Healthful comfort foods

Can you get the comforting taste of favorite foods without the fat and calories? Yes.

All you need to do is watch your food portion sizes and minimize the fat in ways like these:

• Use skim or low-fat milk instead of whole.
• Use vegetable oil cooking spray when greasing a pan.
• Separate the fat from soup stocks and pan juices by using a fat-separating measuring cup.
• Remove visible fat from meats.

For example, instead of frying chicken, take these steps:

1. Remove the skin.
2. Soak the chicken in skim milk.
3. Dip in dry breadcrumbs and herbs.
4. Bake in the oven.

You could also try our un-fried chicken recipe.

Related Links

Heart-healthy cooking

Recipe substitutions

Diets: Weight loss

First published: 12/09/2001
Last updated: 09/20/2006

Reviewed by: Paul Kleeberg, MD, medical director, Allina.com