Lesson 4: Alternative Therapies

For Your Benefit

I'm not the kind of person who can follow advice such as "instead of dessert have some fruit." Sorry, fruit just doesn't cut it for me, comfort food-wise. Nor am I constitutionally capable of substituting meat for something that looks like it belongs in a compost heap. Fortunately, one can eat smart with little sacrifice to old habits and good taste. A few tricks I have picked up over the years:

1. Smart cheese: Cheese on a beef burger is an invitation to a heart attack. Cheese on a turkey burger or a veggie burger makes you forget it's not beef. If you can stomach the low fat cheese, so much the better. A light sprinkling of grated cheese also does wonders for tasteless but good for you dishes such as white fish. For pizza, put tomato sauce and your favorite toppings on a store-bought crust, and go lightly on the cheese - go for parmesan or romano where a little goes a long way.

2. Ground turkey: Use this in pasta sauce, lasagna, and chili instead of ground beef, and you won't know the difference. For a burger, you need to spice it up and add barbecue sauce as well as an egg to bind. Ground turkey also makes a good meatloaf.

3. Fat-free hotdogs: There is no significant taste difference. Fat-free sausages are another story, but the 1/2 fat is a good compromise.

4. Smart meat: Meat should be part of an ensemble production rather than a star vehicle. That way you eat less of it. This means meat and pasta, meat and rice (Chinese, Indian, paella, gumbo, Cajun, etc), meat and beans (Mexican), meat with rice and beans (Latino), meat and couscous (Middle East), meat and veggies (Chinese, etc). If you must use cheese or sour cream, use less of it and go for low fat.

5. Low fat versions: Most foods these days come in no fat or low fat versions. Much of the no fat involves considerable sacrifice in taste and texture, but not so much with low fat. If it's between eating low fat or nothing at all, low fat is clearly the way to go.

6. Smart sauces: Go with stock-based rather than cream-based sauces. A little cheese in stock gives it a creamy texture. If you must opt for cream, use low fat or no fat half and half.

7. Watch out for the little things: It's the extras that can do you more harm than the main course. Poultry stuffing cooked in the bird is soaked with fat - cook it in a separate dish with stock. Count to ten before you reach for that guacamole for your fajitas.

8. Smart desserts and comfort foods: You won't miss the fat in no fat crackers. There is no substitute for Ben and Jerry's, but low fat or no fat ice cream and frozen yogurt won't make you feel a Somalia poster child, either. It is human nature to desire the full range of comfort foods and desserts. You don't need to deprive yourself. Simply eat less of them, and don't keep too many supplies in the house.

Conclusion: See if you can implement some of these smart choices into your diet and try to come up with some of your own.

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