How To Be Really Well, The Low-fat Way. Low-cholesterol Program. Foods Permitted. 1

Soups. Emphasize bouillons and consommes, as they are nutritious, filling, and low in calories and fats. They are ideal for relieving that hungry feeling quickly and picking you up in the process. Soups are great to warm you up instantly in cold weather and, in the jellied form, to cool you off in hot weather. Soups stimulate the digestive juices, start the stomach and intestinal muscles churning and "warmed up" for the job ahead, while "flushing out" the stomach and getting it ready to stoke the digestive furnace. Use fat-free vegetable soups, vegetable broths, and soups prepared with skimmed milk. It is imperative to remove all visible fat and grease from the soup. Here are some good ways to do this:
1. Refrigerate or chill the soup first: then carefully remove the fat and grease that has caked on the top with a knife, spoon, or other suitable utensil.
2. If there is not time for refrigerating or chilling the soup first, use bread slices by direct application to the top layer of the soup, in order to blot up or absorb the grease.
3. Place some lettuce leaves on top of the heated soup. When you see the fat absorbed onto the leaf or leaves, remove them. The lettuce leaf may also impart a slight flavor to the soup, helping to lend a little zest.
4. Blot up the top layer of grease by floating one or more paper towels on the surface of the soup. When it is fat-saturated, discard the towel; it is a greasy reminder of escape from unhealthy calories. Dry soup mixes are quite low in fat and are very enjoyable. Some soup manufacturers prepare canned soups that have about a half-teaspoonful of fat per serving of soup when diluted equally with water. Vegetable and vegetable-beef canned soups, however, are very low in fat content and are thus highly desirable for the low-fat diet.

Meats. Beef, veal, and lamb are naturally high in both visible and "invisible" fat and cholesterol. However, since their protein content is most desirable for energy and palatability, and because of custom, they are basic ingredients in the low-fat diet. Much of the dietary fat allowance is contained in meat, which has its greatest amount of calories predominantly in fat. It must be kept in mind that the butcher will at all times allow a maximum of fat to remain on every cut of meat for reasons of added price and the presumption of "quality." This visible fat must be carefully cut away and trimmed while raw, before cooking. During the cooking, baking, or broiling of the meat, the fat should be drained off by keeping the meat or roast on racks. One ideal way of removing most of the fat content of meat and making it almost fat free is to partially cook it on the day before it is to be eaten. Refrigerate the meat and the broth. On the following day it is now easy to remove the layer of grease that has floated to the top and hardened. Buy and eat lean meats. If you are having ground meat, specify to the butcher that it is to be made from trimmed, lean meat. Bear in mind that the highest fat content is present in the prime and choice grades of beef, lamb, and veal (which are more expensive too), since they originate from fattened animals. Less fat and good quality is contained in meats that bear the stamp "U.S. Good." Do not fry meats. Pan-cook or brown without fat or grease, if desired, by using a dry skillet; heat and salt it first before the meat is placed in it, while turning the meat repeatedly. After it is as brown as desired, cook slowly until well done or rare, whichever you wish.

A preparation called "Pantastic" (manufactured by G. N. Coughlan Company, West Orange, New Jersey) is one method of cooking with pans and reducing fat to a minimum. It prevents meats and other foods from sticking to the pan so that grease and fat-free cooking is possible. Remember that among meats pork, bacon, and ham are highest in fat and cholesterol content. They should not be eaten on the low-fat diet other than occasionally, if permitted by your doctor or by the virtual absence of other fat-containing foods in your menus for the day. The same is generally true of sausages, and organ foods like brains, sweatbreads, and kidneys. Liver is an exception, however, as we will see later. If gravy is desired for the flavoring of meats, it must be prepared free of its usual very high fat content. The regular brown drippings found at the bottom of the pan after meat is cooked must have the meat juices separated from the exceptionally high melted fats. Separate the fat in this gravy by chilling or refrigeration. Remove the thick layer of caked grease as described above by spoon and by blotting with bread or absorbent paper. Fat-free gravies can also be made by consulting various low-fat cookbooks. Instead of gravies, meats can be flavored and made to look appetizing by the following garnishes: watercress, parsley, celery, carrots, radishes, pimento, pickles, paprika, green peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms, and onions in various shapes and combinations. Also helpful are spiced peaches, pears, prunes, apricots, cinnamon apples, spiced watermelon rind, applesauce, cinnamon pears, pineapple pieces, broiled bananas, seasoned tomatoes, herbs, and the various relishes such as mint jellies and sauces, chili, catsup, cranberry jellies, chutney, and many others. Also appealing are some of the following seasonings: garlic cloves, thyme, marjoram, basil, oregano, bay, and peppermint.

Fish. As a rule, fish are often excellent low-fat food sources. Unlike meats, very little fats will be cooked out of the fish, so attempting to drain off fish fats in cooking is unnecessary. Some fish are especially low in fat, such as perch, haddock, flounder, sturgeon, smelts, scallops. Others like brook trout, porgy, cod, and croakers are somewhat higher in fat content, but are still quite low in fat content when compared with meats. Shell-fish are outstandingly low in fat and cholesterol content. Lobster, shrimps, and crabs are ideal examples. Clams are next in line; oysters are a bit higher in fat content, but are still low in comparison with beef, lamb, or veal. For the connoisseurs, frogs-legs are also low in fat content. Tuna is now packed in dietetic form called "Chicken-of-the-Sea Brand" and is particularly low in fat. Many canned fish when not packed in oil are very low in fat.

Poultry. Chicken and turkey are excellent sources of animal proteins for low-fat, low-cholesterol content, provided lean poultry is used. The dark meat of poultry is higher in fat content than white meat. Skin should be discarded. Giblets are very high in fat content. Guinea hen and squab are also comparatively low in fat content. However, duck and goose are extremely high in fat and should not be included unless the fat is drained off and removed by the methods recommended in the section under meats. As a matter of fact, the fat from chicken and turkey, even though much less quantitatively than that in meat, is best drained off and removed in the same manner as in the preparation and cooking of all meats.