Unexpected company? Not to worry. We have a wonderfully easy appetizer for you, requiring only four ingredients and about five minutes. Cream cheese, salsa and shredded cheddar combine to make South of the Border Cheese Spread terrific - too bad each small serving contains 7 grams of fat.

For this rehab, we:

• Reduced the amount of regular cream cheese from 8 ounces to 3, and added 5 ounces fat-free cream cheese.

• Used 2 percent shredded cheddar and reduced the amount from 6 ounces to 5.

Results were excellent; the spread was cut to only 3 grams of fat per serving. The chunky salsa imparted such a zippy flavor no one could really notice a difference in the cheeses. With folks looking to avoid extra pounds this time of year, it's a good idea to keep the ingredients on hand over the holidays.

Karen Weber, Pat Streicher and Ellen Illig are registered dietitians at Jewish Hospital's Cholesterol Center. To have a recipe rehabbed, write to Recipe Rehab, Jewish Hospital Cholesterol Center, 3200 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati 45229.

Based on 1 serving ( 1/19 of recipe)

South of the Border Cheese Spread		Adapted
Calories	82	51
Fat	7 g	3 g
Carbohydrate	1 g	1 g
Sodium	150 mg	177mg
Fiber	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	23 mg	11 mg
*Calories from fat
	80%	63%

*Note: These values are for the cheese spread only. The percentage of calories from fat drops significantly when placed on crackers.

Nutritionists recommend those on daily 2,000-calorie diet limit their fat consumption to 65 g or less, cholesterol to 300 mg or less and sodium to 2,400 mg or less per day.

South of the Border Cheese Spread

3 ounces regular cream cheese, softened

5 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened

1 cup chunky-style salsa (medium)

11/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded 2 percent sharp cheddar

In small bowl, combine cream cheeses; add salsa and stir until well-blended. Stir in shredded cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 48 hours). Serve with crackers. (We used Reduced-Fat Triscuits.) Makes 18 to 20 servings.