Saturated Fat

What's to love about coconut? It's rich and creamy, an addictive staple in Thai, Indian and Caribbean cuisine. Coconut is high in immunity-boosting lauric acid, which is touted (though not proven) to lower cholesterol and rev metabolism. What's not to love? Coconut is high in saturated fat. However, your body digests it more readily than animal fats, so don't shun the coconut. Add lushness to vegetables and whole grains with canned coconut milk. This is no sugary pina colada mix, but a solution of grated, squeezed coconut meat and water.

What's to love about coconut? It's rich and creamy, an addictive staple in Thai, Indian and Caribbean cuisine. Coconut is high in immunity-boosting lauric acid, which is touted (though not proven) to lower cholesterol and rev metabolism. What's not to love? Coconut is high in saturated fat. However, your body digests it more readily than animal fats, so don't shun the coconut. Add lushness to vegetables and whole grains with canned coconut milk. This is no sugary pina colada mix, but a solution of grated, squeezed coconut meat and water.

Want to save a few calories at Thanksgiving? You can save 9 grams of fat, including 7 grams saturated fat, for every 1/4 cup of whipped cream you dole out on that pie - if you've whipped evaporated milk sweetened with powdered sugar and vanilla instead. You'll also cut 75 calories. You can find instructions on how to use evaporated milk as a whipped cream substitute, and how to make it stay "whipped" up to 30 minutes, at verybestbaking.com. Whipped heavy cream (without sugar) Per 1/4 cup: 100 calories 0 grams protein 10 grams fat 8 grams saturated fat 0 grams carbohydrate 0 grams fiber 40 milligrams cholesterol 10 milligrams sodium Whipped topping with evaporated milk, powdered sugar and vanilla Per 1/4 cup: 25 calories 3 grams protein 1 gram fat 1 gram saturated fat 3 grams carbohydrate 0 grams fiber 5 milligrams cholesterol 15 milligrams sodium Nutritional analysis for heavy cream from package, based on doubled volume when whipped, and for evaporated milk recipe from verybestbaking.

Emerald's Cocoa Roast Almonds look a little decadent; we guessed they'd have more calories than the brand's Deluxe Mixed Nuts. We were wrong; the cocoa-dusted almonds had 20 fewer calories per serving, along with 3 fewer grams of fat and less saturated fat and sodium. Kate Shatzkin Emerald Deluxe Mixed Nuts Per serving ( 1/4 cup): 170 calories 5 grams protein 16 grams fat 2 grams saturated fat 6 grams carbohydrate 2 grams fiber 0 milligrams cholesterol 95 milligrams sodium Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds Per serving ( 1/4 cup)

Saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends that you limit your saturated fat intake to 7-10 percent of total calories (or less) each day. Saturated fat is found mostly in foods from animals and some plants. -- American Heart Association

Does creamed spinach count as a vegetable?1 g saturated fat; 212 mg calcium.Although this skinny version has more calories than plain spinach, it also has almost as much calcium as a glass of milk, but without all the fat and saturated fat of whole milk, butter or cream.fTCColleen Pierre, a registered dietitian, is the nutrition consultant at the Union Memorial Sports Medicine Center and Vanderhorst & Associates in Baltimore.Pub Date: 2/11/97

Halloween is an extravaganza of fat for kids. You might want to hand out Sour Patch Kids or Swedish Fish, which would save 2 grams of fat, a gram of saturated fat and 15 milligrams sodium per small bag, compared with a Heath Milk Chocolate English Toffee Bar miniature. Heath Milk Chocolate English Toffee Bar Miniatures (per bar) Calories: 38 Protein: trace Fat: 2 grams Saturated fat: 1 gram Carbohydrate: 5 grams Fiber: 0 grams Cholesterol: 2 milligrams Sodium: 25 milligrams Sour Patch Kids (per mini-bag)

To cut calories on your eggnog, consider taking the "egg" out - and going for the vegan version. Half a cup of Silk Soymilk Natural Nog has fewer than half the calories of Southern Comfort Vanilla Spice Egg Nog, and also saves you 7 grams fat, 5 grams saturated fat and 15 grams carbohydrate. (That's before you add any hooch.) Kate Shatzkin Southern Comfort Vanilla Spice Egg Nog Per serving ( 1/2 cup) 220 calories 5 grams protein 9 grams fat 5 grams saturated fat 30 grams carbohydrate 0 grams fiber 65 milligrams cholesterol 100 milligrams sodium Silk Soymilk Natural Nog Per serving ( 1/2 cup)

Grabbing a sandwich at Starbucks? If you choose the Goat Cheese & Roasted Mushroom sandwich over the Rosemary Ham & Swiss, you'll save 120 calories, 11 grams fat, 5 grams saturated fat and 440 milligrams sodium. You'll also gain a few grams of healthful fiber. Kate Shatzkin Starbucks Rosemary Ham & Swiss sandwich Per sandwich (150 grams): 410 calories 23 grams protein 22 grams fat 9 grams saturated fat 30 grams carbohydrate 1 gram fiber 70 milligrams cholesterol 1,070 milligrams sodium Starbucks Goat Cheese & Roasted Mushroom sandwich Per sandwich (153 grams)

The soup options at Panera Bread can be tricky - some are low in fat but can pack more than half a day's worth of sodium or more in the 12-ounce size. The best choice overall the day we visited seemed to be the creamy tomato (if we left off the included croutons). Compared with the broccoli cheddar, the tomato version saved us 80 calories, 3 grams saturated fat and 100 milligrams sodium. Nutritional data from panerabread.com Kate Shatzkin Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup Per serving (12 ounces)

That tasty-looking "individual" chicken pot pie at Boston Market is 15 ounces and packs 800 calories and 48 grams of fat, including 7 grams of trans fat. The 5-ounce serving of roasted turkey is a more reasonable choice with 180 calories, 3 grams fat and no trans fat. Kate Shatzkin Boston Market Pastry Top Chicken Pot Pie Per serving (15 ounces) 800 calories 32 grams protein 48 grams fat 18 grams saturated fat 7 grams trans fat 59 grams carbohydrate 4 grams fiber 140 milligrams cholesterol 1,090 milligrams sodium Boston Market Roasted Turkey Per serving (5 ounces)

Grabbing a flavored milk for the kids at Wegmans? The "Intense" vanilla milk might look more healthful than the bright pink strawberry milk next to it, but a cup of the vanilla has 80 more calories, 5 more grams of fat and 3 more grams of saturated fat than the strawberry. Kate Shatzkin Intense Strawberry Milk (Lowfat) Per cup: 170 calories 8 grams protein 3 grams fat 2 grams saturated fat 31 grams carbohydrate 0 grams fiber 10 milligrams cholesterol 120 milligrams sodium Intense Vanilla Milk (Original)

Your child is selling a big box of fundraiser candy bars, and you've got to help out, right? At least you can mitigate the fat you consume. If you were to choose the Twizzlers package over the three Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, you would save 14 grams fat and 6 grams saturated fat. (If you are watching your carbs, however, note that the licorice packs nearly twice as many carbohydrate grams as the peanut butter cups.) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Per serving (1.8-ounce package) 260 calories 6 grams protein 15 grams fat 6 grams saturated fat 29 grams carbohydrate 2 grams fiber Trace cholesterol 180 milligrams sodium Twizzlers Strawberry Twists Per serving (2.5-ounce package)

The soup options at Panera Bread can be tricky - some are low in fat but can pack more than half a day's worth of sodium or more in the 12-ounce size. The best choice overall the day we visited seemed to be the creamy tomato (if we left off the included croutons). Compared with the broccoli cheddar, the tomato version saved us 80 calories, 3 grams saturated fat and 100 milligrams sodium. Nutritional data from panerabread.com Kate Shatzkin Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup Per serving (12 ounces)