Low-Fat Meals

What's so bad about fat?

You've been warned over and over to cut back on fat or else let yourself in for heart disease, cancer, and obesity. And it's true: eating too much saturated fat - the kind that's found primarily in animal foods - can wreak havoc on your arteries, trigger cell damage that leads to tumours, and add unhealthy inches to your waistline. But unsaturated fat can actually be good for you: the monounsaturated fat in olive oil has been shown to lower cholesterol, so try dipping your bread in a saucer of extra-virgin instead of smearing on butter. The key is to find new ways to lighten up on foods from our four-legged friends without sacrificing flavour or going hungry.

How healthy is your breakfast?

The 'hearty' Irish fry should only be an occasional treat, as it is full of saturated fat. But if cold cereal and skim milk leave you wanting, there are still better alternatives, for example, porridge or muesli. Mix up a shake of low-fat yogurt, fresh berries and bananas, a splash of orange juice, and a few ice cubes, or toast a slice of bakery-fresh whole wheat bread and spread on a new flavour of jam.

How can I eat a leaner lunch?

For sandwiches, rolls and pizza, choose either cheese or meat, but not both, and add salad or raw vegetables. Try mustard instead of mayonnaise, or a lean salad dressing. Use cottage cheese or edam instead of cheddar. Slice up an avocado or toss a handful of walnuts or almonds into a vegetable salad. Their heart-healthy monounsaturated fat will fill you up without raising your cholesterol.

Should I choose chicken over steak?

Not necessarily. Chicken is healthier in general, but the leanest cuts of meat - fillet steak, round steak, sirloin, flank steak, T-bone, and striploin - can have as little saturated fat as chicken and turkey. In fact, those birds are no leaner than any other meat unless you remove the skin and eat only the breast. Try thinking of meat as a side dish rather than the main meal. Keep each serving under 3 ounces, a portion the size of a deck of cards. To cook lean meats without drying them out, marinate them first, then stir-fry, broil, or grill them.

How many servings of fruits and vegetables should I aim for?

Federal health experts recommend at least five a day, but for the maxium disease-fighting diet, nutrition researchers urge people to make that nine a day. It's not as hard as it might seem: half a glass of juice counts as one serving, for example, as does a medium-sized apple. Try adding three servings per meal (for breakfast, say, you might add frozen blueberries and a banana to your cereal and drink half a glass of orange juice), snack on an apple or carrots between meals, add a salad at lunch and supper, and you'll be up to nine servings a day in no time. Try to eat at least three colors of fruits and vegetables a day -- especially dark-green leafy vegetables and orange citrus fruits -- and you'll get an astonishing array of vitamins and cancer-fighting phytochemicals (plant chemicals).

How can I make vegetables taste good without covering them with butter?

Vegetables can be delicious without much help from fat if you buy them as fresh as possible and don't overcook them. Try using peanut oil to stir-fry green beans, adding a few drops of sesame oil to steamed broccoli, or brushing a little olive oil on peppers and aubergine before you throw them on the grill or under the broiler. Sauti spinach in a little broth and splash with balsamic vinegar. Toss coarsely chopped carrots, potatoes, and parsnips with olive oil and sea salt and roast them for half an hour. Spoon a small dollop of chilli or curry paste into a tomato-based veggie stew or experiment with fresh herbs like basil, tarragon, rosemary, and dill.