of your daily tasks. • Distract yourself. If you getting a craving for something sweet or just not on your list of accepted foods for your diet, do something to take your mind of your craving. Read a book, take a bath, go for a jog or do some other non-food related activity that you enjoy. • Eat plenty of fiber. A high fiber diet not only helps in weight loss, it is also very good for many medical conditions such as digestive problems, constipation, cholesterol and more. Be sure you are getting plenty of fiber in your diet. Dieting is not always easy. There will be many temptations along the way. Stay strong and don’t get discouraged. Simply think about your anticipated goal and know that if you just endure the necessary sacrifices, it will pay off in the end. Switching To A Low Fat Diet Switching to a low fat diet is not as hard as it seems but it can be difficult for some people this is why it is best to gradually move into this type of diet. The purpose of low fat eating is to help in weight management or lower a person's bad cholesterol however you want to make sure that the diet you are getting into is something that you can handle many people end up failing because they jump in head first. The first thing to do is determine if you are the type that can not just change the way you eat but change the way you live. Many diets fail because people are looking at the short term, losing a few pounds or dropping the numbers a few points. It is important to do these things but in the long run, short term ends up producing little to no real results. That means that eating low fat should be considered a lifestyle change as such it should be entered into gradually in order to accustom the body and the mind to a new way of eating, feeling and thinking. In order to accomplish switching lifestyles and diets successfully consider doing it a step at a time. Start with snacks; change these from high fat or higher fat foods to lower fat healthier food options. Once you are comfortable with the change in snacks consider picking a single meal and change just that meal. Accustom the body to eating snacks and that meal healthily. Then a second and finally a third meal can be added doing this will help to provide the mind and body with less of a shock. It is used to getting certain types of foods and certain amounts of things. Switching to a low fat diet will deprive it of things it is used too. As a result it will cause cravings to occur. This is usually where low fat diets start to fail. The cravings become more and more difficult to manage as the body tries to force you to maintain the status quo. By gradually easing into this type of healthier diet you can avoid the majority of these or keep them to a level where will power and fighting with yourself does not become an excessive problem. Many people think that low fat eating will be bland and that the foods because they are healthy have to taste less than appealing. That is not the case and there are many dishes that are available that provide healthy alternatives to higher fat meals that taste just as great. Experimentation with different options and ingredients can help you find healthy low fat alternatives and change your lifestyle for the better without compromising anything you love. Ten Must Haves in a Dieter’s Pantry Staying on a diet is one of the toughest things to do. Especially with all the tempting treats everywhere you look. I have found ten low fat items that I keep in my home at all times. These are staples to my low fat, low calorie diet. Without them, I don’t believe my diet would survive. If you are serious about looking for healthier alternatives in your diet, perhaps you should consider them as well. • Cary’s Sugar Free Syrup: When you have to have those pancakes, Cary’s Sugar Free Syrup will cut the calories in half and tastes just as yummy as the sugary version. • Cheerios Cereal: This classic favorite is just as good as it ever was. With very little sugar and fat, it is a great breakfast food for the devout dieter. Cut up a banana or throw in some berries for an added flavor. • Fat Free Italian Dressing: Fat free Italian Dressing is virtually calorie free as well, allowing you to be fairly liberal in its use. It makes a great marinade for boneless, skinless chicken breast or tossed with fresh vegetables. • Hostess 100 Calorie Pack Cakes and Muffins: For your inevitable sweet tooth, these tasty mini-morsels give you just enough to curb your craving. • I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray: This spray butter has zero calories and it tastes just like butter. You can use it on your toast, baked potato, vegetables or whatever you like. It’s a perfect alternative to the fatty butter or margarine. • Lay’s Light Potato Chips: Here’s another great product with half the calories and fat but all of the flavor. They taste just like regular potato chips. • Nature’s Own Double Fiber Wheat Bread: If you like wheat bread , then you will love this. The name says it all. It has double the fiber which means it has less fat and calories. It tastes great too. • Pam Cooking Spray: This should be a staple in your home. Use a few sprays anytime you use the skillet or baking sheet for a light tasty flavor and to keep food from sticking. • Splenda Sugar Substitute: It tastes just like sugar and is great for anything you would normally use sugar for, even baking. • White Wheat Hamburger Buns: With your extra lean ground beef and these buns, you can make a delicious low fat, low calorie hamburger or Sloppy Joe. Serve it with Lay’s Light Potato Chips and you have the evening covered. As I mentioned before, these are all staples in my home and maybe they should be in yours if you want to shed those extra pounds. You won’t even notice the changes in your diet, but you will surely notice the changes in your waistline. |
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