Top Ten Comfort Foods Made Healthy: Part 1

Posted by Matt on January 12th, 2010 at 11:39am

Comfort foods are a tasty trip back in time, to simpler days when you did not have to cook for yourself and you did not have to worry about calories. Everyday comfort foods are delicious and satisfying, but often loaded with fat, sugar and calories. Comfort foods can be hearty, satisfying and healthy too. We here at FaveDiets.com recently compiled our list of our top ten comfort foods made healthy. Here are some tips on how to make comfort food healthy, plus some great recipe ideas from the blogosphere. For part 2 of the series, click here.

Chocolate Cake – Use cocoa powder or dark chocolate over milk or semisweet chocolate to cut down on the amount of fat in the recipe. Try just egg whites as opposed to the whole egg if you have cholesterol concerns. Try this delicious recipe for Healthy Chocolate Cake courtesy the blog Amyella’s Recipes.

Meatloaf – Instead of ground beef, use leaner ground turkey instead. Cut down on the sugar in a meatloaf recipe by using tomato sauce as opposed to ketchup. For a healthier flair, use whole wheat or multi-grain bread crumbs as opposed to plain white bread crumbs. For a healthy meatloaf recipe, make the blog In The Bag‘s recipe for Healthy Turkey Meatloaf.

Macaroni and Cheese – If available, use fiber-rich whole wheat pasta over nutrient-poor white processed pasta. Make your own cheese sauce using reduced fat cheese and avoid fatty processed cheeses. Throw some healthy additions, like grilled chicken or steamed broccoli, into the mix for a more flavorful and healthier mac and cheese. This recipe for Macaroni and Cheese from the blog Daily Unadventures in Cooking includes butternut squash.

Mashed Potatoes – For a healthier version of traditional mashed potatoes, steam the potatoes to lock in nutrients and mash them with the skins on to leave extra flavor and fiber in the dish. Avoid using a lot of heavy cream and butter and stick with butter substitutes, skim milk or chicken broth for added creaminess. Mashed potatoes also taste great when cauliflower, broccoli or other steamed vegetables are mashed in. Delicious & Healthy Mashed Potatoes from Cami’s Healthy Living Blog uses low sodium chicken broth and evaporated skim milk.

Fried Chicken – When it comes to comfort food dinner ideas, fried chicken can’t be beat. The only problem is that typical fried chicken is loaded with fat and calories. For a healthier version, trying breading the chicken and cooking it in the oven instead. The blog How Sweet It Is has a healthier fried chicken that is coated in oat flour and shallow fried as opposed to deep fried.

Tags: calorie counting, what to eat

Under healthy eating Tags: calorie counting, what to eat