Frosting, of course, will never reach the 'healthy factor' of fresh fruit and vegetables. It can, however, be made more wisely to preserve the sweet flavor and creaminess while excluding all the fat.

My Fat Free Cream Cheese Frosting tastes amazing, spreads on easily and is the perfect substitution for the full-fat stuff. And ... if you're eager to go a bit further with it, substitute the sugar for Splenda and you'll have yourself a sugar-free treat as well.

Find this recipe on page 11 of my online recipe book at Fitzness.com. For more great recipes, pre-order my soon-to-be released book, The Everything Flat Belly Cookbook here.

I learned about "free" foods 15 years ago upon my diagnosis with type 1 diabetes. By definition, they are foods with 25 calories or less per serving. They were often a lifesaver as I learned to navigate the disease and control my blood sugar with insulin, diet and exercise.

Thankfully, I was already a healthy person who enjoyed good-for-me foods and worked out often. Still, as I've hit my 30s, I realize free foods come in handy for weight control too. And isn't everyone thinking a little bit about that as they go bikini shopping?

Check out my favorite 5 calorie-free foods as part of our Summer Slimdown Guide and enjoy chewing, sipping, crunching through the season and feeling more confident in less clothing during the warm days ahead:

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As I lecture and train new clients, I discourage folks from using butter, oil and fat-laden creamy sauces. For people trying to lose weight, slathering or cooking their food in pure fat just seems silly to me. And yes......that counts for olive oil too. Most people get plenty of fat via meat, dairy, and treats, that I don't see great purpose in purposefully adding fat to a meal.

The question always comes, "then how do I add flavor to my food, Fitz?" I'll tell ya. First of all, you can use any seasoning in the world. Then we get to the sauces. Lots of people tell me they 'hate fat free sauces'. So we'll start there. Catsup and mustard are naturally fat-free. So are barbecue sauce, Teriyaki, soy, Worcestershire, A-1, all types of vinegar, jerk sauce, some wing sauces, many marinaras, jelly, jam, and preserves. That's just scratching the surface. Worried about your food sticking to the pan or grill? Try Teflon and use a cooking spray like Pam.

Hating fat free stuff is a weird thing that came about because ten years ago the market was full of new fat-free products which didn't match up to the taste or texture of each foods' original fatty version. What we fail to recognize is that most of the stuff we already love and own are naturally fat free. Who thinks of catsup as a fat-free food though?

Fat tastes good, and thankfully it's not all bad. The trick is to find a healthy balance, and learn to cook smart. There are lots of different ways to cut back on the fat without sacrificing flavor, and you'll just have to experiment until you find the ways that work (and taste) best to you.

Here are some easy things you can do to sneak some of that fat out of your diet, instead of into it:

• When making salad dressing, cut back on oil and add extra vinegar, spices, and lemon juice.
• Don't overcook. By being careful not to overcook and "dry out" meat when cooking it you can get by with using leaner versions, and not notice the difference.
• Start using spices. Spices add flavor without adding any calories, but make sure you get the best result by throwing out any spices that are more than a year old. And watch where you store them -- away from heat and light.
• Substitute non-fat yogurt for sour cream in recipes.
• Do the salsa. There are all kinds of varieties out there (or you can easily make your own) for topping everything from fish to potatoes to poultry.

There are even more ideas in the full article, and what I think I like most is that they give specific suggestions on how to make up the difference once they've told you how to cut the fat.

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Okay, so the title of this post is misleading. The 'calorie-free' foods listed in this article are not all truly calorie free, but their definitely low in Calories and good enough for you that they're worth consuming a few calories for. Anyway, here's the list of items that you should consume without consequence. Each as much of these as you want, eDiet's claims:

-Hot tea sweetened with splenda
-Berries
-Citrus fruits
-Sugar-free jello with sugar-free, fat free whipped topping
-Egg whites, prepared with calorie-free non-stick spray of course
-Veggies
-Water

I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners and fat-free whipped topping has too many chemicals for my taste, so I'll stick to the fruit, veggies and water. What about you? What guilt-free foods do you snack on?

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This article promises unique dieting advice, and seeing as I have been keeping up with the latest in diet news for a while now, I was intrigued. Their list of the most common mistakes is one I know well; Overconsumption of so-called healthy foods makes the top of the list, and I know that this is a mistake many make. A few years ago, I thought it was perfectly OK to eat an entire box of low-fat cookies. I've learned my lesson. Not counting certain things, like snacks and liquids, also made the top five, as did skipping meals and allowing cheat days, which are more like all-you-can-eat binge days laden with any kind of junk food imaginable.

To lighten things up, they list the least common dieting mistakes too.

Check it out and let me know if you can think of anything else that should have made the list.

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