A little goes a long way.

We're no experts on in-laws or jalapeños, but we do know our Parmesan. So do DiGiorno, Sargento, Sorrento, and the other brands that are sprouting up at supermarkets around the country.

If your idea of Parmesan comes in a green can and tastes like it was grated last year, are you in for a surprise. Sprinkle a little DiGiorno, etc., on your next baked potato, pasta, vegetables, garlic bread, you name it. It makes almost any dish better.

You can throw handfuls of artery-clogging saturated fat (oops, we mean grated mozzarella) all over your food and never equal the zip of a little well-placed refrigerated Parmesan. A serving (2 tsp.) works wonders at a cost of 11/2 grams of fat (just one of them saturated) and 75 milligrams of sodium.

If your supermarket carries fresh shredded or grated Parmesan (many have their own store brands), you'll find it in the refrigerator case, next to the other cheeses or down by the fresh pastas.

Do-it-yourselfers can pick up a wedge of fresh Parmesan and grate bits of it at home.

DiGiorno (800) 323-0768.

Sargento (800) 243-3737.

Sorrento (800) 828-7031.

The real secret: Many of the sandwiches do more damage to your arteries than a Big Mac.

The healthy-sounding California Chicken, for example, dumps 12 grams of saturated fat into your blood vessels. That's close to two-thirds of your limit for the entire day. How can a grilled chicken sandwich be so lousy? Ask the cheese and the bearnaise sauce.

The Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato & Pesto, and Arizona Chicken sandwiches aren't any better.

But the real doozy is the Hot Roasted Turkey Club. It's like downing the fat and sat fat of two untrimmed pork chops. Cheddar cheese and three slices of bacon load the club with 16 grams of artery-clogging fat. Oh yeah. It's also got almost a full day's sodium.

The latest additions -- the Buffalo Chicken and Honey Dijon Chicken -- aren't as fatty, but if you want a specialty sandwich at the Pain, get the Thai Chicken. It's not low-sodium, but at least it's got just one gram of saturated fat.

Or create your own sandwich with turkey or chicken and decent fixings like tomatoes, Romaine lettuce, roasted pepper, red onion, and Dijon mustard.

Au Bon Pain (617) 423-2100.