Making Better Food Choices:
A gram of fat prevention here and there really can result in pounds of
cure. For instance, by cutting out a 1-ounce bag of potato chips at lunch five
times a week, you can save 41,340 calories and 2,860 grams of fat over the
course of the year. If you change nothing else in your diet
over that time, you will lose about 12 pounds--one pound for every extra 3,500
calories you eat, says Elizabeth Ward, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts
Dietetic Association.
Another example: By substituting a fresh orange for a candy bar during
coffee break, says Ward, you can save 54,600 calories and 2,340 grams of fat a
year. This is equivalent to about 15 pounds.
Thus, making even the smallest change in your daily routine can produce big
results. And, says Ward, you really don't need a calculator to cut back on
fat. With a few simple changes, you can lessen your fat intake significantly
and without suffering real or imagined withdrawal.
To get started, Ward offers these 20 fat-slashing pointers:
- A tablespoon of either butter or margarine has 100 calories and 9 grams
(81 calories) of fat. A tablespoon of jelly or jam has 55 calories and no
fat.
- One cup of granola-type cereal, such as Quaker 100 percent Natural, has
550 calories, with 30 grams (270 calories) of fat. Switch to a bran-flake
cereal (Kellogg's 40 percent Bran Flakes) and you will cut back to 116
calories with less than a gram (0.6) of fat.
- A cup of whole-milk vanilla yogurt has 215 calories and 7 grams (63
calories) of fat; make that non-fat vanilla yogurt and you will be eating
160 calories and only a trace of fat. Slimmer yet are the 90-calorie light
yogurts.
- A cracker is a cracker? Not necessarily. Six Ritz crackers contain 42 of
their 108 calories in fat; six saltines contain 18 of their 78 calories in
fat.
- Each cup of whole (4 percent fat) milk contains 150 calories, with 72 of
those calories coming from the 8 grams of fat. In 1 percent milk, the
total number of calories will be 110, with 18 calories from 2 grams of
fat. Make that a cup of skim milk and you wind up with just 90 calories
and a trace of fat.
- A single tablespoon of mayonnaise has 100 calories, 99 percent of them
from fat. a tablespoon of reduced-calorie mayonnaise contains between 30
and 45 calories, with 3 to 5 grams (27 to 45 calories) of fat. A
tablespoon of mustard has but 15 calories and 1 gram (9 calories) of fat.
- A mere 2 ounces of roasted peanuts has 244 calories with 28 grams, or
232 calories, from fat. If you ate 3 cups of air-popped popcorn, you'd be
getting no fat and only 75 calories.
- A whole large egg has 80 calories, with 54 of those calories from the 6
grams of fat. The whites from two large eggs have no fat and 32 calories.
- You like blue-cheese dressing? Well, 1 tablespoon has 77 calories (72 of
them from the 8 grams of fat), whereas a tablespoon of low-calorie
blue-cheese dressing averages about 11 calories, with only 1 gram (9
calories) of fat.
- A cup of fried rice contains 207 calories and 5 grams (45 calories) of
fat. Make that 1 cup plain, boiled rice and you will consume no fat and
124 calories.
- Next time you're tempted to eat a bran muffin, think twice. One 5-ounce
muffin contains as much as 500 calories, with 15 grams (135 calories) of
fat. Substitute two slices of regular whole-wheat toast with 1 teaspoon of
jam and you'll cut the calories to 175, with only 18 of them (2 grams) of
fat. (Or make bran muffins with only 100 calories and 0 grams of fat.)
- An ounce of potato chips has 159 calories, 99 of them from the 11 grams
of fat An ounce of pretzels contains 111 calories with 1 gram (9 calories)
of fat. (Or choose No fat pretzels.)
- If you're wondering whether to have chicken or hamburger, remember that
a 4ounce serving of skinless, boneless roasted chicken breast has 174
calories, with 5 grams (45 calories) of fat. A 4-ounce hamburger averages
298 calories, with 171 of those calories from the 19 grams of fat.
- A cup of regular ice cream has 270 calories and 14 grams (126 calories)
of fat. A cup of low-fat frozen yogurt contains about 200 calories with 2
to 4 grams (18 to 36 calories) of fat. Meanwhile, a 4 l/2-ounce frozen pop
has just 95 calories and no fat.
- Lightening your coffee with half-and-half can add up, fat-wise. One
tablespoon has 2 grams (18 calories) of fat and 20 calories in all. A
tablespoon of 1 percent milk has 7 calories and not enough fat to mention.
(Or use ̉Not Fat Carnation Powdered Milk.)
- Two ounces of regular Cheddar cheese weigh in with 19 grams, or 171 of
the total 228 calories 7 from fat. Two ounces of Cabot Vitalait cheese
contain 8 grams (72 calories) of fat, with 140 total calories. (Better to
avoid cheese altogether.)
- A 2-ounce Snickers candy bar has 260 calories with 9 grams (81 calories)
of fat; eat 10 jelly beans and you avoid any fat with just 66 calories.
- A 2-by-2-inch brownie will cost you 260 calories, with 10 grams ~90
calories) of fat; four squares of graham crackers have 120 calories, 27 of
them from the 3 grams of fat.
- Store regular or lower-calorie vinaigrette-type salad dressings in an
atomizer container. Then spray the dressing on your salads. You will use
much less dressing than if you had poured it on. Also, you will get more
flavor. (Use "Jet Fuel Salad Dressing" - recipe below.)
- Use cheese as a topping on dishes instead of mixing it in. You will use
less and get more flavor from it.
Recipes:
Bran Muffins
Jet Fuel
Dressing
