Calories And Fat

If you're following a healthful, low-fat diet and think pancakes are off-limits, think again. Even seemingly indulgent treats, such as these banana cinnamon pancakes with honey-maple syrup, can be low in fat and high in carbohydrates.One secret to reducing the fat in flapjacks is to cut the amount of oil added to a mere 1 tablespoon. One tablespoon of oil per 1 cup of flour is all that is needed to give the pancakes a tender texture. More oil just adds additional calories and fat. A half-cup of mashed ripe bananas keeps the pancakes moist and gives them their delectable flavor.

Soup can be a simple one-pot meal, an elaborate side dish, even a dessert. Soup for Every Body by Joanna Pruess (Lyons, 2004, $22.95) runs the gamut of possibilities. The contents are divided by type - among them: vegetable, bean and grain, fish and fruit. An index breaks it down further, with categories such as high protein, vegetarian or vegan and "smart fat." Pruess modifies several of the recipes that include meat to make them vegetarian. The Split Green Pea Soup recipe, for example, includes an optional hambone or spicy Spanish sausage, but parsnips keep it flavorful without the meat.

SINCE MOST OF YOU have failed to notice, I thought I would take this opportunity to mention that I have lost 10 pounds.My doctor noticed. During a recent office visit, she expressed her satisfaction and said, "Would you puh-leeze write something about this?"She wants me to write about how I did it. About how it was not easy, but it was simple: Cut calories, watch out for fat and exercise more. She wants me to say that it is a slow and unremarkable process; a pound a week is top speed for weight loss.

Grandma was right, after all. Turning off the television and eating a home-cooked meal may be among the best ways to keep kids from packing on the pounds, according to two recent studies. It's no surprise that children who watch a lot of TV are more likely to be overweight than those who don't. But that may not be because they're glued to the tube instead of playing soccer. A barrage of commercials for junk food is most likely the cause, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit group that studies health-care issues.

Inquiring minds want to know: Is frozen yogurt "healthier" than ice cream?The only clear-cut answer is: Read the label.Both ice cream and frozen yogurt start with milk, either whole, 2% or skim. Adding cream, half and half, or milk solids changes the equation. Then nuts, raisins, coconut, chocolate chunks, fruit bits, and ribbons and swirls of praline sauce do their part.So it's hard to generalize.Fortunately, the Food Facts label on every package is at your service.Take a look at the chart compiled from information that came right off the labels of some national brands of ice cream, frozen yogurt and frozen desserts.

Eleven months out of the year, my friends are the most die-hard healthful-cooking enthusiasts, but during the holidays, they whip up decadent desserts loaded with butter, cream and sugar.No one wants to be a party spoil-sport, but I knew low-fat desserts can be delicious. It just takes the perfect recipe -- one with evocative flavors, rich colors and the right amount of sweetness. So I made a cranberry-pear tart and surreptitiously placed it on the buffet table.When I checked back an hour later, the tart pan was completely clean except for a few loose crumbs.

You've sacrificed mashed potatoes and cookies for the good of your waistline, but now the carb-festooned holiday season is here. Do you keep up the good fight against bad carbs or surrender to the Christmas cookies? If you choose the latter, how do you keep from gaining back all the weight you worked so hard to lose? Many Americans apparently are debating these questions, according to the NPD Group research firm, as reported at CNNMoney.com. The percentage of Americans following low-carb diets dropped to 4.6 percent in September from 9 percent in January, NPD Group reported.

Although winter isn't prized for its fresh vegetables, it is the best time to make friends with some dark green leafy things, like kale and spinach. Not only are they naturally low in calories and fat free, but new research suggests they pack a nutritional punch unrivaled by any other vegetables, summer or winter, that Mother Nature has to offer.Kale is one of the cruciferous (cabbage) family vegetables, long known to confer cancer protection upon frequent users. For just 40 calories, 1 cup of cooked kale provides more than a day's worth of beta carotene, 90 percent of your vitamin C, and about 15 percent of your vitamin E, the now-familiar Big Three antioxidant vitamins.

I don't believe I ate that fourth slice of pepperoni with sausage and now my belt is so tight I'll probably look like the leaning tower of pizza when I get up.Got a case of the try-to-walk blues?Don't give it up. Lighten it up.Pizza can be plentiful in calories and fat, or it can be a healthful part of your meal planning. It's all in how you make it.The following recipes show the way to lighter pizza. And we're not talking about depriving yourself. This is not the "brush crust lightly with 1/8 teaspoon of finely minced anchovy in canola oil" school of pizza making.

Picnic perfectionThere's something about a gorgeous summer day that calls out for a picnic . . . or a warm summer's eve . . . And there are plenty of places to enjoy an al fresco meal -- Oregon Ridge with the Baltimore Symphony playing, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with the Orioles playing . . .The trouble is, well, preparing for a picnic is not a lot of fun. There's all the planning and cooking and packing before you even get to the site.Sutton Place Gourmet at the Festival at Woodholme shopping center has a solution: They'll cook and pack your picnic, and all you have to do is pick it up and head for your chosen spot.