Cutting down on fat

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Cutting down on fat

Reduce the amount of fat in your diet by grilling instead of frying. If you have to fry, use a spray oil (instead of a pouring oil or a solid fat like lard, margarine or butter). Swap your fatty snacks for breadsticks, scones, fruit, low-fat yoghurts and small sandwiches with low-fat fillings e.g. banana, low-fat cheese and cucumber or salmon.

Low-fat alternatives

Seek out the reduced or low-fat alternatives to your favourite foods. Reduced fat sausages and oven chips for example are easy to find these days – they may be labelled with phrases such as ’healthy choice’. It is worth noting that these foods may still have a substantial amount of fat in them, so it’s worth checking the labels.
for more information on food labels visit the Food Standards Agency.

When it comes to fatty foods and snacks, think F.A.T! Frequency – how often do you eat them? Try to reduce them and / or find lower fat alternatives; Amount – try to reduce the portion sizes; Type – avoid saturated fats.

For example, choose sunflower or olive oil-based margarine. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories – weight for weight, that’s a lot more than other nutrients such as the starchy foods like bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. No wonder it’s best to fill up on starch.