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27 March 2008

Ideas for fat-free eating? Some lovely ideas in the balsamic thread below - and they got me thinking.[More:] I've been having attacks of biliary colic (urgh) and will probably be listed soon for gallbladder removal (hurrah!). In the meantime, cutting out nearly all fat from my diet prevents the horrible symptoms, but my diet is getting very boring (bread with concentrated fruit spread, lean chicken etc, is getting a bit old).

So ideas please for food with as little fat in as possible (even nice fat like olive oil seems to trigger attacks, though I'm going to try small quantities). Bonus if it's cheap and easy to prepare, and can sustain me until the NHS can treat me (possibly as long as 18-20 weeks) though a little/lot of weight loss wouldn't do me any harm.
I make white bean dip (which I prefer over hummus) about once a week: cooked cannellini beans (or drained canned beans), garlic, plenty of lemon juice and a bit of zest, a bit of oregano, chili powder, maybe some rosemary or sage. I do usually use a little glug of olive oil, but have made it very successfully with a spoonful of water or with a small shot of the cooking liquid intead of oil.

It's great for snacking, with crackers or vegetables, but you can make a nice meal of it, too: a scoop of warmed white bean puree is very tasty on a bed of raw spinach and drizzled with balsamic vinegar (come to think of it), or in a sandwich with grated carrots and cucumbers. It's both cheap and easy to prepare (if you have either a food processor or a good blender).

Beans (like many foods) do have a small fat content, so it's not totally fat-free, but at least there's no added fat.
posted by Elsa 27 March | 14:02
oooh I make pretty much exactly what Elsa's talking about, but as a soup. never thought about taking out the stock and making a dip. I will do that this weekend. Yummers!
posted by gaspode 27 March | 14:07
Actually, gaspode, I make it a soup like that, too, but usually with lots of onions (you could just sweat them in water instead of sauteing in oil) and a shot of sherry or white wine, a couple of potatoes smashed up to thicken it, and then lots of blanched greens (spinach, kale, beet greens) stirred in at the last. It's good with fat-free milk stirred in, too. And maybe an extra can of teeny-tiny white beans added for texture. And some nutmeg. And paprika. And...

Like that.
posted by Elsa 27 March | 14:17
oh wow, that sounds good Elsa! mmmmm
posted by altolinguistic 27 March | 14:21
Here's a slightly more detailed outline of that white bean soup. In the same comment is a black bean soup. The same thing applies: sweat the onions & garlic in water instead of fat, and you have a filling, flavorful soup with no added fat.

Earlier in that thread, Mayor Curley outlines a great-sounding pea soup, too.

Man, am I hungry.
posted by Elsa 27 March | 14:34
I'm sure there a millions of more inventive fat-free recipes. Here is what I can think of:


On the bean theme: Heated fat free refried beans in a fat free tortilla, topped with salsa and lettuce. You could even slow cook some chicken breasts in some salsa and green chilis. Shred the chicken and add to your tortilla.

Egg white omelets with mushrooms and sauteed veggies. I guess you can saute in a nonstick pan.

Toss veggies, like asparagus or brussels sprouts, portobello mushrooms, sliced potatoes, peppers with a squeeze of lemon, or balsamic vinegar, sea salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven. Watch closely. I've never done it without oil, but I'm thinking it might work.

Pasta with crushed tomatoes with a pinch of red pepper flakes and garlic. You probably already eat this. I love to add red kidney beans to my spaghetti. It reminds me of chili three ways, but without the fatty chili.

I make this turkey chili all the time. I use the ground turkey breast, there is virtually no fat. I don't mash my kidney beans. I think you can brown the turkey in a nonstick pot or add some tomatoes and stir constantly so it won't stick.

White or brown rice with veggies galore -- mix in cooked broccoli, peppers, sugarsnap peas, mushrooms, etc. Add herbs, a squeeze of lemon, or some balsamic or soy sauce, and spices you like. Add some shrimp or chicken breast. Even pecans. The pecans might be too much.

Oatmeal on the stove with brown sugar and raisins.

Brussels sprouts cooked with chopped apples, vinegar, even some sauerkraut, salt, pepper.

Boiled shrimp (prawns) with cocktail sauce.

Boiled shrimp in anything!
posted by LoriFLA 27 March | 16:25
I did the "eat more weigh less" diet years ago, which is a very low fat diet. I found it pretty easy. But then, I could practically live on raisin bran and skim milk and similar fare. Note that I do not recommend this diet for people just trying to lose weight. I'm not convinced that super-low-fat diets are good for you.
posted by DarkForest 27 March | 16:36
What I meant to say was that you can find lots of low/no fat recipes in the "eat more weigh less" book. You can probably find a used copy for cheap.
posted by DarkForest 27 March | 18:41
NZ man claims wombat rape made him speak Australian. || This makes me sad...

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