Low-Fat Picnic Staying slim in summer is a cinch with artful ingredient substitution. Look here for recipes and tips for lightening summer food traditions. Extract the Fat... No need to forgo summer culinary traditions such as potato salad, chocolate sundaes, and big juicy burgers for health's sake. The secret to enjoying these favorites without overdoing calories and fats or sacrificing taste is to substitute low-fat or no-fat ingredients for the ones with fat. These recipes and tips will make you a believer. . . . From Salads: a.. In vinaigrette dressings, use 1 part oil to 1 part vinegar. If that's too tangy, use part water for the vinegar portion. Puree fruits or cooked vegetables as a substitute for the oil. b.. In creamy dressings, substitute low-fat dairy products (low- or nonfat sour cream, low- or nonfat mayonnaise or salad dressing, buttermilk, or plain yogurt) for all or some of the sour cream, mayonnaise, or salad dressing. Or blend tofu (bean curd) or ricotta cheese for the dressing. c.. Use extra ingredients such as nuts, egg yolks, avocados, olives, bacon, and rich cheeses sparingly or not at all. . . . From Desserts: a.. In cheesecakes, puddings, parfaits, and dessert toppings, substitute low-fat cream cheese, sour cream, or yogurt for regular cream cheese or sour cream b.. Use a meringue crust instead of pastry crust for pies. For crumb crusts, cut the amount of butter or margarine in half, to just enough to moisten the crumbs. c.. Substitute canned evaporated skim milk for cream in baked custards and bread puddings. d.. Substitute 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder for 1 ounce of chocolate. For a milk chocolate substitute, add a little sugar to the cocoa powder. e.. Buy low-fat and fat-free frozen dairy desserts and use them for sundaes. . . . From Meat Dishes: a.. Look for the leanest meat cuts available -- beef top loin, top round, eye of round, and top sirloin steak; veal top round, arm steak, loin chop, and rib chop; pork tenderloin, boneless sirloin chop, top loin chop, and center loin chop; lamb leg; chicken breast (skinless); turkey breast and thigh, both skinless. Grill lean beef and pork cuts to medium doneness, just pink in the center. (Overcooking will cause dry, tough meat.) b.. Choose 90 or 95 percent lean beef for burgers. Or combine lean beef with lean ground poultry. Cook until well done (no pink in the center). c.. Remove skin from chicken before or after cooking. d.. Trim fat from meat and poultry. e.. Replace some or all of the oil in marinades with fruit juice or water. begin 666 shim.gif K1TE&.#EA`0`!`( ``/___P```"'Y! $4````+ `````!``$```("1 $`.P`` ` end begin 666 s_0.gif K1TE&.#EA`0`!`( ``/___P```"'Y! ``````+ `````!``$```("1 $`.P`` ` end