20-Minute Sample Presentation

Table of Contents

Speaker's Notes

The purpose of this 20 minute presentation is to help you (adults) understand the sources of fat in the diet and to learn ways to reduce and balance the total amount of fat you eat.

Back to Top

FAT

• is a nutrient
• is a source of energy
• adds taste and texture to foods
• makes us feel full longer
• helps absorb fat-soluble vitamins

Speaker's Notes

• Sometimes we hear about fat and all the negative aspects � like a high fat diet can increase the risk of heart disease
• Although true, we often forget that fat is an important nutrient in our diet; we need it for normal body functions.
• Some fats are essential; meaning, we need to eat them because our body cannot make these fats.
• Fat provides us with energy.
• It adds a wonderful taste and texture to foods.
• It makes us feel full longer because we digest fat more slowly than other nutrients.
• Fat is also important in helping us absorb fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K.

Back to Top

20 � 35% of total Calories from fat

• 2000 Calorie diet = 44 � 78 grams of fat or 11 � 19 1/2 teaspoons
• 1500 Calorie diet = 33 � 58 grams of fat or 8 1/4 � 14 1/2 teaspoons

Speaker's Notes

• Fat is part of a healthy diet.
• Current recommendations (Dietary Reference Intakes) suggest that adults consume between 20 and 35% of their total calories as fat.
• This range reflects a variety of foods selected each day and represents a healthy range � levels above 35% may increase the risk of diseases such as heart disease and obesity; levels below 20% may increase the risk of not consuming or absorbing enough essential fats or fat soluble vitamins.
• Typically a 2000-Calorie diet is used as a reference � this is an average for all adults.
• A 2000-Calorie diet would mean that 20 to 35% of fat would be between 44 and 78 grams or, later in this presentation, it would be 11 to 19.5 teaspoons of fat, where 1 teaspoon equals 4 grams of fat.
• Women, smaller adults, or those trying to limit total food intake may consume a diet closer to 1500 Calories.
• A 1500 Calorie diet would contain between 8 1/4 and 14 1/2 teaspoons of fat to be within the recommendations.

Back to Top

1. Easy to see

• Fat added to foods
  - Butter, margarine, oil
• Fat on the outside of foods
  - Chicken skin, outside trim on meat

• Ingredient
  
  - Snack foods, baked products, desserts
• Added in cooking
  
  - Fried foods, cream soups, sauces

Speaker's Notes

To be able to reduce our fat intake, we need to know where the fat is in our diets.
Sometimes fat is easy to spot:

• In the butter, oil, margarine we add to foods or use in cooking foods;
• The fat on the outside of foods like the skin on chicken and the trim on meat � these are easily removed.

• We use fat as ingredients in foods � in recipes, in baked goods;
• We use fat to cook foods � this fat gets absorbed into foods and increases the fat content as seen in fried foods.

Back to Top

Speaker's Notes

• Other Foods are foods that are not part of the Four Food Groups;
• It includes foods that are higher in fat or calories and/or low in other nutrients;
• Foods in this group include oils, margarines, butter, lard, salad dressings, mayonnaise, higher fat snack foods like chocolate bars, as well as foods like candy, tea, coffee, water, and alcohol.

• Values are taken from the "Food Habits of Canadians" study at McGill University.

Back to Top

Speaker's Notes

To achieve the recommended amount of fat in a healthy diet, it is important to choose a variety of foods from all 4 food groups.

The fat we eat comes from each of the four food groups as well as other foods. Within each food group there are many lower-fat options.

• weight gain or obesity
• heart disease

Canada�s Food Guide to Healthy Eating is currently being revised. A new guide is expected in 2006.

= 4 grams of fat

Speaker's Notes

Throughout the presentation, a teaspoon symbol will be used to represent 4 grams of fat.
Note for leaders:

• One teaspoon (or pat) of butter or margarine contains 4 grams of fat.
• One teaspoon of oil actually has 4.6 grams of fat.
• The amount of fat listed for the foods is a guide. Amounts are taken from the Canadian Nutrient File, package label, product web site listings or recipes.
• The amount of fat may differ depending on the brand, the recipe or how the food is prepared.
• This is a guide only.

Back to Top

Which pasta is the lowest in fat?

Speaker's Notes

Which of these pasta or noodle dishes is lowest is fat?
Answer: Pasta with tomato and meat sauce has the least amount of fat.

• Canada�s Food Guide suggests 5-12 servings of Grain Products each day.
• When selecting grain products, choose whole grains, such as whole wheat, oats, barley and rye, more often as they provide additional fibre.
• Often it is the hidden fat or the fat we cook with that adds to the total fat in our diet.
• Cooking in oil or adding cream or cheese sauces contribute more fat than a tomato-based sauce.
• Enjoy these higher-fat sauces less often.
• Try making the sauces with lower-fat milk products to reduce the fat.
  • For example, use skim milk or 1% milk when making a cheese sauce or use whole milk instead of cream for the alfredo sauce.

Note to leaders:
The homemade recipe for fettuccine alfredo is made with whipping cream, butter and parmesan cheese.

Back to Top

Which salad is highest in fat?
Which salad is lowest in fat?

Speaker's Notes

Here are four salads. Which one has the highest fat content? Which has the lowest fat content?
Answer: The highest is the Caesar salad and the lowest is the Garden salad with vinegar or lemon juice.

• For example creamy dressings would be higher in fat
• The caesar salad contains anchovies, mayonnaise, oil, croutons (baked with oil), parmesan cheese � all these ingredients contribute some fat
• The Greek salad contains oil, olives and feta cheese which all contain fat

• Ways to reduce the fat would be to ask for the dressings on the side so that you can control the amount; or choose fat-reduced dressings.
• Adding a variety of raw vegetables will also increase the fibre and vitamin content of the salad.

Back to Top

Which cheese is the highest in fat?

Speaker's Notes

Which cheese is lowest in fat?
Answer: Both the processed cheese slices and the partly skimmed mozzarella have the same amount of fat in these servings � but there is a bit more cheese in the mozzarella serving.

• Adults need 2 to 4 servings of Milk Products each day.
• All Milk Products, including cheese, are good to excellent sources of calcium.
• A 50 gram serving of cheese is like two thumbs� worth.
• Avoid frying cheese � it just adds more fat.
• Try some of the wonderful lower-fat options on the market:
  • Partly skimmed mozzarella is always available.
  • At the grocery store the label on cheese will have a % B.F. or % M.F. Value � this indicates the butter fat or milk fat in the cheese.
  • Regular cheese varies in fat depending on the type of cheese.
    • For example cheddar would have a minimum of 31% M.F.
  • Lower-fat or light cheese is at least 25% less M.F. than the regular variety
  • Skim milk cheese is a maximum of 7% M.F.
• When choosing low-fat cheese, look for less than 20% M.F. on the label.

Back to Top

Which beef option has the lowest fat level?

Speaker's Notes

Here are 4 different servings of beef. Do you know which one has the least amount of fat?

Answer: The trimmed sirloin steak has the least amount of fat.

• Adults need 2 to 3 servings of meat and alternatives each day.
• Choose leaner meats more often. There are many different cuts of beef that are considered lean or extra lean.
• Untrimmed meat and added gravy add to the fat in meat.
• For ground beef (raw) the maximum permitted fat content is:
  • Regular ground beef � 30%
  • Medium ground beef � 23%
  • Lean ground beef � 17%
  • Extra lean ground beef � 10%
• The meatloaf in this slide is made with lean ground beef.
• Research in Canada shows that the fat content of ground beef is lower than the maximum levels permitted.
• Tips to reduce the fat in all ground beef:
  
  1. Crumble and pan-fry ground beef until well cooked; drain fat.
  2. Rinse the cooked beef with hot water in a colander or strainer.
  3. Shake to remove excess water and use in your favourite casserole or pasta sauce recipe.

Back to Top

1. Trim and discard visible fat from meats and skin from poultry.
2. Allow 120 g (4 oz) raw meat per person. This will provide 100 g (3.5 oz) cooked portion � the size of a deck of cards.
3. Omit oil from marinades.

Speaker's Notes

The next two slides contain lower-fat preparation tips for meat, fish and poultry. These Meat and Alternatives can be easily prepared and eaten in a lower-fat way.

• Reduce the visible fat � the fat that you can easily see and remove.
• Avoid large portions (or supersize options in restaurants).
• Reduce or eliminate the added fats, like the oil in marinades; this will not change the flavour.

Back to Top

1. Broil, bake, barbecue, roast, microwave, stir-fry or brown in a non-stick pan.
2. Brown ground meat or poultry in a pan or microwave in a plastic sieve and drain off fat before adding other ingredients.
3. Refrigerate stews, soups, chilies and meat sauces and remove hardened fat that rises to the surface.

Speaker's Notes

In cooking it is important to:

• Choose methods that do not add fat to the food (deep frying adds the most fat compared to other cooking methods).
• Remove fat formed in cooking by draining the fat or removing hardened fat in soups, stews or sauces.
• Choose cream sauces and gravies less often as they add fat to your diet.

Back to Top

Which snack food has the lowest amount of fat?

Speaker's Notes

Here are more examples of snack foods. Which has the lowest amount of fat?
Answer: Raisins have the least amount of fat.

• Dried fruit is an excellent choice and can easily be stored in your desk at work:
  • For dental health, brushing teeth after eating dried fruit is recommended.
• For items like granola bars, check the label. Each variety contains different ingredients altering the fat content as well as the fibre level.
• Granola bars that are covered in chocolate or contain chocolate chips are usually higher in fat.

Back to Top

Which fast food option has the lowest amount of fat?

What should you look for when choosing fast foods?

Speaker's Notes

• We�ve all been to fast food restaurants and wondered what we should order.
• Some restaurants are now offering �healthier� choices.

• Breaded and deep-fried foods or those with added sauces tend to be higher in fat � choose these less often.
• Also, depending on the fat source used for frying, deep-fried foods may contain higher levels of trans fats.

• Reasonable serving sizes (not supersized).
• Items that are not fried.
• Items without a lot of sauces, or ask for your burger or chicken sandwich without the sauce, or ask for sauce on the side and control the amount.
• Ask for lower-fat salad dressings.
• Look for grilled and not breaded items � many chicken sandwiches are breaded and fried. Choose the grilled chicken instead.

Back to Top

• Contains almost 15 teaspoons of fat

How would you lower the fat in this dinner?

Speaker's Notes

Let�s discuss ways in which we could change this dinner menu to decrease the fat content.

Note to leaders:
Have an open discussion with your group to determine if they can use some of the information from previous slides to think of lower-fat alternatives.

Back to Top

• Contains three and a half teaspoons of fat

Speaker's Notes

Here is an example of a lower-fat dinner with similar foods to the previous slide.

• Soup � use any broth-based, or thick soup with blended vegetables rather than cream.
• Vegetables - any steamed vegetables; grilled vegetables are another option with some fat but still lower than adding sauces or frying vegetables.
• Any lean meat � beef steak, pork loin/tenderloin, chicken breast as long as the meat is trimmed of fat, there is no added sauce, and the method of cooking is not frying but broiling, baking or grilling instead.
• Drinks � water, low-fat milk, 100% fruit juice are healthy options. Alcoholic drinks should be limited to 1-2 drinks maximum per day.
• In addition to whole wheat bread, other low-fat grain options would be plain rice, couscous, other whole grain breads, pasta with a tomato based sauce, etc.

Back to Top

What are some lower fat options?

Speaker's Notes

Here are some common dessert or coffee break items. What are some options for dessert that would be lower in fat?

Let's discuss a variety of options.
Remember:

• Foods that are fried are higher in fat.
• Foods made with a lot of butter, cheese or shortening (pie crusts) tend to be higher in fat.
• Milk products have a number of lower-fat options.

Back to Top

Speaker's Notes

• Here are some examples taken from the booklet that are lower-fat desserts.
• Adding fresh fruit or a fruit pur�e makes the angel food cake seem much richer and more flavourful.

• Baked fruit (1 1/2 teaspoons of fat)
• Lower-fat muffins (1/2 teaspoon of fat ) � tim hortons low fat muffin options
• Sherbets (0 teaspoons of fat)
• Lower-fat granola bars (1 1/2 tsp or less of fat).

Note to leaders:
The crisp value above is from a recipe using 50 mL of melted butter instead of 1/2 cup of solid butter in the recipe.

Written by: Laura Pasut, MSc, RD, Nutridata Consulting Services

Developed by: The team of Registered Dietitians at the Beef Information Centre

June 2004