The Dining Out Dilemma!

I think it is snowing outside! I am pretty sure that the first day of spring was on Friday :) Spring in the Rocky Mountains, who knows what the weather will bring?
Dining out has become a major part of our culture these days. I think most of us can remember when eating out was a rare and infrequent treat. Now a days restaurants are providing many of us more meals than we prepare ourselves. It is important for us to learn how to deal with dining out. We need to be able to make great choices. Don't miss this weeks meeting. It is all about learning how to manage eating out. There are some really great ways to help us ensure that our restaurant trips don't under mind our weight loss goals!
Hey- for the cooks out there, remember that there are some really simple ingredient swaps that can bring the POINTS values down in many of our favorite recipes.

Ingredient Swap

Here are a few ingredients that you can swap for a lower POINT value one. There is virtually no difference when using the light versions of these favorites. The Fat Free versions are nigh undetectable in many recipes. A little experimentation is really useful. You will find that some ingredients are not worth changing, while others don't make the least bit of a difference.

Sour Cream:
Regular 14 POINTS per cup
Light 7.5 POINTS per cup
Fat free 3.5 POINTS per cup

Cream of "Whatever" Soup:
Regular 8 POINTS per can
98% Fat Free 3.5 POINTS per can

Cream Cheese:
Regular 22.5 POINTS per 8 oz pkg
Light 12.5 POINTS per 8 oz pkg
Fat Free 4.5 POINTS per 8 oz pkg

Cheddar Cheese:
1 Cup 12 POINTS
1 C low fat 8 POINTS
1 C fat free 3.5 POINTS

Mayonnaise (Best Food's or Hellman's):
Regular 42 POINTS per cup
Light 19 POINTS per cup
Reduced Fat 9 POINTS per cup
Fat free 3.5 POINTS per cup

Funeral Potatoes
Regular 9 POINTS per serving
Using the light substitutions 5 POINTS per serving
Using the fat free substitutions 4 POINTS per serving