Milk, Yogurt, Cheese and Calcium-Enriched Soymilk
- 1-cup 250ml fresh, long life or reconstituted dried milk
- 1-cup 250ml so milk
- ½ cup 125ml evaporated milk
- 2 slices cheese 40g
- 1 small carton 200g yoghurt
- 1-cup or 250ml custard
Meat, Fish, Poultry, Eggs, Nuts, Legumes
If you have a vegetarian amongst your guests, Red meat should be presented in separate serving dishes.
- 65-100g cooked meat or chicken such as ½ cup lean mince, 2 small chops or 2 slices of roast meats
- ½ cup 80g cooked or dried beans, lentils, chickpeas, split peas and canned beans
- 80-120g cooked fish fillet
- 2 small eggs
- 1/3-cup peanuts, or almonds, or ¼ cup sunflower seeds or sesame seeds.
Healthy Alternatives
Many would be slimmers feel that the foods to make them slim are the more expensive items on the shopper's list. But this need not be true. You can prepare inexpensive, low-calorie meals using let-overs if you wish, and still stay slim. Nor is there any need to prepare and cook an extra meal for one, You can join the family confident that you can ea the same meal with just a little extra calorie watching on your part. There is no need for a slimming diet to be different from or more expensive than, that of your family. Eat the same meals but do avoid the high-carbohydrate and fatty foods. If you incorporate the diet into your daily pattern of living, your weight is easier to maintain.
Putting Healthy Eating Guidelines into Practice
Meats
- Choose lean cuts of meat, such as topside, blade, rump, fillet, gravy beef, veal steaks, pork fillet and trip lamb varieties, such as lean lamb chump. Choose the leanest mince
- Drain the fat from mince during or after cooking.
- Trim visible fat from meat before you cook it
- Keep meat proteins small (100g) and bulk up meals with vegetables and legumes, bread, rice or pasta. Cook vegetables light or steam them when possible to retain their nutrients.
- When roasting meats, trim the visible fat from the meat and place meat on a rack in a baking dish with 1-2 centimetres of water. For additional flavours add herbs and wine to the water. Alcohol is harmless when used with heat in cooking.
Cheese
Select low fat cheeses varieties, cottage cheese or ricotta, reduced fat or low fat milk. Don't just try these once, as it may take a while tor your taste bud to adjust. Try low-fat yoghurt you can hardly tell the difference in taste.
Oil
Olive oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil and grape-seed oil are good vegetable oils to choose.
Grains
- Choose wholemeal bread, pasta flour and rise instead of white.
- Breakfast cereal should be high in fibre.
Salt
Choose low salt (sodium) or no added salt products by comparing food labels and selecting products that have no added salt.
Dressings
Make your own dressing and mayonnaise using low-fat yoghurts, buttermilk, tomato paste, vinegar, lemon juice, ricotta cheese, mustard and fruit pulp. Buy dressings labelled No-Oil or Low Fat.
Margarine or Butter
Use avocado, chutney, cottage cheese, and low-fat mayonnaise.
Cream
Use evaporated skin milk with gelatine and chill before whipping.
Sour Cream
Low-fat yoghurt, buttermilk, evaporated skim milk or lemon juice.
Frying
Use a non-stick fry pan and cooking spray or brush the base of the pan with oil instead of pouring oil into the pan.
Tips to Help Reduce Your Fat Intake
Grilling Instead of Frying
Use a rack filled with a little water when grilling, roasting or baking meat. Marinate very lean meat in a mixture of soy sauce, wine, herbs, garlic or spices. These will prevent the meat from drying out while grilling.
Steaming
Is an ideal way of cooking most vegetables. The food is quickly cook y the steam and does not need any fat.
Microwave
Microwaving is a great way to cook. The microwave allows foods to keep their flavour and moisture while they cook.
Stir Fry
Use a wok or non-stick pan. Use a spray-on oil, water, wine or stock to fry your vegetables and then quickly mix in your lean cooked meat.
Casserole
Casserole cooking is a slow, gentle moist way of cooking that can also be low fat. Before cooing, trim the fat off the meat or skin off the chicken. Do not add any extra fat to the casserole. Allow the casserole to cool and skin any extra fat off the surface. Casseroles divided into serving sizes and frozen are ready prepared meals for people in a hurry.
Baked Vegetables
First par boil vegetables, spray with vegetable oil, place in a dry pan and cook in an oven on high until crisp.
Gravy
If you use the meat pan juices to make gravy, pour the juice into a cup and place in the freezer, when it is cool but not frozen remove the solid fat layer that forms on top. The remaining juice can be use to flavour your gravy.
