Foods that Contain No Trans Fats - What to Eat When Eliminating Trans Fats from Your Diet

Foods that Contain No Trans Fats - What to Eat When Eliminating Trans Fats from Your Diet
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Finding Quick Snack Foods that Have No Trans Fats

So you have decided that you will take the plunge and cut trans fats out of you diet. “But what will I eat now?” you ask, “what is going to become of my midnight snack, or my ‘home from work’ snack, or my ‘just got to eat something now’ snack?”

There is an easy answer to this question (luckily). There are many trans-fat-free fast foods that you can stock up on right now. Eliminate trans-fat foods right away by replacing them with these items. This will make the transition very easy.

Beyond this, developing a trans-fat-free diet is easiest to accomplish if you are not afraid to put in a little time preparing at least the simple foods. Beyond quick foods (which are listed below) there are also simple foods that you prepare yourself. Preparing your own food gives you total control in what goes into the food. And, a lot of the foods that we enjoy are really quite simple to prepare.

Quick Snack Foods

Dairy products:

  • Eggs
  • Cream
  • Milk
  • Sour cream
  • Yogurt
  • Cheese
  • Tofu

Other quick foods:

  • Tapioca pudding
  • Jello
  • Canned fruits
  • Most juices
  • Hard Candies
  • High quality dark chocolates
  • Candy peel
  • Dried fruits
  • Dry crackers such as hard tack (look on the label to see there is no added fat or oil)
  • Avocadoes
  • Natural nut butters (be careful, roasted nuts do usually experience heat damage, and may contain too many trans fatty acids)
  • Most breakfast cereals do not have much oil added and are essentially fat free. Granola, on the other hand has a lot of oil added, and is baked at oil damaging temperatures.
  • Bread
  • Butter
  • Shortbread cookies BAKED WITH PURE BUTTER ONLY
  • Pastries made with butter only (not with vegetable shortening, margarine or oil)

Foods that are Simple to Prepare

Most foods do not contain trans fats, only the prepared foods are going to be giving you trouble along with super market oils. If you prepare your own foods you can be sure to avoid consuming damaging fats. Consider the following:

  • Roast beef
  • Roast pork
  • Roast lamb
  • Roast chicken
  • Roast duck
  • Roast anything (as long as no supermarket oils are added to the product)
  • Pan fried meats (in butter or olive oil)
  • Hamburgers (without oil containing dressings)
  • Baked fish
  • Baked vegetables
  • Baked squash
  • Baked potatoes
  • Baked breads
  • Baked cakes (made with butter, olive oil or natural lard)
  • Home baked cookies (made with butter only)
  • Home baked granola (made with butter only)
  • Souffle
  • Lasagna
  • Stir fried vegetables (in olive oil)
  • Pasta dishes (made with olive oil)
  • Cream sauces (made with olive oil, butter, cream or cheese)
  • Rice (steamed or fried in butter)
  • Beans (home cooked or canned with no added oils, or just with olive oil)

This is a short list of the trans-fat-free foods. If you prepare these foods yourself you can be sure that there are no trans fats in them if you only use trans-fat free oils in their preparation: olive oil, butter, un-refined coconut oil and natural lard. Hopefully, a glance at this list will let you see that living without trans fats is possible without it being terribly difficult nor with it being terribly austere.

Case History: Testimony of a Successful Trans Fat Free Eater

I have lived without trans fats for years. When I discovered that trans fats were the single most important cause of my adult acne, vanity made the switch to a trans fat free diet very easy to pull off indeed. Having skin which breaks out with acne at the slightest hint of a trans fat will get you familiar with what does and what does not have a trans fat in it very quickly. I was lucky, in this respect. Learning that trans fats was the cause of my skin problems was all I needed to cure my bad complexion. Observing which foods caused my skin to break out in acne (once it was cleared up by my new diet) taught me just exactly where trans fats are hidden.

My skin served me as my trans-fat canary, so to speak. If you don’t suffer from adult acne, as I did, you will just have to take my word for it. Whatever is the case with your own complexion, whether your skin is clear or troubled, trans fats cause damage that is a lot more than just skin deep. Bad skin is the least of the health consequences that trans fat consumption lead to. I recommend that everyone follows the same course of action that I employed in order to gain myself a nice complexion, but for general health and well being.

This post is part of the series: Trans Fats

Trans Fats are hidden in many foods. Finding them requires some understanding, and eliminating them from your diet is imperative. This series takes a good look at trans fats.

  1. Trans Fats Research: The Dangers of Trans Fats
  2. Buying Oils and Spreads That Have No Trans Fats
  3. How to Find and Ban Trans Fats from Your Diet
  4. What Foods to Eat When you Go “No Trans Fat”