We live in a fast-moving world. To reduce the time you spend in the kitchen you can improve your organization by using a shopping list and keeping a well-stocked kitchen. Shop for quick, low-fat food items, and fill your kitchen cupboards with a supply of low-calorie basics.

Read labels as you shop. Pay attention to the serving size and the servings per container. All labels list total calories in a serving size of the product. Compare the total calories in the product you choose with others like it; choose the one that is lowest in calories. Below is a label that identifies important information.

Fat-Free Versus Regular Calorie Comparison

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie whether it comes from fat or carbohydrate. Anything eaten in excess can lead to weight gain. You can lose weight by eating less calories and by increasing your physical activity. Reducing the amount of fat and saturated fat that you eat is one easy way to limit your overall calorie intake. However, eating fat-free or reduced-fat foods isn't always the answer to weight loss. This is especially true when you eat more of the reduced fat food than you would of the regular item. For example, if you eat twice as many fat-free cookies you have actually increased your overall calorie intake. The following list of foods and their reduced fat varieties will show you that just because a product is fat-free, it doesn't mean that it is "calorie-free." And, calories do count!

Fat-Free or Reduced-Fat

Regular

Calories   Calories Reduced-fat peanut butter, 2 T 187 Regular peanut butter, 2 T 191 Reduced fat chocolate chip cookies, 3 cookies (30 g) 118 Regular chocolate chip cookies, 3 cookies (30 g) 142 Fat free fig cookies, 2 cookies (30 g) 102 Regular fig cookies, 2 cookies (30 g) 111 Nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt (<1% fat) 1/2 cup 100 Regular whole milk vanilla frozen yogurt (3-4% fat) 1/2 cup 104 Light vanilla ice cream, (7%) fat, 1/2 cup 111 Regular vanilla ice cream, (11%) fat, 1/2 cup 133 Fat free caramel Topping, 2 T 103 Caramel topping, homemade with butter, 2 T 103 Lowfat granola cereal, approx. 1/2 cup (55 g) 213 Regular granola cereal, approx. 1/2 cup (55 g) 257 Lowfat blueberry muffin, 1 small (2 1/2 inch) 131 Regular blueberry muffin, 1 small (2 1/2 inch) 138 Baked tortilla chips, 1 oz. 113 Regular tortilla chips, 1 oz. 143 Lowfat cereal bar, 1 bar (1.3 oz.) 130 Regular cereal bar, 1 bar (1.3 oz.) 140

Nutrient data taken from Nutrient Data System for Research, Version v4.02/30, Nutrition Coordinating Center, University of Minnesota.

Low-Calorie, Lower-Fat Alternative Foods

These low-calorie alternatives provide new ideas for old favorites. When making a food choice, remember to consider vitamins and minerals. Some foods provide most of their calories from sugar and fat but give you few, if any, vitamins and minerals.

This guide is not meant to be an exhaustive list. We stress reading labels to find out just how many calories are in the specific products you decide to buy.

Higher-Fat Foods

Lower-Fat Foods

Dairy Products               Evaporated whole milk Evaporated fat-free (skim) or reduced-fat (2%) milk Whole milk Low-fat (1%), reduced-fat (2%), or fat-free (skim) milk Ice cream Sorbet, sherbet, low fat or fat-free frozen yogurt, or ice Whipping cream Imitation whipped cream (made with fat-free [skim] milk) Sour cream Plain low-fat yogurt Cream cheese Neufchatel or "light" cream cheese or fat-free cream cheese Cheese (cheddar, Swiss, jack) Reduced-calorie cheese, low-calorie processed cheeses, etc.     Fat-free cheese American cheese Fat-free American cheese or other types of fat-free cheeses Regular (4%) cottage cheese Low-fat (1%) or reduced-fat (2%) cottage cheese Whole milk mozzarella cheese Part-skim milk, low-moisture mozzarella cheese Whole milk ricotta cheese Part-skim milk ricotta cheese Coffee cream (1/2 and 1/2) or nondairy creamer (liquid, powder) Low-fat (1%) or reduced-fat (2%) milk or non-fat dry milk powder         Cereals, Grains, and Pastas         Ramen noodles Rice or noodles (spaghetti, macaroni, etc.) Pasta with white sauce (alfredo) Pasta with red sauce (marinara) Pasta with cheese sauce Pasta with vegetables (primavera) Granola Bran flakes, crispy rice, etc.     Cooked grits or oatmeal     Reduced-fat granola         Meat, Fish and Poultry         Coldcuts or lunch meats (bologna, salami, liverwurst, etc.) Low-fat coldcuts (95 to 97% fat-free lunch meats, low-fat pressed meats) Hot dogs (regular) Lower-fat hot dogs Bacon or sausage Canadian bacon or lean ham Regular ground beef Extra lean ground beef such as ground round or ground turkey (read labels) Chicken or turkey with skin, duck, or goose Chicken or turkey without skin (white meat) Oil-packed tuna Water-packed tuna (rinse to reduce sodium content) Beef (chuck, rib, brisket) Beef (round, loin) (trimmed of external fat) (choose select Pork (spareribs, untrimmed loin) Pork tenderloin or trimmed, lean smoked ham Frozen breaded fish or fried fish (homemade or commercial) Fish or shellfish, unbreaded (fresh, frozen, canned in water) Whole eggs Egg whites or egg substitutes Frozen TV dinners (containing more than 13 grams of fat per serving) Frozen TV dinners (containing less than 13 grams of fat per serving and lower in sodium) Chorizo sausage Turkey sausage, drained well (read label)     Vegetarian sausage (made with tofu)         Baked Goods         Croissants, brioches, etc. Hard french rolls or soft brown ¡¯n serve rolls Donuts, sweet rolls, muffins, scones, or pastries English muffins, bagels, reduced-fat or fat-free muffins or scones Party crackers Low-fat crackers (choose lower in sodium)     Saltine or soda crackers (choose lower in sodium) Cake (pound, chocolate, yellow) Cake (angel food, white, gingerbread) Cookies Reduced-fat or fat-free cookies (graham crackers,       ginger snaps, fig bars) (compare calorie level)         Snacks and Sweets         Nuts Popcorn (air-popped or light microwave), fruits, vegetables Ice cream, e.g., cones or bars Frozen yogurt, frozen fruit or chocolate pudding bars Custards or puddings (made with whole milk) Puddings (made with skim milk)         Fats, Oils, and Salad Dressings         Regular margarine or butter Light spread margarines, diet margarine, or whipped butter, tub or squeeze bottle Regular mayonnaise Light or diet mayonnaise or mustard Regular salad dressings Reduced-calorie or fat-free salad dressings, lemon juice, or plain, herb flavored, or wine vinegar Butter or margarine on toast or bread Jelly, jam, or honey on bread or toast Oils, shortening, or lard Nonstick cooking spray for stir-frying or saut¨¦ing     As a substitute for oil or butter, use applesauce or prune puree in baked goods         Miscellaneous         Canned cream soups Canned broth-based soups Canned beans and franks Canned baked beans in tomato sauce Gravy (homemade with fat and/or milk) Gravy mixes made with water or homemade with the fat skimmed off and fat-free milk Fudge sauce Chocolate syrup Avocado on sandwiches Cucumber slices or lettuce leaves Guacamole dip or refried beans with lard Salsa

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