Foods That Fight Fat
Here's best-selling author Dr. Shapiro's all-new program to fill
you up and slim you down
by
Howard M. Shapiro, DO
Weight loss starts with shopping. Taking control of what you eat begins with
taking control of what you buy.
Every time you toss a low-calorie food into the cart, you're taking
responsibility for losing weight--even before you sit down to a meal.
There's a very simple formula for low-calorie eating: Stock up on low-calorie
staples. These are the basic packaged, canned, and frozen ingredients that
you'll reach for to create tasty, healthful, low-calorie meals anytime.
The Picture Perfect Anytime List is a menu of the lowest-calorie produce,
soups, sauces, condiments, marinades, dressings, dips, candies, desserts, and
beverages available. Stuff your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer with them,
and reach for them anytime. Feel free to go to the foods on the Anytime List
when you want a snack or are planning a meal. Eat any amount of them for any
reason. When the Anytime List becomes the core of your eating--in other words,
the main dish around which you build your meals--you'll have no trouble staying
thin for life.
The
Anytime List
Fruits
and vegetables
All fruits and vegetables--raw, cooked, fresh, frozen,
canned--belong on the Picture Perfect Anytime List. Avoid any packaged fruits
that have added sugar. Otherwise, the more fruits and vegetables you eat, the
better.
Soups
You've heard of value for your money. Soups give you very good value for the
calories. They are filling; a bowl of soup can be an entire meal. They are
satisfying. For many people, they are more satisfying than raw vegetables,
while many give you all the benefits of veggies (if you choose the soups chock
full of vegetables). They are inexpensive, convenient, easy, and quick to make.
Soups don't make you feel like you're on a diet. Above all, soups are
versatile. They can serve as a snack, as part of a meal, or as a cooking
ingredient.
Sauces, Condiments, and Marinades
Put the following items at the very top of your
shopping list. They're invaluable for adding flavor, moisture, texture, and
versatility to every food and every meal.
· Salad dressings: oil-free or low-calorie
(light or lite)
· Mayonnaise: fat-free or light
· Sour cream and yogurt: fat-free, plain, or
with NutraSweet (or low-fat nondairy substitutes)
· Mustards:
· Tomato puree, tomato paste, and tomato sauce
· Clam juice, tomato juice, V8 juice, and
lemon or lime juice
· Butter Buds or Molly McButter
· Cooking sprays (such as Pam) in butter, olive
oil, garlic, or lemon flavors
· Vinegars: balsamic, cider, wine, tarragon, and
others
· Horseradish: red and white
· Sauces: salsa, cocktail
sauce, tamari, soy sauce, A1, Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, ketchup,
duck sauce, chutney, relish, and others
· Onion: fresh, juice, flakes, and powder
· Garlic: fresh, juice, flakes, and powder
· Herbs: any and all, including basil,
oregano, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, dill, chives, sage, and bay
leaves
· Spices: any and all, including cinnamon,
cloves, ginger, cumin, nutmeg, coriander, curry, paprika, and allspice
· Extracts: vanilla, almond, peppermint, maple,
coconut, cocoa powder, and others
Dressings and Dips
I
recommend fat-free or light dressings and dips. The light category--low-fat,
reduced-fat, and low-calorie--is midway between totally fat-free and regular,
and it's often more pleasing to the palate than fat-free.
Dressings can be used as all-purpose condiments, dips, toppings, even cooking liquids. They already contain a mixture of
ingredients, so just slather them on vegetables, seafood, and pretty much
anything else. Or cook with them to make up for the lack of butter or oil.
I recommend keeping several varieties of dressings and dips on hand, including
at least one creamy version. Try brushing a light creamy dressing on seafood,
then broiling; the dressing adds moisture and flavor.
Candy
Yup, candy. The real thing--not the dietetic variety--is best when your sweet
tooth starts aching. Dietetic candies have almost as many calories as regular
candies, often lack flavor, and are an incentive to eat more. Stick to the real
thing.
· Chewing gum or gum balls: any and all
· Hard candy: any and all,
including sour balls, candy canes, lollipops such as Tootsie Pops or Blow Pops,
Jolly Ranchers, Werther's Original, and TasteTations
Frozen Desserts
Any fat-free frozen yogurt, frozen nondairy substitute, or sorbet is a fine
addition to the freezer. Try the lower-calorie choices. Here are some examples:
· Soft serve: up to 25 calories per ounce,
including Skimpy Treat; TCBY,
· Hard pack: up to 115 calories per 1/2-cup
serving, including
· Frozen bars: Creamsicles, Fudgsicles, and
Popsicles; any others containing up to 45 calories per bar, including Welch's
Fruit Juice Bars, Weight Watchers Smart Ones Orange Vanilla Treats, Tofutti
Chocolate Fudge Treats, Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chocolate Mousse, Dolly
Madison Slender Treat Chocolate Mousse, and Yoplait
· Individually packaged frozen
bars: up to 110 calories each, including FrozFruit,
Hagen-Dazs bars, and Starbucks Frappuccino
Blended Coffee Bars
Beverages
Avoid beverages labeled "naturally sweetened" or "fruit-juice
sweetened," but help yourself to these:
· Unsweetened black coffees and
teas
· Diet teas and juices: Crystal Light, Diet
Snapple, Diet Natural Lemon Nestea, Diet Mistic, and
others
· Noncaloric flavored waters:
orange, chocolate, cream, cherry-chocolate, root beer, cola, and other flavors
of bottled or filtered water
· Seltzer: plain or
flavored, but check the calorie count if the product is labeled "naturally
sweetened," since this usually means that the product has sugar in one
form or another
· Hot cocoa mixes: 20 to 50 calories per serving,
including Swiss Miss Diet and Fat-Free and Nestle Carnation Diet and Fat-Free;
avoid cocoa mixes with 60 or more calories per serving
Let’s
go shopping!
Today's
supermarkets are filled with choices for the weight conscious. Here are some of
the lowest-calorie choices for a variety of food categories that aren't covered
in the Anytime List.
Cereals
· Cheerios: a whole grain cereal with 110
calories and 3 g fiber per cup
· Kellogg's All-Bran with Extra
Fiber: 50 calories and 15 g fiber per 1/2 cup
· Original Shredded Wheat: 80 calories and 2.5 g
fiber per biscuit
· Fiber One: 60 calories and 14 g fiber per
1/2 cup
· Wheaties: 110 calories and 2
g fiber per cup
· Whole Grain Total: 110 calories and 3 g
fiber per 3/4 cup
Spreads
· Peanut butter
· Low-sugar or sugar-free jams and jellies with
10 to 40 calories per tablespoon
Breads
· Light breads with 40 to 45 calories per
slice: oatmeal, premium white, wheat, rye, multigrain, sourdough, Italian
· Whole grain regular breads or rolls
Rice and Pasta
· Whole wheat/whole grain pastas: Hodgson
Mill, Ancient Harvest
· Brown rice
· Whole wheat couscous
· Pearled or hulled barley
· Other whole grains: quinoa, whole grain
cornmeal, kasha, bulgur, millet
Frozen Meals
· Low-calorie frozen breakfast foods such as
those from Kellogg's, Aunt Jemima, and Pillsbury--and a special mention for the
low-calorie, whole grain offerings from Van's
· Low-calorie, vegetable-focused frozen meals in
the 150- to 350-calories-per-package range, especially the Amy's brand
Beans
· All beans, dried or canned
·
· Low-fat or fat-free refried beans
Snacks
· Make it a point to eat starchy, crunchy
snacks only in conjunction with a food from the Anytime List. For example, have
fruit with popcorn or soup with crackers. Fill up on the former, and go easy on
the starchy snack.
Protein Foods
· Legumes: beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas
· Soy products: bean curd/tofu, meat-replacement
products by Boca, Gardenburger, Yves, and Lightlife
· Seafood: fresh (do not fry!), smoked, canned,
frozen
Note: Calorie counts in this story may vary depending on the brand of products
used. Remember to check the labels.