Herbs & Spices

This is a gorgeous dessert and naturally low in calories, as long as you don’t add a ton of sugar and don’t serve it with whipped cream. It just doesn’t need it. In the heat of the oven, as they steam under the topping, the peaches and blueberries meld into a magical, flavorful filling that needs little help from sugar or fat. The spices are really all the fruit requires.

Even though there is no sugar in the custard part of the recipe, I did decide—after experimenting with every sugar substitute out there—that it would be okay to use unrefined Demerara sugar for the brûlée part of this dessert. Considering that the fat grams are down to less than 3 from 50, I gave myself a pass.

When you think about adding flavor to foods in the most healthful way possible, you think about the most intense flavor vehicles you can find. That’s why this recipe calls for vanilla bean. The tiny seeds inside pack a wallop of this most delicate and beloved taste. If you can’t find good strawberries, try whole raspberries or small slices of ripe peach.

You can buy all-purpose Asian sauces at the grocery store, but most of them are loaded with sugar and fat. This one—with lots of ginger and garlic and just a little bit of oil—is very flavorful.

Typical pesto can be more than 50 percent pure fat, and even though a little goes a long way, that’s just too many calories. This is a re-invention of the classic pesto alla genovese. The garlic, pine nuts, basil, and Parmigiano-Reggiano are all still there, but low-fat sour cream stands in for the olive oil. It may not be 100 percent authentic, but you’ll love what it does for your dress size.

Toss this creamy sauce with hot cooked pasta, or drizzle it over steamed broccoli or roasted Brussels sprouts.

A deli side-dish favorite, macaroni salad is a gimme on every table in America come summertime. Everyone has a favorite recipe—some contain ham, some peppers, some bacon, and some peas. But all contain high-fat mayonnaise and white pasta, a fundamentally bad combo. White pasta is replaced here with whole-wheat shells, and the high-fat mayo with low-fat mayo. I added a few bits and pieces, like smoked paprika, to give it some personality.

Who would have thought those thin little crepes filled with ricotta and baked in red sauce and cheese could be so diabolically caloric? The fat in the ricotta, the fat in the mozzarella, the fat in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and even the fat in the olive oil—it adds up quickly. A typical serving has about 46 grams of fat and more than 900 calories. With a few clever swaps, I got it down to just over 8 grams and 200 calories. A few meals like this, and you’ll be into your little black dress in no time.

Béarnaise is one of the classic French sauces. Its standard formulation includes a lot of butter and egg yolks. In this version, I kept the licorice-tasting tarragon that’s a hallmark of the sauce and let the fat and calories go.

Few dishes are as tasty and flavorful as a good curry. Unfortunately, the amount of ghee (clarified butter) and full-fat yogurt used in a typical curry makes for a lot of XXL T-shirts. Here, lean, tender beef, intense seasoning, lots of fresh vegetables, and 5%-fat yogurt make for a skinny jeans day instead.

Goulash is a Hungarian stew made from cuts of beef that contain lots of collagen, which melts during cooking and thickens the liquid in which it’s cooked. That’s why this recipe calls for beef shank: it’s rich and meaty but doesn’t have the fat content of other cuts of beef, such as chuck. Paprika and onions are the other ingredients that give this dish its signature taste. A little yogurt to finish (instead of the traditional sour cream) provides additional richness without driving up the calorie count.

In this country, dishes of Mexican origin have a reputation for being fat-laden and bad for you. At the same time, we can’t seem to get enough of them! The funny thing is that in Mexico, the traditional food is generally fresh, healthy, and wholesome—lots of grilled fish and meats, intensely flavored (and cream-free) sauces, fresh vegetables and fruits, and herbs. The problem is the blanket of full-fat cheese and sour cream under which most Mexican-American dishes are served. The Mexican flavors we love come from healthy foods like bright-tasting tomatillos and cilantro, so I banked on them in this new version of enchiladas.

Chicken Parm is one of my all-time favorite dishes. It’s as much an American classic as a burger and fries or angel food cake. The good news is that Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is made from skim milk to start with, so there is no need to replace it with “cheese food” or anything else that’s unsuccessfully impersonating the real thing. In this version, thin chicken cutlets are grilled and topped with reduced-fat mozzarella and then sprinkled with breadcrumbs just before finishing the dish for a crispy browned topping.

Many cooks overload Italian-American-style red sauce with olive oil. While it is a healthy fat, it’s still a fat. At 120 calories per tablespoon, that’s a lot of leeway in the hands of a liberal cook. In this version, the olive oil has been reduced to 1/2 tablespoon for all 4 portions and it still tastes great. If you use chicken thighs, you’ll end up with a little more cholesterol but a lot more flavor. (If your diet requires very small amounts of cholesterol, use boneless, skinless chicken breast instead of the chicken thighs, and simmer them for only 10 to 12 minutes to prevent their drying out.

Comfort food like chicken pot pie may lift your spirits, but it will weigh your body down. I know—there are few things more satisfying than biting through a super-flaky, buttery crust into a creamy, savory filling of chicken and vegetables. Pie dough is essentially flour used as a vehicle for fat. The filling can also be a fat land mine if you’re not careful. Eat this. It will make you feel good in every way.

This is a light and simple chicken dish that’s perfect for a summer barbecue. Although we eat more chicken than any other animal protein in the United States, the problem with most of it is that it is insipid and tired. A fruit-based salsa like this one offers some sweetness and acidity that really sparks up this ubiquitous bird. This recipe is simply too good not to include.

This brown-rice version of the national dish of Spain may raise some eyebrows in Barcelona, but at less than half the calories of the original, this combination of fragrant saffron, garlic, chorizo, and shrimp is a beautiful thing.

If you’ve never had real pad Thai, it will change your life when you do. It’s a perfect example of Asian kitchen alchemy. The texture of the rice noodles against the sweet, salty, sour, and bitter taste of the almost seventeen ingredients (in the original) is the thesis for every Asian fusion dish to come out of an American chef’s kitchen since the 1980s. “Complex,” “layered,” and “dynamic” are words that come to mind—and every bite is different. All that comes with a price, though! The original can tip the scales at 2,000 calories per serving. This made-over version comes in at a fraction of the calories and a fraction of the work, and it tastes great. Fish sauce is derived from fermented fish and can be found in many Southeast Asian dishes. It is available in the ethnic or Asian aisle of most major supermarkets.

In preparing these burgers, use a food processor to chop the raw tuna, but be careful not to overdo it. Pulse just enough to chop it—too much action can toughen the fish, and you’ll wind up with a dry burger instead of a juicy, flavorful one.

The Italian name for this salad is insalata caprese, and it’s a shining example of the brilliance of Italian cuisine: a few fresh, simple ingredients at the peak of their season combined to produce exceptionally complex flavors. It hails from Capri, a small island off the coast of Naples in the region of Campagna, where my family comes from. Buy only the best mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil you can find to make this salad. It may be naturally fresh and healthful, but I have kept fat and calories to a minimum by keeping the olive oil to a minimum—only 1 tablespoon for 4 servings.