FOOD FOR THOUGHT
It isn't hard to make a summer feast healthier

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Here's news to use as you plan your Fourth of July barbecue. Nutricise Weight Loss Program, a company that employs dietitians and fitness specialists to serve as coach-counselors for clients (www.nutricise.com), made a comparison of a typical barbecue menu and an almost identical menu made with fat-free, low-fat or other alternative products.

The bottom line is eye-popping: By altering recipes slightly, or substituting a few more healthful choices, you could save nearly 2,000 calories and more than 130 grams of fat. From one meal! And you get to eat pretty much the same thing.

It's a strong argument for an approach many nutritionists and weight-loss specialists favor: not giving up the foods you love, but seeing how they can be included in your diet at less cost to your health but without a loss of flavor or enjoyment.

Here's the menu and how they altered it, so you can see how this can be managed even for a rather indulgent meal:

• Barbecued spare ribs (2 medium): Trim off visible fat. Savings: 135 calories, 14 grams fat.
• Grilled hamburger and bun: Substitute Gardenburger. Savings: 235 calories, 28 grams fat.
• Hot dog with bun: Substitute Healthy Choice Beef Hot Dog. Savings: 123 calories, 15 grams fat. (And you could probably get more savings — certainly in cholesterol — if you substituted one of the excellent soy hot dogs available now.)
• Traditional potato salad (1 cup): Use low-fat mayonnaise and mustard. Savings: 225 calories, 18 grams fat.
• Traditional macaroni salad (1 cup): Make a pasta salad with tomato-basil vinaigrette instead. Savings: 120 calories, 6 grams fat.
• Traditional coleslaw (1 cup): Serve grilled mixed vegetables and corn on the cob instead. Savings: 70 calories, 14 grams fat.
• Potato chips (1 ounce — and who eats just 1 ounce?): Substitute baked potato chips. Savings: 40 calories, 8 grams fat.
• Cherry pie (1 medium slice): Serve a summer fruit salad instead (2 cups per person). Savings: 366 calories, 22 grams fat.
• Fruit punch (1 12-ounce glass): Substitute Crystal Light. Savings 180 calories, 0 fat grams.
• Pina colada: Substitute light beer. Savings: 400 calories, 6 grams fat.

The totals: Traditional meal — 3,354 calories, 156 grams fat. Healthier feast — 1460 calories, 25 grams fat.