Six Ways to Trim the Fat

No one wants to eat tasteless food in an effort to trim the fat from their diet. Eating healthier doesn't mean you have to skimp on flavor or the enjoyment of food. There are ways that you can trim the fat with these healthy (and delicious) food tips.

 

1. Light Cooking Methods
The cooking methods that you use can make a big difference in trimming the fat from your diet. Instead of frying, try these ideas:

• Broil
• Steam
• Poach
• Bake
• Roast
• Grill
• Braise

These are all healthier alternatives to frying. You can also try a cooking method known as "en papilotte," where food is sealed in a pouch made from aluminum foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle some herbs, wine or lemon juice on the meat or fish and a few vegetables before sealing and cooking in an oven.

 

You can also trim the fat by using cooking sprays instead of oil when preparing your food.

 

2. Flavoring Your Food
A hunk of butter might provide great flavoring but it also adds a lot of extra calories and fat to your meal. You also want to avoid cooking with margarine, mayonnaise, gravy and salad dressings. Instead, you can flavor your food with healthier alternatives. Try these flavor-enriching ideas:
Vinegars (red, white, apple cider, balsamic)

• Herbs
• Lemon juice
• Fruit juice
• Stock or broth

Although the skin on chicken adds a nice juicy flavor, it is full of fat so be sure to trim off that skin before you start cooking. If you are going to bake bread or a cake, you can trim the fat and add moist flavoring to your dessert by replacing the oil with applesauce.

 

3. Lean Meat Selection
Your meat selection is an easy and effective way to trim the fat from your diet. Since meat is a source of saturated fat, the recommendation is that you only have 3 ounces per meal. You can even buy a food scale in order to get an accurate weight of your meat.

 

Choice grade meats are the best. Next in line would be lean cuts:

• Tenderloin
• Sirloin tip
• Round tip
• Eye of round

You can also replace your ground beef with either lean ground beef, ground turkey or ground sirloin. If you are a lamb eater, the leanest cuts are found in the loin, shoulder and leg. You should also trim off any visible fat remaining on the meat or lamb before cooking it.

 

Pork is the leaner choice of meat and can be a healthy meat option (in moderation, of course). Lean cuts of pork are even better. You want to avoid processed pork products because they are always high in fat.

 

Other types of lean meat you can choose from are:

• White meat chicken
• Turkey
• Quail
• Skinless duck breast
• Game hens

You can make an easy and lean beef stew meal that is a perfect one-pot dish. In a slow cooker, place in ¾ pound of lean stewing beef. Add to the pot cut-up vegetables such as celery, carrots, squash or green beans. Mix together one tablespoon of olive oil, your favorite dried herbs, one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and a can of fat-free, reduced-sodium beef broth. Pour that over the meat and vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

 

4. Dairy Products
Dairy products can be a great source of calcium, but they also tend to be high in fat. For healthier dairy choices, stick with low-fat or non-fat alternatives in dairy products like skim or 1% milk. This extends to other dairy products such as yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese and other types of cheeses.

 

5. Good Fats vs. Bad Fats
The truth is you don't want to remove all the fat from your diet; you simply want to trim certain fats. Saturated fat, hydrogenated fat and trans fat are the kinds of fat that need to be reduced.

 

Good fats are necessary for good health and can be found in foods like nuts, olives, avocados and olive oil. These foods contain polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. Foods like sardines and salmon also contain good fat that includes Omega-3 fatty acids which are good for cardiovascular health and other benefits.

 

Bad fats, like saturated fats, are found mostly in meat and dairy foods such as butter, cheese and ice cream. Trans fat is extremely unhealthy. You can find this type of fat in items like margarine, breads, crackers and cookies.

 

6. Healthy Drinks and Snacks
Unhealthy snacking is probably one of the worst ways we add unhealthy fat to our diet. Just by cutting out unhealthy snacks and replacing them with better choices, we are trimming a good deal of fat from our diet. Instead of reaching for that brownie or bag of potato chips, try healthier options like:

• Hummus and carrot sticks
• No-salt or lightly salted pretzels
• An apple with 2 tbsp. of peanut butter
• Fruit and yogurt
• Handful of raw almonds
• 2 cups of air popped popcorn

Many coffee drinks or energy drinks also contain fat and/or sugar that may initially give you the impression you are being energized but once it metabolizes into your system, you will end up feeling more tired than you were at first. Drinking soda is another way we add empty calories to our diet. If you just stopped drinking soda, you would greatly reduce the amount of sugar in your diet. High amounts of sugar cause a spike in your blood sugar levels, which raises your insulin levels, which in turn, hinders your body's ability to burn fat.

 

Before buying any product labeled low-fat or no-fat, always check the sugar content. Eating a low-fat yogurt with 30 grams of sugar won't help cut the fat from your diet.

 

You really don't have to compromise taste or the enjoyment of food in order to trim the fat from your diet. Sometimes, trimming the fat means opting for a smaller portion of food, skipping a side order or choosing a healthier option instead.

 

From reading labels to working on portion control or even setting some reasonable boundaries—i.e., no snacking after 9 p.m., no eating in the car, etc.—simple steps can lead to significant ways of trimming the fat to reveal a healthier, happier you!