Foods for low fat

“Low fat” is the recent introduction in the dictionary of the health conscious wherein foods that are high in fat are being replaced by low fat foods. A low fat diet, as the name suggests, consists of a diet that has very less amounts of fat especially saturated fats and cholesterol as these are a direct cause for problems related to the heart and blood pressure. It does not mean that this diet does not contain any fat.

On the contrary, dietary fat such as essential fatty acids are essential for the body. Eating food that is low in fat is also said to lower your risk of getting cancer. Fat free foods are a healthy option and need to be made a part your lifestyle.

There are a number of low calorie foods and some of the vegetables included in this list are boiled potatoes, broccoli, celery, tomatoes, red peppers and mushrooms. Fruits that are low in calories include apricot, grapefruit, currants, watermelons and chayote. However, you need to keep in mind that these fruits should be consumed while they are fresh. Lean ham, low fat cheese, ground turkey and beef are other foods that are low in calories. All aerated drinks, sodas and sugary drinks are excluded from a low fat foods list along with all fried and fatty foods. When you are buying yogurt, sour cream or ice cream, make sure that you pick up ones that are low fat or non fat. You also need to buy milk that is low in fat and should try and have a lot of soups that are low fat as well as low in sodium.

Butter is not at all a healthy option if you want to eat low fat food as it contains high amounts of cholesterol and saturated fats. A lot of people resort to margarine as their second option after butter but this is also not good as it is high in Trans fat. You need to thus, go in for liquid spreads or tub margarine as these are less in or contain no Trans fat at all. Eggs should be eaten in moderation as they contain high amounts of dietary cholesterol and if you have to keep a tab on your cholesterol levels you should avoid eggs. However, you can eat egg whites or other substitutes for eggs. It is recommended that fresh fish be consumed at least two times in a week and also include salmon as it contains omega 3 fatty acids that is very good for your heart. Low fat recipes can be cooked by roasting, steaming or baking them rather than grilling or frying them. Salads are one of the best options available to those who want to have a low fat diet but you need to make wise choices especially when it comes to the salad dressings. Mayonnaise is a favorite dressing for salad but this need to be substituted by low fat salad dressings which can be prepared with the help of a number of ingredients available in your kitchen. You can use vinegar and lime juice as they serve as a very good salad dressing for your vegetables. A great salad dressing can be prepared by mixing 3 tablespoons of water, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 ½ tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon mustard, 2 teaspoons of finely chopped garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper that is freshly grounded in a big jar. Shake them well so that they are mixed properly and store it in the refrigerator up to a week.