A pot of hot oil you dip meat into sounds downright great, but it can also be heart healthy. The hot oil and broth fondues are much less decadent than their siblings, the chocolate cheese fondue, but they are just as tasty. If you are a little careful when selecting ingredients and avoid overeating, both broth and hot oil fondues can make for a healthy meal.

Fondue Bourguignonne (also known as hot oil fondue) consists of diners cooking their own food on long forks in a pot filled with hot oil. The oil is heated in a fondue pot to around 325 degrees and the guests chop up cubes of meat and place them directly into the hot oil. While you wait a minute or two for the meat to cook and also to enjoy some wine and its company (the best part of the fondue), the cube is removed from the oil and ready to dip in a variety of sauces for wet.

For the healthiest hot oil fondue, you need to start with the oil. Peanut oil is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and is also high in monounsaturated fat. This means that, like olive oil, peanut oil will improve the ratio of “good cholesterol” to “bad cholesterol.” Next, you will need to use lean cuts of meat. Beef tenderloin, pork tenderloin, and lamb tenderloin are good, but chicken or turkey breast are your best options. And keep the portions small. The general guideline is that the serving size should be the size of the palm of your hand.

Dipping sauces can also be made healthier with ingredient substitution. Try using low-sodium soy sauce or fat-free sour cream. Take a little dip and don’t drown your food in the sauce. Just say no to béarnaise or hollandaise sauce.

Stock fondues are similar to hot oil fondue, except that they are cooked in stock instead of oil. The benefit of cooking in broth is that it takes on the flavors of the ingredients dipped in it and you can eat it. Often times, the broth fondue (or Shabu Shabu) is followed by a bowl of noodle or rice soup that is made from the leftover broth.

Start your broth fondue with low sodium chicken or beef broth. Like hot oil fondue, you should use lean cuts of meat, small portions, and limit the use of dipping sauces. Stock fondues add greens to the mix. Try adding mushrooms, green onions, carrots, and celery to the broth. Loading veggies will not only fill you up, they are healthy for you, too.

When you’re running low on ingredients, add the rest to the fondue pot along with some noodles or rice. Let simmer for a few minutes and serve this wonderful tasting soup as an after dinner treat to your guests.

Chocolate fondue is delicious but fattening. Cheese fondue is not something you should eat every day. When dieting, you should probably skip both and stick to hot oil and broth fondues. If you are careful when collecting the ingredients, the fondue can become a healthy meal.