WHETHER YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT, LOWER YOUR CHOLESTEROL, OR JUST BE HEALTH, LIMITING THE FAT AND CHOLESTEROL IN YOUR DIET IS IMPORTANT. THE FOLLOWING TIPS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY. KEEP IN MIND THAT CHILDREN CAN DEVELOP HEALTHY EATING HABITS IF THE EXAMPLE IS PROVIDED IN THE HOME.

Choose lean cuts of meat, fish and poultry. Trim off all visible fat. Animal fat is saturated fat and should be limited.

Avoid deep-fried foods or, at least limit how often you have them.

Cook by baking, broiling, poaching, steaming, or microwaving.

Avoid frying or sautéing in oil or other fats. Instead, use a non-stick spray coating or a broth.

Eat seafood three times a week. Try more tuna fish and salmon salad sandwiches for lunch.

Limit red meats to three times a week. Serve smaller portions (3-4 ounces).

Increase the use of poultry, without the skin. Chicken parts can be skinned and then breaded and baked. This is a good low-fat substitute for fried chicken.

Use egg substitutes or egg whites. Limit egg yolks to three per week.

Switch to skim or 1% milk.

Try salad dressings that are labeled nonfat or reduced calorie.

Use low-fat or nonfat mayonnaise.

Enjoy nonfat yogurts.

Use tuna packed in water.

Use more dried beans and dried peas in place of meat.

Limit all cheeses, especially those that are not low in fat. Look for cheeses with less than 6 grams of fat per ounce. Five grams of fat is equal to one tsp of fat.

Replace butter and stick margarine with soft tub-style margarines made with canola, safflower, soybean, sunflower, or corn oil. Look for “liquid” oil as the first ingredient.

Avoid animal fats such as lard and bacon grease.

Limit foods with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenation is a chemical process that turns unsaturated liquid oils into saturated solids.

Increase the use of foods that are low in saturated fats such as fruits, veggies, and grains.

Use canola oil or olive oil.

Limit high fat meats such as hot dogs, salami, bologna, bacon, and sausage.

Refrigerate soups and stews. The fat will harden and can easily be removed. This also works well with canned soups (except condensed cream soups).

Instead of adding margarine to veggies, add Molly McButter or salt-free seasonings. For baked potatoes add 1 tbs of milk for moisture before sprinkling with Molly McButter.

Replace sour cream with nonfat yogurt. If you don’t like the flavor, use light sour cream but limit the amount used as it still contains fat.

Use fruit ices and nonfat sherbets to replace ice cream.

Read labels and avoid products that contain coconut oil, palm oil, and cocoa butter. These are saturated fats.

Look for grams of fat on the label and choose those foods with less than 30% of the total calories from fat. To do this:

– Find the grams of fat per serving and multiply by 9 to get the total calories from fat. There are 9 calories per gram of fat.

– Find the calories per serving.

– Divide the total calories from fat by the total calories per serving.

– The answer is the percent of calories from fat.

– EXAMPLE: If one serving is 200 calories and has 5 gram of fat: 5 grams of fat x 9 calories per gram = 45 calories from fat. 45 calories from fat + 200 total calories = 23% calories from fat

– By choosing foods with less than 30% of their total calories from fat, you are closer to your goal of having your total fat intake less than 30% of your total calories. Note that the percent of fat listed on foods may be weight and not a percent of the total calories. This is usually the case with raw meats, milk, and ice cream.

Limit your total fat intake to no more than 30% of your total daily calories with saturated fat being no more than 10% of this. This may be difficult to figure on your own but can easily be done with the help of a registered dietician. The following may be helpful:

– 30% of 1200 calories = 40 grams; 20% = 27 grams

– 30% of 1500 calories = 50 grams; 20% = 33 grams

– 30% of 1800 calories = 60 grams; 20% = 40 grams

– 30% of 2000 calories = 67 grams; 20% = 44 grams

– 30% of 2500 calories = 83 grams; 20% = 56 grams

CLIPPING COUPONS – Coupons do count! A few dollars a week might not seem like a lot, but the money you save by using coupons really adds up over the course of a year. File all your coupons in a convenient place where you will remember to bring them to the grocery store. Without your coupons in hand, they will do you no good.

SALE SAVVY – Take advantage of sales! Read the food section of your local newspaper and the weekly grocery store ads before you go shopping and stock up on items that can be stored. Canned goods, pasta and grains have a long shelf life; poultry, meat and butter freeze well. So if you have room, buying in bulk can be economical.

WRITE IT DOWN! – Make a grocery list before you go shopping; it will get you out of the store faster, and it will also prevent you from spending money on things you don’t need.

MEAT MATTERS – While pre-cubed, pre-pounded or pre-seasoned meats (or poultry) can save you preparation time, they cost a lot more than plain cuts of meat. If you can spare a few minutes to cut, pound or season your meat, you’ll find the savings are significant.

PRICING POULTRY – Dark meat costs less than white, so if your family likes dark meat, then you’re in luck. Also, consider that the more work done to the poultry, the more it will cost you. If you have enough time to remove the skin from the poultry yourself, or if you will be cooking bone-in pieces instead of boneless, then the poultry you purchase will be less expensive. Look for family packs whenever possible, as the price per pound is much lower and it’s very easy to repackage the poultry into cooking portions.

CONVENIENCE COSTS – Boneless chicken breasts are an example of a good timesaving investment, but snack-packs and lunch-size portions are not. If a convenience item significantly reduces your time and hassles in the kitchen, it’s probably worth the cost. But anything that can be done quickly and easily at home, such as bagging small portions of chips and slicing cheese, will save you a lot of money.

A MATTER OF TASTE – Follow the basic rule of shopping: If your family won’t eat it, don’t buy it – at any price! Even if you’re tempted by rock-bottom prices, these products will be no bargain if nobody likes them.

COST CUTTERS CHART

INSTEAD OF packages of sliced or grated cheese, BUY blocks of cheese.

INSTEAD OF refrigerated cartons of fruit juice, BUY frozen juice concentrate.

INSTEAD OF quart-size cartons of milk, BUY gallons or half-gallons of milk.

INSTEAD OF loose fruit and veggies by the pound, BUY bagged produce, such as potatoes and apples.

INSTEAD OF single-serving packages of snacks and cereal, BUY family- or economy-sized packages.

INSTEAD OF packaged veggies for soups and stews, BUY individual veggies by the pound.

INSTEAD OF small packages of nuts and dried fruits, BUY bulk nuts and dried fruits sold by weight.

INSTEAD OF brand-name grocery products, BUY generic and store-brand products.