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WHEN IT COMES TO EATING healthier, our motto is “Switch, don’t fight.” Don’t do battle with your urges for satisfying foods in a quest for less fat and calories and more fiber; just switch to equally satisfying but more healthful alternatives.
An example: On the gratification scale, a roast beef sandwich with cheese comes close to a large cheeseburger, but the roast beef contains 43 percent less fat and 101 fewer calories. Not a bad deal.
If you find that one of these swaps doesn’t immediately ring the same bells as its less healthy cousin, give it another chance. It often takes a little time for your bran’s “pleasure centers” to adapt to something slightly different.
| Instead of… | Try… | Benefit |
| Salted peanuts | Pretzels | 91% less fat |
| Potato chips | Popcorn,air-popped | 96% “ “ |
| Saltines | Animal crackers | 22% “ “ |
| Chocolate chip cookies | Fig bars | 80% “ “ |
| Caramels | Raisins | 96% “ “ |
| Pecan pie | Chocolate cake w/icing | 32% “ “ |
| Chocolate cake w/icing | Apple pie | 28% “ “ |
| Eclairs w/custard | Angel food cake | 96% “ “ |
| Filling and | w/chocolate syrup | |
| Chocolate icing | ||
| Glazed doughnuts | Blueberry muffins | 59% less fat |
| Granola cereal | Raisin bran | 89% “ “ |
| Peanut butter on bagel | Strawberry jam on bagel | 99% “ “ |
| Italian roll | Whole-wheat bread | 87% more fiber |
| Regular mayonnaise | Barbecue sauce | 84% less fat |
| on burger | on burger | |
| Large cheeseburger | Roast beef sandwich | 101% fewer calories |
| w/cheese | ||
| Beef bologna | Turkey bologna | 47% less fat |
| Sandwich w/cold cuts | Sandwich w/roast beef | 27% “ “ |
| Pepperoni pizza | Cheese pizza | 48% “ “ |
| Bean-and-meat burrito | Bean burrito | 19% “ “ |
| Macaroni and cheese | Spaghetti in tomato | 170 fewer |
| Sauce w/cheese | cal./cup | |
| Prime rib, roasted | Sirloin, broiled | 67% less fat |
| Chicken drumsticks, | Chicken breasts, | 30% “ “ |
| roasted | roasted | |
| Steamed salmon | Baked cod | 89% less fat |
| Lamb shoulder | Leg of lamb | 28% “ “ |
| Chocolate milk, whole | Chocolate milk, 1% | 71% “ “ |
| Half-and-half in coffee | Condensed skim | 98% “ “ |
| milk in coffee |
Note: Except where indicated, this chart compares 100 gram portions of each food.