Big Fat Hints for Low-Fat Eating

Need to reduce the fat in your diet?

When it comes to fat in your diet do you sometimes “adjust” the advice you get so it suits your tastes? “Avocado is good for you” doesn’t mean order a bacon-avocado burger, it means have an avocado and tomato sandwich instead of the burger!

Read these tips for more helpful ideas on how to reduce the amount of fat in your diet.

Read more :

• Meats and fish
• Spreads and sauces
• Salads
• Breads and bakery items
• Desserts, sweets and treats
• Vegetables and fruits
• Dairy
• Fast-foods, fried foods

Meats and fish

Mention steak or pork chops to a meat lover and their eyes light up like a burger on a grill. There’s no doubt that meat is tasty, and it’s also got some good nutritional value, but its typically high fat content can make it something of a diet danger. Reduce your fat intake from meat by following these simple suggestions:

• Trim off all visible fat and remove skin from poultry before cooking
• Choose red meat with little marbling
• Choose the white meat of turkey or chicken over beef or pork
• Choose low-fat versions of salami, bacon and sausages
• Add extra beans, lentils, vegetables, rice or pasta to meat dishes to fill them out
• Eat modest portions (100 - 120g)

When it comes to fish, choose fresh or frozen, uncrumbed fillets. When cooking fish or meat choose baking, grilling, dry-roasting, and steaming over frying to reduce the fat content.

Spreads and sauces

Instead of high-fat sauces, use lime for flavour

Spreads, sauces and dressings are a great addition to grilled meats, breads, vegetables and salads, but not if they come “dressed” in fat. Many sauces are almost off-the-scale when it comes to fat content. Cheese and cream sauces are some of the worst. Instead of destroying the goodness of your food with fatty add-ons, try these tips:

• Squeeze lemon and lime or sprinkle fresh herbs over your meat
• Use yoghurt or reduced-fat evaporated milk in place of cream and oils in sauces
• Use high-fat spreads sparingly and spread as thinly as possible
• Spread Vegemite on your morning toast or use sugar-free jams instead of butter or margarine