Lowfat Cooking for Dummies

If a skimpy salad doused with a tasteless dressing is your idea of lowfat dining, hold on to your calorie counter. Lowfat cooking has come a long way. In fact, many of your high-calorie food favorites have an enticing, healthier equivalent in a lowfat version. Think chili. Potato pancakes. Or even cheesecake. It’s true. If done right, bite for bite, lowfat cooking can be as generous in flavor as its high-fat counterpart. And once you (and your body) have begun to sample the benefits of a lowfat menu, chances are you’ll turn lowfat cooking into a permanent lifestyle change.

With the help of Lynn Fischer, celebrated host of two TV cooking shows, Lowfat Cooking For Dummies helps you prepare meals worthy of a high-class health spa. In practically no time, you’ll see how simple and fun it is to slenderize your kitchen pantry and get your cooking regimen in gear. From finding hidden fats to reading labels, the book gives you the skinny on:

• Cholesterol, saturated fats, trans fatty acids—what they are and where they come from
• What “lowfat,” “fat-free,” and “reduced fat” really mean
• Tips on stocking a lowfat pantry—including what canned and packaged foods to keep (including pretzels, popcorn, chips, and cookies!)
• What oils, condiments, and flavorings to use—including a table of oils indicating saturated fat content and a comprehensive list of herbs and their uses
• Meat, poultry, fish, and eggs—tips on finding sources of lowfat red meat, what lean really means, and telling “good” eggs from “bad”

Plus Lowfat Cooking For Dummies brings you quickly up to speed on the joys of lowfat cooking—making your transition into a lowfat menu as delicious as it is painless. You’ll reexperience old favorites like French Toast or a BLT or Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and discover how cutting calories in no way impairs taste. And you’ll get a fresh reinvigorating take on traditionally healthy salads, as well as a host of entrees:

• One-pot Soups and Casseroles—including Chicken Soup with Vegetables, Lentil Soup, Chili, and Pork and Garbanzo Bean Stew
• Fish and shellfish—including Cod with Ginger-Orange Sauce, Herbed Mahi Mahi, and Shrimp and Crab Gumbo
• Meat and poultry—including Meat Loaf, Sweet and Sour Pork, and Roast Chicken
• Sandwiches—including Chicken Salad, Deviled Ham, Egg Salad, Feta Cheese Hamburgers, and Grilled Cheese

The book is chockfull of hints on how to turn usually high-fat fare like Hollandaise Sauce and White Sauce into something light and tasty. Desserts such as Strawberry Cheesecake and Peach and Blackberry Tart can, at last, be enjoyed as a guilt-free pleasure. Brimming with suggestions for healthy, lowfat eating on every page.

About the Author Lynn Fischer founded The National Women's Health Awareness Forum and is a former medical anchor at WTTG (Fox) in Washington. She hosts the popular cooking series, "Lynn Fischer's Healthy Indulgences" on Public Broadcasting and was formerly known as "The Low Cholesterol Gourmet" on the Discovery Channel. She is coauthor of the bestseller, The Low Cholesterol Gourmet with Dr. W. Virgil Brown, former president of the American Heart Association, and is the author of The Quick Low Cholesterol Gourmet, Healthy Indulgences, The Better Sex Diet, and Fabulous and Fat Free.