Get Your Calcium Without All The Fat

The following recommendations are not intended for growing children who benefit from milk for growing teeth and bones. This article applies to adults who are trying to follow a heart-healthy diet by getting the necessary calcium withouy all the fat. As you may not know, whole-milk dairy products have a high amount of calcium and they also have a good amount of fat which is mostly saturated. The following tips will give you calcium but in a much healthier way.

1. Always try to substitute skim or low-fat milk for water. Examples would be when making soups, oatmeal, or making muffins.

2. Eat collard, kale, turnip or mustard greens, and broccoli several times a week. I did not mention spinach because it contains substances called oxalates that interferes with calcium absorption. Spinach although is still good, but better as a source of iron.

3. Keep nonfat dry milk on hand and add it to anything you can think of, such as soups, meat loaf, casseroles, and beverages. Adding nonfat dry milk into coffee, tastes just like half-and-half does.

4. Increase your indulgence into low-fat yogurt and frozen yogurts in place of foods such as pies, cheesecakes, ice cream and the list just goes on. One thing to keep in mind though is that on an ounce-for-ounce basis, yogurt has at least as much calcium as milk, but generally not fortified with Vitamin D as milk.

5. When eating a salad or soup, use low-fat grated cheese. If a baked food dish calls for cottage cheese (not a good source of calcium), or cream cheese(high fat content), also use low-fat grated cheese.

6. Cook tofu instead of meat or chicken in stir-fry dishes. Tofu added to salads and soups are also excellent. When you are purchasing tofu, remember to check the label to make sure it has calcium salt. Just four ounces of tofu can have about 300 milligrams of calcium.

7. Make low-fat milk shakes at home by adding milk, ice cubes, flavoring like vanilla extract , or any type of berry, and low calorie sweetener. Mix in a blender and you will have a delicious shake.

8. Keep broccoli handy as a snack because it is a high calcium vegetable. Enhance this snack with a part-skim ricotta cheese or just plain yogurt.