To assure an adequate diet, choose a variety of foods daily including selections of vegetables; fruits; whole-grain breads and cereals; low-fat dairy products; poultry, fish, and lean meat, dry beans and peas. Here are some tips for following the Choose More Often approach in three important areas: grocery shopping, food preparation, and eating out.


Grocery Shopping

Focus on variety. Choose a wide selection of low-fat foods rich in fiber. Include whole grain breads and cereals, vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy products, and poultry, fish, and lean meat. Although the goal is to reduce fat to 30 percent or less of calories, when choosing foods that do contain fat, try to choose ones that contain primarily unsaturated fats. For example, choose an unsaturated-rich margarine instead of butter; choose vegetable oils.

Read food labels. To help you find foods that are low in fat and cholesterol and high in fiber, get into the label-reading habit. Many nutritional labels on packaged foods show the amount of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids and the amount of cholesterol and fiber they contain. Check the type of fat on the ingredients list. Is it an animal fat, coconut or palm kernel oil high in saturated fat? Or, is it corn or soybean oil high in polyunsaturated fat? Choose a product with the lowest proportion of saturated fat. The label also tells you something else about a product. Ingredients are listed in order of amount from most to least by weight. So, when you buy a breakfast cereal, for example, choose one that has a whole grain listed first (such as whole wheat or oatmeal).

Pay attention to sodium. Many processed, canned, and frozen foods are high in sodium. Cured or processed meats, cheeses, and condiments (soy sauce, mustard, tartar sauce) are also high in sodium. Check for salt, onion or garlic salt, and any ingredient with "sodium" on the label. If the sodium content is given on the nutritional label, compare products and choose the ones with lower levels.


Food Preparation

Use small amounts of fat and fatty foods. There are lots of ways to use less fat. For example, when you saute or stir-fry, use only 1/2 teaspoon of fat per serving. When you use margarine, mayonnaise, or salad dressing, use half as much as usual. And, decrease portion sizes of other high fat foods--rich desserts, untrimmed and fatty types of meat, poultry with skin, and fried foods, especially breaded foods.

Use less saturated fat. While reducing your total fat intake, substitute unsaturated fat and oils for saturated fat in food preparation. For example, instead of butter, use margarine or vegetable oil. One teaspoon of butter can be replaced with equal portions (or less) of margarine or 3/4 teaspoon of vegetable oil in many recipes without affecting the quality. Saturated fat may be reduced even more if you want to experiment with recipes. Poultry without skin and fish are good choices because they are often lower in fat and saturated fat than many meats.

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