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| With more than 30,000 different foods in a typical supermarket, selecting foods that fit a low-fat eating plan can seem overwhelming. Try these tips to keep your cart on the low-fat track.
Focus on the pyramid. Let the Food Guide Pyramid guide you to a healthful diet. Load your cart with breads, cereals, rice, pasta, fruits and vegetables. Include smaller amounts of lean meats, poultry, fish, beans and low-fat dairy products. Go easy on fats, oils and sweets. See the chart below for more information.
Read the label. The Nutrition Facts food label tells you how much fat, cholesterol, sodium, fiber, vitamins and minerals are in the foods you buy. Look for nutrition information for fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood on Nutri-Facts posters or brochures in many supermarkets.
Try new versions of old favorites. An abundance of reduced-fat and fat-free goodies such as cakes, cookies and ice cream are now available. These foods can help you reduce fat while enjoying a treat. But remember, fat-reduced items aren't necessarily low in calories, so keep serving sizes sensible and read the label.
Look at your list. Review your grocery shopping list. Can you replace some items with lower-fat choices? Modify or substitute where possible.
Keep it convenient. Save time and stick with a healthful eating plan. Pick up convenience foods like prewashed and chopped lettuce and vegetables, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables, and low-fat frozen entrees.
Scale the Food Guide Pyramid the low-fat way | Food group | Low fat choices | | Bread, cereal, rice and pasta group | To boost fiber intake, choose breads that list "whole grain" or "whole wheat" first. Look for those with at least three grams of fiber per serving.
Choose whole grain pastas and serve with tomato-based marinara sauces instead of cream or butter sauces.
White and brown rice are both good choices, but brown rice has nearly three times as much fiber as white rice, and more B vitamins, too.
Prepare prepackaged rice and noodle dishes with skim or low-fat milk. Reduce or omit the butter or oil called for in the directions.
When selecting hot or cold cereals, look for varieties with two grams of fiber or more and three grams of fat or less per serving. | | Fruit group and vegetable group | Aim for at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit per day. Fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables, dried fruits and fruit and vegetable juices all count toward your goal.
To save time, buy prewashed and pre-cut vegetables, like lettuce and spinach salads, baby carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. Zip through the supermarket salad bar to pick up a variety of vegetables for stir fries, salads, soups and entrees.
Buy fruits and vegetables in season to save money. They're also at their peak for flavor and nutrition at this time. | | Milk, yogurt and cheese group | Opt for 1%, 1/2% or skim milk in place of 2% or whole.
Look for light, reduced-fat and low-fat cheeses to help keep calories and saturated fat in check.
Try lower-fat dairy products such as Neufchatel cheese and low-fat or non-fat yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese and frozen yogurt. | | Meat, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts group | For the leanest meats, choose cuts with the words "loin" or "round" in their names (such as top round beef or loin pork chops). Choose ground beef marked extra lean.
Chicken and turkey are lean choices when you remove the skin before eating (it's okay to remove it after cooking).
Fish and seafood are generally low in fat. Try haddock, scallops, red snapper and flounder. Choose water-packed tuna and plain or low-fat, breaded, frozen fillets.
Dry or canned legumes - beans and peas - are good sources of protein and fiber. And, they're practically fat-free.
Eggs are an excellent source of protein and are fairly low in fat. However, egg yolks are high in cholesterol, so limit yolks to four per week. Or try egg substitutes, which do not contain cholesterol. | | Fats, oils and sweets | Use fats and oils sparingly. Choose polyunsaturated oils like corn or safflower, or monounsaturated oils like olive or canola, but use only small amounts. Try non-stick cooking sprays or butter sprays.
Non-fat and low-fat salad dressing and mayonnaise provide a fat savings over their traditional counterparts.
Sweets are OK, as long as they don't crowd out basics like grains, vegetables and fruits. Although reduced-fat and fat-free cookies, cakes and pies can help you trim fat, they still contain calories. Choose these treats only occasionally. |
Baptist Hospital East offers comprehensive services for people with heart disease. For more information, call the hospital's Information Center at
(502) 897-8131.
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