Catherine Atkinson - Quick & Easy Low-fat Cooking in Colour

So much has been written about what we should and shouldnt eat that its hardly surprising if were sceptical about dietary advice. Conflicting opinions, complicated explanations and confusing terms can make it difficult to separate fact from fiction and you may end up feeling that all the foods you enjoy are bad for you. However, when it comes to avoiding health problems such as heart disease and excess weight, the recommendations are loud and clear; reducing your intake of fat (especially saturated fat) is one of the most important dietary changes you can make to improve your health.

You may have been advised by your doctor or dietician to reduce your fat intake, or have simply resolved to follow a low-fat diet. Either way, a glance through the inspiring recipes in this book will persuade you that it will be a change for the better in every respect.

Its easy to follow a healthy eating plan without becoming faddist and cutting down on fat neednt mean sacrificing taste. Theres no need to go without all your favourite foods, but you may need to choose ingredients that are naturally lower in fat and prepare them with little if any additional fat.

This book contains no quick fixes or fads, but it does provide easy-to-follow advice on how to reduce the amount of fat in your diet, plus recipes to suit all tastes and ages. You can still enjoy hearty main courses and desserts that are so delicious its hard to believe theyre good for you, and it wont be long before you develop a preference for low-fat versions of everyday foods.

Most of the recipes can be prepared and cooked within 30 minutes; others need a short preparation time, and are then popped in the oven and left to cook without fuss. With over fifty dishes to choose from, you can eat well and wisely without denying yourself the foods you love. Simply use the Weekly Meal Plans to get you started and youll never look back.

The links between diet and health are well recognised and theres no doubt that eating a sensible diet can make you look and feel great. Nutritionists constantly talk about the importance of a balanced diet but it isnt always easy to understand exactly what this means. Current guidelines state that we should all eat more starchy foods, more fruit and vegetables and less fat, sugary and salty food, but our busy lifestyles and fast-food culture make it only too easy to neglect our diet.

Reducing your fat intake is probably the most important change you can make to your diet. Extra fruit, vegetables and starchy carbohydrates will help fill the gap, which will not only make your diet healthier but you should also gradually lose weight, should you need to do this.

Fat facts

You do need some fat in a healthy balanced diet! We tend to think that all fat is unhealthy, but some types are needed to keep the body healthy by providing fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 needed for the development and function of the brain, eyes and nervous system. Its not enough simply to know which foods are high in fat and which are low in fat; we also need to understand that there are different kinds of fats and that some of these should be avoided.

The three types of fats are saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated; almost all foods that contain fat have a mixture of all three.

Saturated fats

These are mainly found in foods of animal origin meat and dairy products such as butter and lard (shortening), cream and the fat in meat. Saturated fats are known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and because of their damaging effects on health you should aim to limit them as much as possible. Try to cut down on visible saturated fat sources, such as butter on bread and the fat on meat such as bacon, as well as hidden fats in cakes, biscuits (cookies) and pastries.

Monounsaturated fats

These are found in foods such as olive oil, some nuts, oily fish and avocado pears. Studies have shown that monounsaturated fat reduces the levels of bad low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which helps lower the level of blood cholesterol. Our bodies can make both saturated and monosaturated fatty acids, so we do not have to eat them.

Polyunsaturated fats

These are the ones we need to include in our diet, which is why they are known as essential fatty acids. There are two types: omega-6, which can be found in sunflower, sesame, walnut and wheatgerm oils and seeds; and omega-3, from soya and rapeseed oils, walnuts and oily fish such as salmon. These fats are involved in regulating blood pressure and the immune response.

How much fat?

Fat intake should be no more than 3035 per cent of total calories each day and saturated fat should be less than 10 per cent of your total calorific intake. The current recommendations from the UK Department of Health are an absolute maximum of 71 g of fat for women each day and 93.5 g for men. Ideally the daily total should be much lower as we require only a small amount of fat each day just 25 g to keep us healthy.

Heres how easy it is to eat more than you need:

• butter or margarine on two slices of bread: 16 g fat
• a small bag of crisps (potato chips): 10 g fat
• 3 average-sized pork sausages: 12 g fat
• a small bar of chocolate: 14 g fat

The cholesterol factor

Cholesterol is a waxy substance in your blood that is a major component of every cell wall in your body. Its needed for making many essential hormones and vitamin D. Excessive amounts of cholesterol in the blood can cause cardiovascular disease as cholesterol forms fatty deposits in the arteries, which narrows them and is the most common cause of heart attacks and strokes. For some people, an excess of cholesterol in the blood is a hereditary trait; but for most it is caused by a diet high in both overall fat and especially in saturated fat.

Its relatively easy to cut down on obvious sources of fat such as butter, cream and the visible fat on meats, but you should also watch out for hidden fats in food. We tend to think of cakes and biscuits as sweet foods but usually more calories come from their fat content than from the sugar. At 9 calories per gram (compared to carbohydrates at 4 calories per gram), it is the most calorie-dense nutrient.

Look at labels

Food labels can be confusing and youll see all kinds of claims reduced-fat, lean, light, fat-free and so on. Ingredients are listed in order of quantity, so watch out for those with fat near the top. Food labels are a useful source of information, but dont assume that a product labelled as lower in fat is necessarily a healthy choice it simply means lower in fat than the normal product, which may still make it very high in fat.