Tips for cutting fat from your diet

To control the amount of fat you eat:

• Fill up on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, the foods at the base of the food guide pyramid.
• Think of meat as a side dish instead of as the center of your meal.
• Try main dishes that feature pasta, rice, beans, and/or vegetables. Or create low-meat dishes by mixing pasta, rice, beans, and vegetables with small amounts of lean meat, poultry, or fish. An example is bean soup flavored with a small amount of lean ham.
• Use cooking methods that require little or no fat. You can bake, broil, steam, roast, poach, stir-fry, and microwave. You can sauté in very small amounts of oil or use broth, cooking sherry, wine, or even water.
• Trim off fat from meats before cooking. Drain off fat after you brown it. You can reduce the fat in hamburger by rinsing it under water after browning.
• Chill soups and stews after cooking so that you can skim off the hardened fat.
• The 5 to 8 teaspoons of fats and oils allowed per day can be used in cooking and baking and/or in salad dressings and spreads.

Many foods are now fat-free in response to the recommendation to lower fat in our diets. You may find some of these foods useful, but it is possible to follow a low-fat diet without using them. Avoid believing that fat-free means calorie-free. Cookies, candies, chips, and frozen treats labeled fat-free still belong in the tip of the food pyramid with other desserts and snacks. Eat fat-free foods in moderation, as you would other foods. Some fat-free foods actually have more calories than their regular-fat counterparts.