Low-Fat Foods

Watching the amount of fat you eat is important: Diets that are high in fat are often high in calories and can lead to weight gain. Ounce for ounce, fats contain more calories than carbohydrates or proteins, but it’s important to keep in mind that just because something is low in fat doesn’t mean it’s low in calories.

A good rule of thumb when you’re reading food labels: For every 100 calories, if the product has 3 grams of fat or less, it’s a low-fat product. This means 30% or less of the calories come from fat.

Foods like margarine, mayonnaise, and some salad dressings that get most of their calories from fat must have half or less than half the fat of the regular version of the food to be called “light.” These foods don’t have to meet the 30% cutoff for number of calories from fat to be considered low-fat. (See “Other foods” below.)

Low-fat foods to choose from

Dairy and dairy-like products

• Low-fat (1%) or fat-free (skim) yogurt, cottage cheese, or milk
• Sorbet, sherbet, gelatin ices, and low-fat or fat-free frozen yogurt
• Neufchatel or “light” cream cheese or fat-free cream cheese
• Fat-free American cheese or other types of fat-free cheeses

Fish, meat, poultry, and other protein

• Egg whites or egg substitutes
• Crab, white fish, shrimp, and light tuna (packed in water)
• Veal, chicken and turkey breast (without skin), and lean cuts of other meats (look for “loin” in the name) – braise, roast, or cook them without adding fats
• Extra lean ground beef such as ground round, or ground turkey breast (check the labels)
• Beans, peas, and lentils, cooked (or canned) without added fats or fatty meats (grains or cereal in your daily food intake make this add up to a complete protein)
• Veggie burgers

Grains, cereals, and pastas

• Hot (oatmeal or grits) and cold cereals (except granola types)
• Rice or noodles (watch out for fat in sauces you may add)
• Bagels, pita bread, or English muffins
• Low-fat crackers and breads
• Soft tortillas – corn or whole wheat
• Toast, English muffins, or bagels with jelly or honey (no butter)
• Pretzels, soda crackers, or plain breads

Fruits and vegetables

• Fruits and fruit juices, applesauce
• Vegetables and vegetable juices (again, watch out for fat in sauces you may add)

Snacks and sweets

• Danish pudding and fruit pie fillings
• Vanilla wafers and ginger snap cookies
• Gelatin
• Angel food cake
• Puddings made with skim milk
• Baked chips, tortilla or potato
• Low-fat microwave popcorn
• Hard and jelly candies

Other foods

• Broth type soups with a vegetable base
• Sauces, pudding, or shakes made with skim milk
• Salsa
• Mustard

These foods supply half the fat (or less) than the regular version of the food, but most of their calories still come from fat. They should be used in small amounts by people on low-fat diets:

• Light margarine and mayonnaise
• Reduced-calorie or fat-free salad dressings
• Non-stick cooking spray