Best Food For Dieters

 Here are just a few of the best foods for dieters:

1. Calorie-Controlled Snacks. Plenty of consumers are buying the 100-calorie (more or less) snack packs of everything from chips to cupcakes, but are they really the answer for weight loss?

 Carolyn O'Neil, RD, author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous, likes calorie-controlled packages because they eliminate the chance for mindless overeating. "Foods packaged in 100-calorie packs do the work and calorie math for you so you can enjoy snacking on foods that need to be enjoyed in limited amounts," she says.

Quaker Mini Delights (90 calories) and Hostess 100-calorie cupcakes are among the more addictive options.But Lona Sandon, MEd, RD, says that though these snacks can satisfy a sweet tooth, "many of them won't fill you up for very long, and can't replace a more nutritious snack."

2. Healthier Fast Food. Fast food restaurants don't have to spell disaster for dieters. Try Quiznos' Flatbread Sammies without cheese or dressing (all less than 250 calories,except the Italiano) or a small Honey Bourbon Chicken sub (275 calories); Taco Bell's Fresco-style items (less than 180 calories); McDonald's Southwest salad with grilled chicken (290 calories without dressing); or any of Subway's subs with 6 grams of fat or less (230-380 calories).

3. Low-Fat and Fat-Free Dairy Products. Milk, yogurt (solid, frozen, and drinkable), cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese are available in lower-fat varieties that offer both healthy nutrients and great taste. Laughing Cow light cheese has only 35 calories per individually wrapped wedge, and Yoplait Fiber One nonfat yogurt combines yogurt crunchy cereal for a fiber boost and only 50-80 calories per 4 oz. cup.

Fat-free half-and-half is a suitable substitute for heavy cream with a fraction of the calories. And lower-fat and fat-free cream cheese and sour cream can easily pitch-hit for their fattier counterparts, particularly in recipes.

4. Rotisserie Chicken. It's no wonder that nearly every grocery store sells rotisserie chickens. You can serve one as is, shred it to use for tacos, pasta dishes, or casseroles, or chop it for an entree salad. You can even have it for dinner one night, then debone it and freeze the leftover meat for a quick meal later in the week.

5. Diet-Friendly Desserts. Lower-calorie and portion-controlled sweets mean that desserts can be part of any weight loss diet. Dieters who crave ice cream love Skinny Cow ice cream cones (150 calories), Edy's Slow-Churned ice cream bars (150 calories), and Fudgsicles (100 calories).

6. Flavored Mustards and Vinegars add sizzle to foods, with few calories. Try honey, tarragon, ginger, garlic, wasabi, or Dijon mustards, or balsamic, wine, herb, cider, fruit-flavored or, sherry vinegars. Use them in place of oil, mayonnaise, or butter in recipes.

7. Light Salad Dressings: Nearly half of the salad dressings you'll see on your grocer's shelves are reduced in calories and/or fat. Use Wish-Bone salad spritzers to lightly mist your salads, or try one of the many light or nonfat salad dressings. Another option is to make your own lower-calorie dressing, using more vinegar than oil, as well as a little water.

8. Cooking Liquids: Dieters have discovered that wine adds wonderful, low-calorie flavor to soups, stews, casseroles, and finishing sauces. Beef, fish, vegetable or chicken stocks come in fat-free varieties and add lots of flavor with very few calories. A secret ingredient to add sweetness to dishes is apple, orange,or pineapple juice concentrate.

9. Frozen Entrees. This is another grocery category that has grown tremendously, as consumers look for quick and easy meals. Sandon recommends the light varieties of frozen foods, such as Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, or Kashi. Read the label, and look for entrees with about 300-400 calories, less than 600 milligrams of sodium, at least 4-5 grams of fiber, and less than 5 gram fat.

10. Beverages. Good old-fashioned water still tops the list of healthy drinks, but when you want something more, try these virtually calorie-free options: flavored waters; powdered packets to mix into bottled water, like Crystal Light and Propel; green, herbal, or exotic teas; coffee; sparkling water; or diet soft drinks. Low-cal options include light beer (100 calories/12 oz.); wine spritzers (100 calories/5 oz.); Starbucks' skinny latte or mocha (90 calories/12 oz.); and the new V8 juice with fiber (60 calories and 5 grams fiber/8 oz.).