Warm Comfort Foods Made Healthy(ish)

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. This duo based on simple protein and starch can be loaded with saturated fat.

Meatloaf

• Substitute 4 or 7% fat ground beef for regular.
• Use whole wheat bread crumbs to increase the fiber.
• Increase the diced onion, garlic or other vegetables.
• Skip the egg yolks and “substitute two egg whites for every whole egg to help the loaf stay together,” suggests Emily McKenna Kennedy of EatingWell Magazine.¹

Mashed potatoes

• Leave skins on potatoes for fiber that helps with satiety.
• Decrease the dairy fat by using light sour cream, fat-free milk and less butter.
• Add zest with extra roasted garlic, paprika and fresh herbs instead of salt.
• Options: moisten with reduced-sodium chicken broth; sneak in mashed cooked cauliflower; whip potatoes for creamy texture.

Pasta casseroles (e.g. baked macaroni & cheese, lasagna) While tasty now, the cheese and white flour noodles may depress your mood later after you get on the scale.

• • Increase vegetables by adding chopped cauliflower to mac ‘n cheese and sliced zucchini in lasagna.

• Use lower-fat cheese (part-skim ricotta and reduced fat mozzarella) but concentrate flavor by adding an ounce of hard dry cheese such as Parmesan or pecorino.
• To curb the need for salt consider a sprinkle of crushed red pepper for bite.

Chicken pot pie / Shepherd’s Pie  It’s not just what’s under the cover that adds up here. With a thick crust or mashed potato layer, you can also blame the topping.

• Replace cream with a blend of low-fat milk, white wine and olive oil for the pot pie sauce.
• Use vegetable broth, olive oil and tomato paste for the shepherd’s pie sauce.
• Double up on the diced vegetables for more volume with little calories.
• Go crustless on the bottom by using an oven-safe skillet or nonstick casserole dish.

Biscuits and Gravy – This Southern breakfast that sticks to your ribs is traditionally full of saturated fat and calories.

Biscuits:

• Using fat-free buttermilk and less butter, Cooking Light offers a recipe for low-fat biscuits (3 gm fat each).² We suggest omitting the honey for this savory dish.
• Keep biscuits small (under 2”diameter) and serve only ½ C. gravy per 2 biscuits.

Gravy:

• Substitute turkey breakfast sausage (or mushrooms for vegetarian) for pork sausage.
• Use skim milk in the gravy and stir regularly until thickened.
• Add extra herbs like fennel and sage for flavor when reducing salt.

Warm Apple Pie – Here is a double whammy! The crust is full of fat and the filling is full of sugar.

• Gear up the ratio of solid fruit to the rest of ingredients.
• Use fresh cooked apples instead of canned pie filling.
• Make a lattice work or crumble topping instead of a full crust top. “Less crust on your pie = fewer calories from crust,” says Registered Dietitian Jessica Cording. ³
• Optional: top with a dollop of vanilla frozen yogurt instead of a scoop of ice cream.

Loaded Cheesy Potato Soup  A thick chowder or bisque base isn’t the only culprit when the garnish can weigh in at a hefty hundred calories or so.

• Substitute reduced fat sour cream for regular.
• Try adding pureed cooked cauliflower to up the vegetable content.
• Top with only an ounce of hard dry cheese or extra sharp cheddar for punch.
• Top with just a sprinkle of fat-removed center cut bacon and plenty of green onion/chives.