1. Double the Fun
Meat already has such a high fat content that it's not always the best choice to add sauces. However, many recipes call for sauce to makes the dish enticing and delicious. Whenever you can, substitute low fat version of ingredients in your sauces. Use skim or one-percent milk and nonfat cheese when dairy is called for. Cottage cheese is a good substitute for ricotta cheese in Italian recipes. Sour cream comes in low and nonfat versions and fresh grated cheese typically has fewer calories than prepackaged powders. However, adding more vegetables will add the most nutrition to your sauce.
2. Cut the fat in Half
Most recipes are big on flavor and do not limit the ingredients according to fat content. You can cut the fat in half by cutting the amount of the fillers in the sauce you serve. If a recipe calls for one stick of butter, try adding half a stick. Use more vegetables and spices to add flavor instead of high fat products. Often, half the amount of the heavy ingredients brings more flavor to a dish than using a full compliment of low or nonfat products, which many people find tasteless.
3. Go for Tomatoes
The low fat best sauces are made with no dairy products. Tomato sauces are the most popular and can be served in a variety of ways. All meat does well with tomato-based sauces. From chicken to beef and pork, you can slather your meats with the low fat, low calorie sauces with no guilt. Experiment with stews and casseroles in addition to the standard pasta dishes using tomato-based sauces. Try pasta primavera, adding vegetables to the meat dish for a really healthy meal. Bake your meat in the tomato sauce to let the fat from the meat infuse the sauce with the taste that you may be missing.
4. Spice It Up
Many exciting herbs and spices are discovered when people go on a diet. Losing the fat also loses the flavor in food. Now is the time to try new spices, including fresh and prepared. Indian spices such as cardamom, cumin and coriander make wonderful additions to a meat-based stew. Spicy ingredients such as hot chilies and red pepper can make you forget all about the fat you are missing. Peppercorn and mustard are condiments you probably already have but never tried in a sauce. If you are adding a new spice for the first time to a dish, only add small amount until you become used to the smell and taste. Yogurt is another food that few people use in sauces, but it can add a new dimension to your meat recipes.
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