Fat occurs naturally in meat and most dairy products, while sugar and salt are natural components of many foods -- even fruits and vegetables -- in trace amounts. This makes it difficult if not impossible to find foods that are wholly free of all traces of fat, sugar and salt. However, flavorful, satisfying foods with no or very low fats and no added sugars and salt can be found in abundance.
Fruits and Vegetables
Most fresh raw fruits and vegetables naturally have no fat, contain only low amounts of naturally-occurring sugars and minimal traces of salt. Cooking fresh fruits and vegetables by steaming, boiling, or baking with no added fats or oils, does not change the fat, sugar or salt content of these nutritious, high-fiber foods. Plain frozen fruits or vegetables, or those canned without salt, are also acceptable components of a low fat, salt and sugar diet, according to the Ohio State University Medical Center. Fruits and vegetables need not be limited to boring carrot and celery sticks. Snack on melon, starfruit and ugly fruit or make a fruit salad drizzled with a reduction of pure fruit juice with vanilla and mint, or use slices of zucchini as 'chips' to scoop up a tomato and hot pepper salsa. Chilled fresh fruit soups or all-vegetable gazpacho with no added salt are also fat, salt and sugar free, other than naturally occurring amounts.
Beans
Nearly 80 percent of the average American's salt intake originates from processed foods, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, and added sugar is found in even the most healthy-sounding processed products such canned beans. Dried beans, peas and lentils, cooked at home with no added salt or fats, have no fat, sugar or salt but for naturally occurring trace quantities. By substituting home-cooked beans for processed foods and fatty meats, you can create nutritious, healthful and satisfying meals.
Cook up a fat-, salt- and sugar-free version of a traditional bean pot by adding chopped celery, carrots, onions and tomatoes along with herbs such as savory and thyme when the beans are mostly through cooking. Make a fat- and salt-free soup stock by saving vegetable trimmings in a bag in the freezer until you have about 2 gallons, then chop them and simmer them several hours in water. Strain the water off to another pot and add fresh vegetables and cooked beans to it along with herbs to taste for a flavorful soup without any of the salt found in supermarket canned soups.
Whole Grains
Whole grains -- oats, barley, brown rice, quinoa, millet and bulghur wheat -- have no fat, sugar or salt if you cook them at home from the whole, dry grains rather than purchasing processed baked goods and cereals. Cook up a porridge mix of whole grains along with dried, no-sugar-added fruits like cherries, blueberries and apple. Try creative spices such as cardamom, ginger and mace, suggests Consumer's Reports, as these flavors add sweetness and taste interest without added fat, salt or sugar.
Prepared baked goods will inevitably contain all three unwanted ingredients -- unless you prepare them yourself. Home-baked whole grain bread requires well less than 1 tsp. each of sugar and salt for a two-loaf recipe -- significantly less than found in purchased commercial or bakery products. Applesauce or frozen pure fruit juice concentrate can substitute for the fat and sugar in many cookie or brownie recipes.
Non-Fat Dairy Products
Dairy products inherently include lactose, a naturally occurring milk sugar, and may also contain traces of salt. However, an increasing array of fat-free dairy products with no added salt or sugar is available. Look for skim milk, fat-free sugar-free yoghurt, fat-free sour cream, fat-free ricotta and cottage cheeses, and powdered skim milk, advises the Ohio State University Medical Center.
Put fat-free plain yoghurt in a piece of cheese cloth and let it drain overnight in the refrigerator to create a tangy, cream-cheese-like spread or dip; add vanilla and cinnamon and serve for dessert with fruit, or add garlic, cilantro and cumin and serve with home-baked pita chips for a savory snack. Thicken skim milk with pureed potatoes and non-fat milk powder for a no-fat, no-sugar, no-salt mock-cream base for a vegetable chowder filled with corn, red peppers, onions, celery, carrots and tarragon.
References
- Harvard School of Public Health; Food Fright--Public Health Takes Aim at Sugar and Salt; Fall 2009
- Ohio State University Medical Center; 2010
- FYI Living.com; Food Addiction Research: Why You Get a Sugar High; Jo Anne Kappel MS, RD; April 20, 2011
- Consumer Reports.org; Shaking Salt and Sugar From Your Diet; January 2008
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