Getting Fat from Eating Fat

Some Fats Are Easier to Spot than Others

Although some fats and oils are rather obvious, others are hidden deep within our food. Take a look:

• Visible fats. Butter*, cream cheese*, lard*, sour cream*, mayonnaise, oil-based salad dressings, cream-* or cheese-based salad dressings, animal shortenings*, guacamole, cooking oils, peanut butter, and margarine.
• Invisible fats. Whole milk dairy*, high-fat meats* (including bologna, pepperoni, sausage, bacon, pastrami, spareribs, and hot dogs), donuts*, cakes*, cookies*, nuts, candy bars*, chocolate chips*, avocado, ice cream*, fried foods, pizza*, coleslaw, macaroni salad, and potato salad.

  *Contains saturated fat

Slicing Off the Fat Without a Knife

These are tips to help you reduce the fat in your diet. Read through them and learn how to painlessly develop a low-fat lifestyle:

• Choose low-fat and nonfat dairy products whenever possible: skim or 1-percent milk, low-fat cheese and yogurts, low-fat sour creams, and reduced-fat ice cream.
• Read Knocking out the Fat in Family Favorites to prepare foods by roasting, baking, broiling, boiling, steaming, lightly stir-frying, or grilling.
• Use nonfat cooking sprays or nonstick pans when frying.
• Remove all skin from poultry and trim all visible fat from meats.
• Limit your intake of red meats and try to completely avoid the higher-fat selections, including salami, bologna, sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and hot dogs. Buffalo and venison may be eaten more frequently because they are very lean.
• Buy reduced-fat versions of margarine, butter, mayonnaise, and cream cheese.
• Buy low-fat salad dressings, or make your own by mixing balsamic vinegar, a lot of spices, and moderate amounts of olive oil.
• Instead of using butter and oily sauces, flavor your vegetables with herbs and seasonings. Also try lemon juice, spicy mustard, salsa, and flavored vinegars.
• Watch out for pastas swimming in oil and cream sauce. Instead, substitute marinara or other tomato-based sauces.
• Opt for egg white omelets (or egg substitutes) rather than whole eggs with yolk. If you can't live without eating whole eggs, limit yourself to three to four yolks per week.
• Pass on the ice cream, chips, and cookies. Instead, snack on pretzels, fig bars, fresh fruit, and frozen yogurt.
• Use extra-lean ground turkey breast or ground sirloin instead of ground beef in your favorite recipes.