Fondue Is Back: This Time It's Healthy

12/06/06 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."

This time around, you don't need to rely on the sterno-fired fondue pots, says Saunders, although they're fine, too. "I often use glass
casserole dishes heated in the microwave. Single electric burners and small crock pots are also useful."

Other pointers:

   -- Use the largest table you have. You want your guests to have plenty of elbow room.
    -- Encourage guests who bring their own fondue forks to wrap the handles in self adhesive return address labels. This eliminates ownership confusion.
    -- Rule number one:  guests can't sit down. Saunders encourages her guests to "Push the chairs back from the table, keep moving around the table, and eat until you drop out. It's not just about eating healthy, it's about having fun too."