8 Easy Ways To Cut Fat

Eight Ways To Cut Fat

Order the Steak Fries

If you love french fries, always order the steak fries. Large-cut fries don't absorb as much oil as shoestring or curly fries, which lowers the fat count.

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Slice Fat from Pizza

Always order your pizza with double tomato sauce and light cheese. Men who eat a lot of tomato products tend to have less prostate cancer -- probably because tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene. Reducing the mozzarella by just one-third (you won't miss it) will save you 20 grams of fat per pie. That's as much as in a McDonald's Quarter Pounder.

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Juice a Stir-Fry

With a can of frozen orange-juice concentrate, you have a great way to add flavor to stir-fried chicken (or beef) and vegetables without adding fat. Just a few spoonfuls will do. (It's even better if you add some garlic.)

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Soften Your Spread

Soften butter or margarine at room temperature or in a microwave. Chances are you'll spread your bread with one-quarter of the fat and calories you do when you put it on cold.

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Cool Your Cans

Refrigerate canned meats, soups, gravies and other canned foods containing fat. The fat will rise to the top and collect, so you can scrape it off.

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Dilute Your Fruit Juice

Fruit juice is sneaky fattening. A 16-ounce bottle of cranberry-grape blend, for instance, contains about 275 calories. Dump half and store it, then refill the bottle with water. You'll barely notice the difference, and you'll be cutting half the calories.

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Oil Your Potato

To save calories and fat, put a splash of olive oil on your baked potato instead of the usual butter or sour cream.

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Say Good-bye to Rubbery Cheese

To prevent low-fat cheese from turning to rubber in the microwave, spritz your nachos with a quick blast of cooking spray, such as Pam, before nuking them. A similar trick involves spraying the inside of a grilled-cheese sandwich before you toss it in the frying pan. This adds just enough fat to make the cheese stay gooey and creamy as it slowly melts.

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