Fat/Calorie Saving Tips

• Kathy from California sent in this fat reducing tip: When cooking hamburger meat for tacos or spaghetti, crumble up by hand in a pan with water in it. After it is cooked, put in strainer and rinse with hot water until the water runs clear, removing the fat in the process.
• Ann Marie from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania has a non-fat way of thickening soups -- by adding instant mashed potatoes. Add a little at a time to judge how thick you want the soup.
• Deb Freeman from London, England uses oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs in meatloaf. A bonus is more nutrition and fiber in your diet.
• Make a grocery list, before you go to the grocery store. Sticking to your list will help your diet as well as your pocketbook.
• When fat is called for in recipes, try to gradually reducing the amount and comparing the results with the original recipe. For instance, if your recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of butter, try cutting it down to 1-1/2 tablespoons. If this works, reduce it further next time. You may be surprised just how little fat is really needed. Every little but helps!
• Balsamic vinegar is a great salad dressing, all by itself. Try it sprinkled on ripe tomatoes with some fresh basil on top.
• When buying beef, find lean cuts of beef by looking for the words "round", "loin", "extra lean" or "the leanest" in the name. Cuts like top round, tenderloin or sirloin will be lean and healthy.
• When a recipe calls for oil, use smaller amounts of a more flavorful oils, like olive or sesame oil or use flavored oils like lemon, basil or chili oils. Try a combination of flavored oils, herbs and stock for cooking meats or veggies.
• Kay from California cooks crumbled hamburger meat for spaghetti sauce or tacos in boiling water to save fat and calories. After cooking, place in a collander and run hot water over it to rinse much of the fat away.
• Marion Brush from Ontario, Canada saves on fat when making mashed potatoes by setting aside some of the potato water that the potatoes were cooked in and adding it to the potatoes when mashing them. Marion says it makes the potatoes just as fluffy and tasty, but without the fat.
• Toss cooked pasta with chicken or vegetable stock instead of oil to prevent it from sticking together.
• You can successfully sauté or stir fry vegetables and meats in 1 teaspoon or less of oil in a non-stick pan.
• To quickly flavor plain steamed vegetables, toss with a little low-fat Italian salad dressing. For a good recipe, click on Low Fat Italian Dressing.
• Need a quick nutritious meal that the kids will love? Microwave a sweet potato and instead of butter, drizzle with a little honey or maple syrup, sprinkle with cinnamon and/or nutmeg.
• If you haven't already done so, invest in a quality set of nonstick pots and pans so you'll be able to bake and sauté without adding extra fat.
• Marinate fish, poultry, and meat in fruit juice, wine or low-fat sauces for lots of flavor without lots of fat.
• Rub dried herb-and-spice mixtures onto meat for added flavor without extra fat
• Reduced-fat cheeses don't melt as evenly as their full-fat counterparts. To help compensate, be sure to grate your cheese very finely.
• Substitute fruit purées like applesauce or pureed prunes for butter and oil in baking.
• Reduce fat, increase fiber and save money by replacing half of the ground beef or poultry in a casserole or meatloaf recipe with brown rice, bulgur, or cooked and pureed dried beans.
• It sounds strange, but try squeezing some fresh lemon and juice in your mashed potatoes instead of butter or margarine. Season with lots of freshly ground black pepper. No added fat and quite delicious!
• Shirley from San Francisco offers this tip: "When I make soup, after it's defatted I set aside a portion, add whatever spices I want, cook it down some, then freeze it in ice cube trays. I keep the soup-cicles in a plastic bag and add a few to the pan when I steam vegetables."
• If you have the time, the best way of removing extra fat from soups is to refrigerate them until the fat hardens on the top, and you can simply spoon it off.
• If you don't have time to refrigerate your soup, try dropping a lettuce leaf into a hot pot of soup to absorb the excess grease from the top. Discard the lettuce leaf and enjoy the soup!
• Another method for removing excess grease from the top of a soup is to drop a few ice cubes into the soup. The oil will cling to the ice, discard and enjoy the soup. You can also wrap your ice cubes in cheesecloth and use this to skim the oil from the top of a soup.
• Add a cup of water to the bottom of a broiling pan to absorb grease and smoke.
• Use plain yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.
• Make yogurt cheese (a great substitute for cream cheese) by lining a strainer with cheesecloth and suspending over a bowl. Put plain yogurt into the cheesecloth, cover and let drain overnight.
• A low fat substitute for cream is a mixture of half buttermilk and half yogurt cheese.
• Substituting half applesauce for vegetable oil in baking reduces the fat content.
• Using leftover wine is a snap if you freeze it into ice cubes -- save calories and fat by sauteeing in wine instead of butter or oil.
• Sauté in a small amount of stock instead of butter or oil to save fat and calories.
• Use chicken stock instead of butter or milk when whipping up mashed potatoes.
• While it is a high fat food, blue cheese has such a concentrated flavor that you use just a tiny amount to add a lot of flavor to otherwise bland dishes.
• Grill or pan fry (in a sprayed, nonstick skillet), many boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Season them with seasoned salt and garlic powder. Cool and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Place wrapped chicken breasts in a large zip lock bag and keep in the freezer. These are great for a quick Caesar salad, barbecue chicken salad (warmed in microwave with some lowfat barbecue sauce), or chopped for a cold chicken salad. Submitted by wellness consultant Lori Thibideau.