If you’re trying to eat low fat, one of the hardest foods to pass up may be cheese. A good piece of cheese is hard to beat, whether it’s a slice of aged cheddar or a particularly pungent wedge of ripe Brie. Paired with crackers or a slice or two of artisan bread, it really is one of life’s great pleasures. The bad news, of course, is that cheese is a huge source of saturated fat. So what’s a cheese lover on a healthy-eating kick to do? Find out if there's room for cheese on a low-fat diet.

• Review: Sargento Reduced-Fat Cheese

One way to limit the amount of saturated fat in our diet is to use liquid oils in our cooking instead of solid fats such as butter, margarine, or lard. This is generally good advice; but did you know that all cooking oils contain some saturated fat, and that one oil has more saturated fat than butter?

• Good Fats, Bad Fats
• Understanding Fats
• What is Enova Oil?
• Is Extra-Light Cooking Oil a Low Fat Oil?
• Butter vs. Margarine

_{Photo © Fiona Haynes, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

With the cold and wet weather we’ve been experiencing here in the Puget Sound, I’ve been making good use of my crockpot to prepare warm, comforting meals such as this richly flavored low-fat chicken and chickpea stew. The beauty of using a crockpot, or slow cooker, is that in most cases, you need no added oil or fat. So without the need to sauté onions or brown the chicken, I indulged a little and used skinless chicken thighs in this recipe. Chicken thighs are higher in fat than skinless chicken breasts, of course. But chicken thighs do have a more complex, meaty taste, and become meltingly tender in slow-cooked stews and casseroles. Enjoy this Middle Eastern-inspired low-fat chicken and chickpea stew with some whole-wheat couscous.

_{Chicken and Chickpea Stew © Fiona Haynes, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

Skinless chicken breasts are much-maligned. They often end up dry and bland, but don't blame the chicken! Skinless chicken breasts can be succulent and flavorful; you just have to treat 'em right. Find out why it's worth eating skinless chicken breasts, and what you can do to make them tender and delicious.

• Low-Fat Chicken Recipes

_{Skinless Chicken Breasts Photo © Fiona Haynes, licensed to About.com, Inc.}