Comfort Food Facelift

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Does the economic crisis have you turning to food for comfort? You are NOT alone. Food is legal, ubiquitous and a comfort to many people. Comfort foods are always popular but more so when times are tough. Some of my favorites are blackberry cobbler, homemade meatloaf and mashed potatoes.foods of the South which I grew up on. How about you? What comfort foods do you love? You don't have to feel guilty about eating comfort foods because there are so many easy ways to give your comfort foods a facelift..still absolutely yummy but tweaked to be a bit healthier. I have a few ideas for you today.

How about mac and cheese? One of the easiest ways to give this dish a facelift is to switch to whole wheat or high fiber pasta. If you haven't made the switch yet, this one is painless for the pasta takes on the flavor of the mac and cheese. You boost the nutrition profile immediately with fiber and various vitamins and minerals depending on which pasta you choose. If you're thinking you're not so sure about switching to whole wheat or high fiber pasta, then do so gradually. Try using ½ of your white pasta with ½ of a whole wheat version. Slowly increase the amount of the whole wheat version over time. Whole wheat pasta has a hearty nutty flavor and is filling so you tend to eat less.

Ellie Krieger, the dietitian who hosts the Food Network show Healthy Appetite has a delicious macaroni and four cheese recipe in her book The Food You Crave . It incorporates frozen winter squash. You never know it's there.the four cheeses are so good yet the nutrition profile reads like a who's who. It's a minimum facelift with a big benefit.

Family Circle Senior Health Editor Margit Ragland joins me on my podcast this week to talk health and share tasty recipes. Be sure and check out the November 1 st issue of Family Circle magazine for their expanded article on "Comfort Food Makeovers".

A great makeover tip from their article is to add your favorite dried fruit such as cranberries or dried apricots and nuts or flax seeds to banana bread or muffin batters. You punch up the nutrition value and personalize your baking at the same time.