June 12, 2006

Food News: Fondue Is Back: This Time It's Healthy

"In case you haven't noticed, fondue -- that 70's party staple -- is back. If you haven't attended a fondue party lately, chances are you will soon.
The bubbly pots of avocado green and fiery orange; the forks with color coded handles, the compartmentalized plates -- it's all fun again, and healthier too, says dietitian Vicki Saunders, MS, RD, Nutrition Educator at Transformations, St. Helena Center For Health's weight and lifestyle management program in the Napa Valley of Northern California.

"The 'old' fondue staples were primarily fat-rich melted cheeses or boiling oils for dipping cubes of meat, poultry, or fish," says Saunders, "delicious, but not always good for you -- especially people who are overweight, have heart-related problems including high cholesterol, or who are diabetic."

Saunders says that with a little creativity, virtually any sauce can be turned into a delicious, healthy fondue. "Today we're more adventurous in terms of tastes and food choices. We're more health-conscious too."

Included in her palette of healthy, tasty fondue sauces are fat-free refried beans, creamy garlic with fat-free cream cheese, roasted red pepper tomato -- even off the shelf tomato-basil spaghetti sauce.

On the sweeter side, think concentrated fruit juice, even dark cocoa. "Cocoa is a defatted chocolate," says Saunders. "Dark cocoa is not alkali-processed, so it has more flavonoids. Mixed with a sugar substitute like Splenda you have a reduced-fat and sugar fondue that is sure to satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth."

Full article here.