Replacing fat foods? - diet tips for professional dancers - Brief Article

Dance Magazine, Feb, 1998 by Marian Horosko

Classes and seminars for dancers that stress the importance of nutrition to achieve high energy have become part of the educational program in many schools and studios as well as at conventions. Teachers and administrators now watch for the physical and psychological symptoms of eating abuse and are aware of the nutritional needs of young bodies and the importance of maintaining a flab- and fat-free body through correct technical training and changes in diet.

Body size, body composition, age, diet history, weight history, physical activity, behavior, lifestyle, and metabolism play a role in the state of health.

Nutritional advice is complex and differs in each age group or individual. But experts generally agree upon a diet that is low in fat and features a variety of foods is beneficial to every age group, whatever the expenditure of energy.

While everyone should read nutritional labels on food products, these can be misleading and the number of choices at the market can be overwhelming.

Paula H. Mendelsohn, M.P.H., who lectures in Boca Raton, Florida, tests and grades her young students on nutrition. Her list of fat-replacements helps demystify supermarket shopping.

Replace: butter, stick margarine, soft margarine, squeeze margarine

With: Light spread in a tub of any 3050 calorie "diet" margarine (1 tsp=1 serving), Blue Bonnet spread, diet Mazola, Kraft Touch of Butter spread, Promise Light, Weight Watchers Margarine, new Ultra Promise Fat Free, Fleishmann's squeeze or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray.

Replace french fries, hash browns, home fries

With: baked, steamed, or boiled potatoes with skins.

Replace: shortening, lard, oil (to cook)

With: Puritan canola oil, olive oil (1 tbsp = 1 serving in a mixed dish or 1 tsp. for salad or topping) Try a spray bottle.

Replace: mayonnaise, salad dressings, Miracle Whip, Hellmann's Bright Day

With: new fat-free Kraft Free, or Weight Watchers Fat Free, Kraft Light, Light `n' Lively, Miracle Whip Light, or Hellmann's Light Mayonnaise.

Replace: cream, half `n' half, whole milk, 2 percent fat milk, 1 per cent fat milk, coffee creamer/whitener, evaporated milk

With: skim milk, skim buttermilk, nonfat dry milk, evaporated skim milk, nonfat lactose-reduced milk, fat-free soy milk.

Replace ice cream, ice milk, sorbet, Tofutti, diet ice-cream bars, frozen yogurt, Weight Watchers ice-cream sandwiches, coated pops, Edy's sugar-free

With: milk shake of 1 cup skim milk, 4 or 5 ice cubes, and sugar-free cocoa mix, instant coffee, fresh strawberries, or 1/2 banana and 1 drop vanilla extract; Weight Watchers frozen pops (on stick), sugar-free Popsicle, new Guilt-free Edy's (fat- and sugar-free), Freshens, TCBY, or fat-free frozen yogurts, new Dannon Lite frozen yogurt (not all fat-free yogurts are also sugar free).

Replace: sour cream, King sour, Sour Treat

With: Friendship or Light `n' Lively new nonfat sour cream.

Replace: cream cheese, Neufschatel

With: light cream cheese (tub, not block), Alpine Lace, Free `n' Lean Fat- Free cream cheese, Philly Free, Friendship Free, Healthy Choice (tastes best).

Replace: store-bought, non-frozen yogurt cartons or cups

With: plain yogurt (Dannon nonfat), Weight Watchers, Yoplait 90, Light `n' Lively 100 or Dannon Light 100 (with extra calcium).

Replace: American cheese or processed "cheese food"

With: Alpine Lace, Free `n' Lean, fat-free American, cheddar and Swiss slices (Kraft Free, Bordon's Free).

Replace: hard cheese (Swiss, cheddar, Muenster, Monterey Jack)

With: low-moisture, part skim mozzarella, Jarlsberg, Lorraine Swiss, Weight Watchers Natural Cheddar, fat-free Healthy Choice cheeses, stick, brick, or shredded, Alpine Lace, Free `n' Lean mozzarella, cheddar, and Polly-O, Fat-free mozzarella (0 gram fat cheese) or any fat-free cheese.

Replace: Cream soups

With: regular soup and add skim milk, Pritkin or Health Valley fat-free soups.

Replace: oil-packed tuna, sardines

With: water-packed tuna, sardines, and salmon.

Replace: Ricotta (whole milk)

With: new Polly-O ricotta (skim).

Replace: peanut butter (regular)

With: natural or old-fashioned style peanut better (non-hydrogenated), with oil removed.

Replace: most frozen dinners

With: Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers Right Course, Armour Classic Lights, Benni Hanna Lites, Healthy Choice. Must be at or under 300 calories, under 600 mg sodium, and under 6 gm fat.

Replace: regular (4 percent fat) cottage cheese

With: new fat-free Breakstone's, Light `n' Lively, Friendship, 1 percent cottage Cheese, pot cheese, farmer cheese.

Replace: Chips (Nachos, Doritos, cheese curls, Fritos) microwaveable bag popcorn, movie popcorn (coconut oil)

With: plain popcorn (air-popped only in popper accessory without oil) Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips, fat-free whole wheat or oat bran pretzels, fat-free potato chips.

Replace: crackers (Wheat Thins, Ritz, Triscuits, Goldfish, Better Cheddar, saltines (even if "low salt").

With: New Premium Fat-free, Ry-Krisp, whole wheat matzos, rice cakes, Wasa, Kavli, Ideal flat breads, new Snackwells fat-free crackers.