Low Fat Foods

 

Although most kids get too much fat in their diets, there is one age group of kids for which you shouldn't limit fat intake -- infants and toddlers under age two years. These children are still growing and need more fat in their diet than older kids. That doesn't mean that you have to go out of your way to give your 18 month old French fries or have to avoid naturally low-fat foods, including most fruits and vegetables, but they shouldn't drink low-fat milk, eat commercially made fat-free foods, or be put on a low fat diet.
As you learn to avoid high-fat foods for all other children, it is just as important to learn to choose low-fat foods as part of your family's healthy diet. 

 

It is often easy to choose low-fat foods, many clues are on the food label when a food is low, including nutrition claims that the food is:

• fat free (less than 0.5g of fat per serving)
• low fat (less than 3g of fat per serving)
• lean (less than 10g of fat per serving and 4.5g of saturated fat)
• extra lean (less than 5g of fat per serving and 2g of saturated fat)

Nutrition claims that are less helpful when choosing low-fat foods include the terms reduced, less, and light, since they only mean that the food has fewer calories or grams of fat than the regular version of the food.
For example, consider these chips:

• DORITOS Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips = 8g of fat and 140 calories per serving
• DORITOS Reduced Fat Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips = 5g of fat and 120 calories per
• DORITOS Light Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips = 2g of fat and 100 calories per serving

If you thought that the reduced fat chips were low fat, you would have been mistaken. They are not a bad choice, since they are not high in fat, but you can find "potato chips" with even less fat. These include BAKED! LAY'S Original Potato Crisps, with only 1.5g of fat, and TOSTITOS Light Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips, which as only 1g of fat per serving.

 

 

Low-Fat Foods

Unfortunately, just because something is low in fat doesn't meant that it is low in calories. So while you want to avoid high-fat foods, you also want to avoid foods that are high in sugar and calories. For example, most of the foods that rank at the top of the list for being low in fat in the United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference include candy, soda, and fruit drinks.
Healthy low-fat foods, in addition to those that are labeled low fat or fat free, include:

• Lettuce
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Strawberries
• Spinach 

• Egg whites
• Baked potatoes
• Grapes
• Angel food cake^*
• Oatmeal cookies^*
• Breakfast cereals (most brands)
• Watermelon
• Air-popped popcorn (without added butter)^*
• Light tuna fish (canned in water)
• Grean peas
• Wheat bread
• Pancakes
• Beans
• Rice
• Pretzels^*
• Vegetable soup
• Chicken soup with rice
• Milk - 1% reduced fat and skim milk

In addition to the fruits and vegetables listed above, keep in mind that most raw fruits and vegetables, except for avocados and olives, are naturally low in fat.
What's missing from the list of low-fat foods? Hot dogs, cheese burgers, French fries, milk shakes, chicken nuggets, tacos, and many other high-fat kid's favorites.

 

 

Hidden Fats

Many low-fat foods become high fat foods when parents unknowingly add high fat or hidden fat ingredients to them, including:

• oils, which are 100% fat and should only be used in limited amounts, with an emphasis on monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils
• butter and margarine
• cheese
• mayonnaise (1 tablespoon = 10g of fat and 90 calories)
• ranch dressing (2 tablespoons = 15g of fat and 140 calories)
• nuts

Other foods made with hydrogenated vegetable oils, palm kernel oil, or coconut oil, are likely also high in fat.
^*These are a few examples of low-fat snacks and most should be eaten in moderation only.

 

 

Dairy Products

Higher Fat Foods	Lower Fat Alternative
Evaporated whole milk	Evaporated fat-free (skim) or reduced-fat (2%) milk
Whole milk	Low-fat (1%), reduced-fat (2%), or fat-free (skim) milk
Ice cream	Sorbet, sherbet, low-fat or fat-free frozen yogurt, or ice cream
Whipping cream	Imitation whipped cream (made with fat-free [skim] milk)
Sour cream	Plain low-fat yogurt
Cream cheese	Neufchatel or "light" cream cheese or fat-free cream cheese
Cheese (cheddar, Swiss, jack)	Reduced-calorie cheese, low-calorie processed cheeses, etc. Fat-free cheese
American cheese	Fat-free American cheese or other types of fat-free cheeses
Regular (4%) cottage cheese	Low-fat (1%) or reduced-fat (2%) cottage cheese
Whole milk mozzarella cheese	Part-skim milk, low-moisture mozzarella cheese
Whole milk ricotta cheese	Part-skim milk ricotta cheese
Coffee cream (½ and ½) or nondairy creamer (liquid, powder)	Low-fat (1%) or reduced-fat (2%) milk or fat-free dry milk powder

 

 

Cereals, Grains, and Pastas

Higher Fat Foods	Lower Fat Alternative
Ramen noodles	Rice or noodles (spaghetti, macaroni, etc.)
Pasta with white sauce (alfredo)	Pasta with red sauce (marinara)
Pasta with cheese sauce	Pasta with vegetables (primavera)
Granola	Bran flakes, crispy rice, etc. Cooked grits or oatmeal Reduced-fat granola

 

 

Meat, Fish, and Poultry

Higher Fat Foods	Lower Fat Alternative
Coldcuts or lunch meats (bologna, salami, liverwurst, etc.)	Low-fat coldcuts (95 to 97% fat-free lunch meats, low-fat pressed meats)
Hot dogs (regular)	Lower fat hot dogs
Bacon or sausage	Canadian bacon or lean ham
Regular ground beef	Extra-lean ground beef such as ground round or ground turkey (read labels)
Chicken or turkey with skin, duck, or goose	Chicken or turkey without skin (white meat)
Oil-packed tuna	Water-packed tuna (rinse to reduce sodium content)
Beef (chuck, rib, brisket)	Beef (round, loin) (trimmed of external fat) (choose select grades)
Pork (spareribs, untrimmed loin)	Pork tenderloin or trimmed, lean smoked ham
Frozen breaded fish or fried fish (homemade or commercial)	Fish or shellfish, unbreaded (fresh, frozen, canned in water)
Whole eggs	Egg whites or egg substitutes
Frozen TV dinners containing more than 13 grams of fat per serving	Frozen TV dinners containing less than 13 grams of fat per serving and lower in sodium
Chorizo sausage	Turkey sausage, drained well (read label) Vegetarian sausage (made with tofu)

 

 

Baked Goods

Higher Fat Foods	Lower Fat Alternative
Croissants, brioches, etc.	Hard french rolls or soft brown ’n serve rolls
Donuts, sweet rolls, muffins, scones, or pastries	English muffins, bagels, reduced-fat or fat-free muffins or scones (choose lowest calorie variety)
Party crackers	Low-fat crackers (choose lowest in sodium) Saltine or soda crackers (choose lowest in sodium)
Cake (pound, chocolate, yellow)	Cake (angel food, white, gingerbread)
Cookies	Reduced-fat or fat-free cookies (graham crackers, ginger snaps, fig bars) (choose lowest calorie variety)

Snacks and Sweets

Higher Fat Foods	Lower Fat Alternative
Nuts	Popcorn (air-popped or light microwave), fruits, vegetables
Ice cream, e.g., cones or bars	Frozen yogurt, frozen fruit or chocolate pudding bars
Custards or puddings (made with whole milk)	Puddings (made with skim milk)

 

 

Fats, Oils, and Salad Dressings

Higher Fat Foods	Lower Fat Alternative
Regular margarine or butter	Light spread margarines, diet margarine, or whipped butter, tub or squeeze bottle
Regular mayonnaise	Light or diet mayonnaise or mustard
Regular salad dressings	Reduced-calorie or fat-free salad dressings, lemon juice, or plain, herb flavored, or wine vinegar
Butter or margarine on toast or bread	Jelly, jam, or honey on bread or toast
Oils, shortening, or lard	Nonstick cooking spray for stir-frying or sautéing As a substitute for oil or butter, use applesauce or prune puree in baked goods

Miscellaneous

Higher Fat Foods	Lower Fat Alternative
Canned cream soups	Canned broth-based soups
Canned beans and franks	Canned baked beans in tomato sauce
Gravy (homemade with fat and/or milk)	Gravy mixes made with water or homemade with the fat skimmed off and fat-free milk
Fudge sauce	Chocolate syrup
Avocado on sandwiches	Cucumber slices or lettuce leaves
Guacamole dip or refried beans with lard	Salsa