Summertime can mean lots of things: Vacations, warm weather, and often an increasing amount of parties, barbeques and block parties that are loaded with food. Over the course of the #100SummerDays, there’s plenty of opportunity for your diet to go awry, so we’ve compiled three smart and easy ways you can cut down on your calorie count without feeling like you’ve missed out.
Slimmed-Down Salads: Want to change up your next macaroni, potato or side salad? Try using Hellmann’s®Light Mayonnaise with 60% less calories or Hellmann’s® Mayonnaise Dressing With Olive Oil, which has 30% less calories than Hellmann’s® Real Mayonnaise, not only will you get less fat, but you’ll get the delicious goodness of olive oil, and know that Hellmann’s is committed to using cage-free eggs.
Make Your Own Dressing: Control can mean everything to serious cooks and chefs, which is why making things from scratch is so essential to them. You can do exactly the same – and remarkably easily – when it comes to salad dressings. The on-the-shelf options tend to be loaded with oils and fats, but you can easily play with the proportions of ingredients and make substitutes in order to keep your salad actually healthy. For instance, if a simple balsamic vinaigrette is your goal, when making it yourself you can adjust the oil-to-vinegar ratio to lean sharper with the latter. Many recipes will say 3:1 oil to vinegar, but cutting it down to 2:1 will give you a 1/3 less fat per serving, and have more punch. You can also control the flavor by playing with different types of oil and vinegar.
I Scream, You Scream...: After the big meal, ice cream is the ultimate summertime dessert. And while it’s totally fine to put out a container with some cones and toppings, you can go one step further and use Breyers®½ the Fat line of flavors in place of regular ice cream if you’re making a homemade ice cream pie. It’s simple: Take a pre-made graham or chocolate cookie crust, fill it with the softened Breyers®½ the Fat flavor of your choice, freeze – and voila! It’s a cool, delicious treat, but with less fat courtesy of skim milk.
