Sweet treats
60. Instead of a heavy, fat-laden dessert, create a light and delicious fruit salad by combining berries, mangoes and kiwifruit. Or keep it simple by mixing orange and grapefruit sections.
61. Reduce the fat in quick breads and muffins by substituting applesauce, banana or other puréed fruit for part of the oil or butter the recipe calls for.
62. Try low-fat cookies, such as gingersnaps or Fig Newtons, that contain about one gram of fat each instead of shortbread or chocolate chip cookies, which contain three or four grams of fat per cookie.
63. Choose sherbet, sorbet, frozen yogurt, light ice cream or low-fat gelato instead of gourmet or premium ice cream. There are 17 grams of fat in a 125-millilitre (1/2 cup) serving of a typical gourmet ice cream; frozen yogurt has about 4.5 grams, and sorbet is fat-free.
64. Make pudding with low-fat milk.
65. Instead of bringing chocolates or cake to a dinner party, bring a tray of dried fruits or a selection of mustards, chutneys, salsa, flavoured vinegars or jellies.
66. Serve angel food cake or a meringue topped with fresh fruit at the end of a meal instead of high-fat cakes or pies.
67. Can't resist that decadent dessert? Split it with a friend - you'll save half the fat.
Snacks
68. Make a low-fat hummus or bean spread. Use it as a dip or spread for crackers and bread. As well as being low in fat, it's also a great source of fibre.
69. Banana chips may sound healthier than regular potato chips, but they're fried in oil just like other chips. A 30-gram serving has about nine grams
of fat.
70. Invest in a hot-air popcorn maker. It uses no fat and saves calories big-time.
71. Make your own low-fat chips using pita breads, flour tortillas or bagels. To make bagel chips, cut leftover bagels in slices, each about three millimetres (1/8 inch) thick, and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a 400F (200C) oven until crisp and golden, about 12 minutes.
72. Combine different-shaped cold cereals, such as toasted-wheat squares and toasted-oat circles, and add pretzel sticks and raisins to make your own low-fat trail mix.
73. Buy snacks one serving at a time – one scoop of ice cream will satisfy your cravings and is far less tempting than having four litres in the freezer.
74. For a great chocolate hit, have low-fat cocoa or a caffe latte topped with chocolate shavings.
75. For a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, make a shake with low-fat yogurt, skim milk, fresh berries and/or a banana.
76. If you're at a cocktail party, keep your hands out of the peanut bowl. About 50 grams (1/4 cup) of nuts, approximately one handful, contains 15 grams of fat. But some nuts are healthier for your heart than others: nibble on almonds for fibre or walnuts – both contain unsaturated fats.
77. Serve low-fat tortilla chips with salsa at your next party instead of regular chips with guacamole.
78. Nibble on a dill pickle rather than a handful of olives for a between-meals snack. One dill pickle contains less than one gram of fat, while five green olives contain about five grams of fat.
Restaurants
79. Look for menu items that are steamed, poached, roasted, baked or broiled. Steer clear of items that are sautéed, pan-fried, au gratin, creamed or buttered – these are all high in fat.
80) Choose à la carte items instead of those from the fixed-price menu – you'll have more control over what ends up on your plate.
81. Seafood – oysters, shrimp, steamed mussels or sushi – can make great low-fat appetizers. Order them without butter and ask for the sauce on the side.
82. Ask for salad dressing on the side. Also ask for less and use it sparingly.
83. Watch out for fats that can add up quickly: butter on bread; high-fat appetizers, such as fried calamari or creamy fish chowder; and rich desserts.
84. Order low-fat soups, such as consommé, gazpacho, minestrone (hold the cheese), vegetable and bean.
85. Stay away from croissant sandwiches. Order your sandwich on a lower-fat bagel or kaiser or on whole wheat bread.
86. If you're craving french fries with your meal, share an order with a friend or order the small or kiddie size.
87. At the salad bar, bypass prepared salads with mayonnaise; marinated vegetables swimming in oil; and coleslaw, if it's dripping with oil or mayonnaise. And go easy on toppings, such as croutons or seeds.
88. Order your after-meal cappuccino or caffe latte skinny, made with low-fat or skim milk. Have it instead of a dessert – it's filling and low in fat.
89. Be careful with some of the specialty coffees in restaurants – many are high in fat from the whipping cream or chocolate syrups used. For example, a 375-millilitre moccaccino with whipping cream contains about 22 grams of fat.
Fast food and take-out
90. When ordering pizza, ask for a thin crust, skip the fatty toppings and select chicken or shrimp with vegetables instead. If it arrives oily, sop up the extra oil with a paper towel.
91. Order a plain burger with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle instead of cheese, bacon and sauce.
92. If you love fast-food chicken, order the grilled chicken sandwich rather than the fried chicken.
93. Watch the extras. Skipping the extra cheese and bacon can shave more than 20 grams of fat from your fast-food meal.
94. At a submarine shop, ask for deli meats, such as turkey, chicken or lean ham, on a whole wheat bun with lots of vegetables. Hold the cheese and mayonnaise or ask for low-fat mayo.
95. When ordering a stir-fry or noodle dish in a food court, ask if they can cook it without oil.
96. Stay away from fast-food fish sandwiches – they may sound healthy, but the deep-fried breading and mayonnaise-based tartar sauce make them high in fat.
97. At the food-court, order a sandwich with turkey, chicken breast, lean corned beef, pastrami or roast beef, accompanied by a dill pickle and a salad without the dressing. These are the deli choices that are lowest in fat.
98. Unless you have a big family, skip the family-size meal specials; they contain much more food – and more fat – than you need.
Parting tips:
99. Watch portion sizes. Large muffins or Caesar or Greek salads often contribute more fat than you think.
100. Low-fat is not necessarily low-calorie. A low-fat brownie can have the same number of calories as its higher-fat counterpart. If you're counting calories, too, read labels carefully.
101. For the next 101 days, make one change a day. You'll end up with some amazing and enjoyable new healthy eating habits.
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