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Low-Fat Barbecue Makes Holiday Eating Guilt-Free

Holly B. Clegg Los Angeles Times Service

Labor Day and barbecue are almost synonymous. And, in times past, so were barbecue and fat.

Just take a look at some of these figures: 3 ounces of spare ribs contains 337 calories and almost 26 grams of fat; one smoked pork sausage has 265 calories and 22 grams of fat; and that 5 -ounce cheeseburger adds up to 359 calories and 20 grams of fat.

And we haven’t even gotten to all of the really good stuff, such as coleslaw, baked beans, potato salad, bread and apple pie. We all know that side dishes make the meal the event that it is. But, with 10 grams of fat and 179 calories in a half-cup of potato salad, you might as well go out and eat a piece of chocolate cake.

Can you eat what you want on Labor Day and stay within the American Heart Association’s requirement of 30 percent of calories from fat or less? Sure you can.

The following menu proves you can have a traditional barbecue without any sacrifice of taste. There is no reason to spend hours in the kitchen; all the ingredients are familiar and readily available.

Barbecue Chicken

With this indoor recipe, you can have your barbecue with or without the weather cooperating. Plus, the sauce is very easy to make and also will taste great on meat.

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup reduced-calorie ketchup

8 (6-ounce) skinless chicken breast halves (or thighs)

Combine first 8 ingredients in saucepan; stir well. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Place chicken on foil-lined broiler pan and coat with barbecue sauce. Broil 15 minutes in oven, baste, turn over and broil another 15 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving:

239 calories, 97 milligrams cholesterol, 5.5 grams fat (21 percent fat calories).

Pasta Salad

With pasta so popular today, I had to include a pasta salad. This is one of my favorites, as it includes vegetables and two types of pasta (I love tortellini). The lightly seasoned dressing complements the salad to assure you of no leftovers.

2 cups snow peas

1 bunch broccoli, florets only

1 (12-ounce) package tri-colored pasta shells

1 (6-ounce) package tri-colored stuffed tortellini

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, cut in half

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1/3 cup grated Romano cheese

Dressing (recipe follows)

Cook snow peas and broccoli in microwave until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside. Cook pasta shells and tortellini according to directions on package, omitting salt and oil. Drain and set aside. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Toss with dressing.

Yield: 10 servings.

Dressing

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup cup olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Combine all ingredients together and mix well. Pour over pasta salad. Refrigerate.

Nutrition information per serving:

324 calories, 3 milligrams cholesterol, 9.4 grams fat (26 percent fat calories).

Italian Potato Salad

Here’s a different twist to potato salad where you don’t have to worry about mayonnaise being outside too long or how much fat it contains. The feta cheese and dill give this salad a distinctive flavor, and with the red onions, cucumber and green pepper, it is attractive as well.

14 small red potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds)

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced into rounds

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup tarragon vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Cook potatoes with skins on in pot of boiling water until tender when pricked with fork. Cool and cut potatoes in half.

Add sliced onion, garlic, sliced cucumber and sliced green pepper. Sprinkle with parsley, dill weed, mustard and feta cheese.

Mix together olive oil, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce and pour over potato mixture, mixing well. Refrigerate.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving:

242 calories, 12 milligrams cholesterol, 12 grams fat (45 percent fat calories).

Baked Beans

This is one of the best baked bean recipes that you’ll ever eat, and all you have to do is open cans. Canadian bacon is used instead of sausage for extra flavor, and the different varieties of beans provide great texture as well as great taste.

2 ounces Canadian bacon, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 pound ground sirloin

1 onion, chopped

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 tablespoon molasses

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 (15-ounce) can butter beans, very well drained

1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, very well drained

2 (19-ounce) cans small white beans, very well drained

Salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet, saute bacon until slightly brown. Add sirloin and onion and cook until sirloin is done, about 5-7 minutes. Drain any excess fat.

Combine with all remaining ingredients and pour into 2- or 3-quart baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Yield: 12 servings.

Nutrition information per serving:

196 calories, 13 milligrams cholesterol, 1.6 grams fat (7 percent fat calories).

Beer Bread

The most difficult part of this recipe is not eating the whole loaf when it comes out of the oven. With self-rising flour and the beer acting as yeast, you have homemade bread in no time at all.

3 cups self-rising flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 (12-ounce) can light beer (room temperature)

2 tablespoons light margarine, melted

Combine all ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Pour batter into 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan coated with nonstick cooking spray and dusted with flour. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Serve warm. Yield: 16 slices.

Nutrition information per serving:

111 calories, no cholesterol, 0.9 grams fat (7 percent fat calories).

Chocolate Chess Bars

This is probably my most talked-about recipe. It is unbelievably delicious, and so easy, as it is made with a cake mix. You can even put chess squares on a tray with all those rich indulgent brownies and they would fit in perfectly.

1 (18.25-ounce) package 94 percent fat-free Devil’s Food cake mix

1 egg

1/2 cup light margarine, melted

1 tablespoon water

1 (8-ounce) package light cream cheese

1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar

3 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, egg, melted margarine and water. Beat by hand until wellblended. Pat batter into bottom of 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.

In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and egg whites until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add vanilla. Pour over batter in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool and cut into squares. (You may want to garnish with fresh raspberries.)

Yield: 48 squares.

Nutrition information per square:

103 calories, 7 milligrams cholesterol, 2.6 grams fat (23 percent fat calories).

Lemon Squares

If you want to give people a choice of a cookie other than chocolate, here is your answer. With this version of an old favorite, you’ll enjoy the squares without the guilt.

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 ounces light cream cheese

2 tablespoons light margarine

Lemon Filling:

5 egg whites

1-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons grated lemon rind

1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

To make crust: In bowl, stir together flour and powdered sugar. Cut in cream cheese and margarine with pastry blender until crumbly. Press into bottom of 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray and dusted with flour. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

To make lemon filling: In another mixing bowl, beat egg whites and sugar. Combine lemon rind, flour and baking powder. Stir into egg mixture. Add lemon juice and mix well.

Pour lemon filling over hot pastry and continue baking for 20 minutes longer or until top is light golden and set. Cool and cut into bars.

Yield: 48 bars.

Nutrition information per bar:

61 calories, 1 milligram cholesterol, 0.7 grams fat (11 percent fat calories).

MEMO: Cookbook author Holly Berkowitz Clegg appears regularly on the NBC Weekend Today Show and contributes frequently to Cooking Light and Shape magazines.

Cookbook author Holly Berkowitz Clegg appears regularly on the NBC Weekend Today Show and contributes frequently to Cooking Light and Shape magazines.