Can I dynanically reference a variable name, similar to dynamic field references?

I have a large mat file containing many different variables. I would like to load and process the variables by working through a list of their names. Is there a way other to do this than eval, perhaps similar to dynamic field references as shown in the non-working example below? Saving the variables as fields isn't an option, because the resulting structure is too big to load, and I don't need all the variables at once.

listOfVars = {'dog', 'cat', 'hamster', 'budgie'}; % Example big variables in the file
for iVar = [1 3] % Only load and process some of the variables
  load('bigFile.mat', listOfVars{iVar}); % Load a single variable
  % Manipulate the variable using a dynamic reference to its name. Doesn't work, of course.
  plot((listOfVars{iVar}).weight, (listOfVars{iVar}).foodConsumed, 'x');
  hold on;
end

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

http://matlab.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#How_can_I_create_variables_A1.2C_A2.2C....2CA10_in_a_loop.3F

You should be able to use the command form of load together with dynamic field names.

   thisdata = load('bigFile.mat', listOfVars{iVar});
  plot(thisdata.(listOfVars{iVar}).weight, thisdata.(listOfVars{iVar}).foodConsumed, 'x');

[K E]

Perfect, thanks.