Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

The original recipe for these cookies is a top rated recipe on the Food Network website and it was contributed by Wendy Gaynor, the owner of the Ruby et Violette cookie bakery in New York City. The original recipe calls for a stick of butter; I switched to a less fat margarine with a low amount of saturated fat and no trans fat. I decreased the sugar by 1/3 and used a majority of whole-wheat flour to make the dough, which adds nutrients and fiber. The original cookie recipe calls for 3 types of chips (peanut butter chips, toffee chips and semisweet chocolate chips). I kept the two types of chocolate and took out the toffee chips.

WHAT YOU SAVE
Making these changes cut from each cookie:

• 63 calories
• 5 grams total fat
• 4 grams saturated fat
• 17 mg cholesterol

And fiber increases by about 1 gram per serving!

Lightened NYC Bakery Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

1/2 cup less fat margarine (8 grams fat per tablespoon and no trans fat)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed
1 large egg, higher omega-3 if available
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup peanut butter or butterscotch chips
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (60% cocoa if possible)

Preparation:

1. In large mixing bowl, combine margarine with dark brown sugar until thoroughly blended, scarping sides and bottom of bowl frequently. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat on low speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl, until blended.
2. In separate bowl, combine flours, salt and baking soda. Add flour mixture to margarine/sugar mixture while beating on low speed until combined. Stir in both types of chocolate chips and marshmallows with a scraper or spoon. Cover bowl and refrigerate until cold (at least two hours).
3. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and use a cookie scoop to drop balls of dough (about 2 tablespoons each), 2 inches apart, on prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes (bake longer if you like your cookies crisp and not chewy). Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes then remove cookies to a wire rack and let them cool.

Yield: Makes 18 bakery size cookies

Nutrition Information
Per serving: 168 calories, 2 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 7.5 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 11 mg cholesterol, 1.2 g fiber, 112 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 40 percent.

Journal as: 1 portion medium dessert

The Series:

• Comfort Food Makeovers
• The Mashed Potato Makeover
• Macaroni and Cheese, Please!
• The Fried Chicken Makeover
• Top-Rated Gourmet Meatloaf
• Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Related Topics:

• 100-Calorie Chocolate Treats
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Top-Rated Gourmet Meatloaf

But lighter!

One of the top-rated meatloaf recipes on the Food Network website comes from the Joe Allen restaurant. We are making this meatloaf lower in saturated fat and higher in fiber by making a few switches. Instead of using 1 cup of white bread breadcrumbs, I used 100% whole-wheat bread. Instead of sauteing the vegetables in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, I used 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Ground sirloin (around 7% fat) is the base for our light meatloaf instead of regular fat ground beef and I used 1 higher omega-3 egg plus 2 tablespoons egg substitute (or 1 egg white) instead of 2 regular eggs.

WHAT YOU SAVE
Making these changes cut from each serving:

• 110 calories
• 14 grams total fat
• 5 grams saturated fat
• 25 mg cholesterol

And fiber increases by about .5 gram per serving!

Light Restaurant Meatloaf

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (1/2 teaspoon dried thyme can be used)
3 pounds ground sirloin or extra lean ground beef (around 7% fat)
1 cup whole wheat fresh bread crumbs (put 2 to 3 slices of firm whole wheat bread into a small food processor and pulse until breadcrumbs form)
1 large egg, higher omega-3 if available
2 tablespoons egg substitute (or 1 egg white)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon prepared mustard (add another tablespoon if desired)
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (add more if desired)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Coat a 9 x 9-inch round or square nonstick baking dish lightly with canola oil.
2. Heat tablespoon of canola oil in medium nonstick frying pan. Stir in onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and thyme and saute until soft. Let cool slightly.
3. In large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients, along with the cooled vegetables, and mix with your clean hands or a strong mixing spoon. Shape meat mixture into a loaf in the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake for about 1 hour or until meat is cooked throughout and nicely brown on the edges. Serve with mashed potatoes or any other favorite side dish!

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Nutrition Information
Per serving: 280 calories, 35 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 10.5 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 120 mg cholesterol, 1.5 g fiber, 314 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 34 percent.

Journal as: 1 serving "lean meat with sauce"

The Series:

• Comfort Food Makeovers
• The Mashed Potato Makeover
• Macaroni and Cheese, Please!
• The Fried Chicken Makeover
• Top-Rated Gourmet Meatloaf
• Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Related Topics:

• Cheap and Easy Recipes and Dinner Ideas
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

The Fried Chicken Makeover

To lighten up the traditionally deep fried chicken, we marinated skinless chicken pieces in buttermilk and coated them with a seasoned flour mixture, then sprayed with canola cooking spray, and baked them in the oven. This chicken is great cold, too!

WHAT YOU SAVE
Making these changes cut from each serving (compared to a deep fried chicken breast):

• 147 calories
• 22 grams total fat
• 7 grams saturated fat
• 86 mg cholesterol

Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne red pepper- increase to 1 teaspoon if extra "heat" is desired)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Canola cooking spray

Preparation:

1. Combine chicken breasts and buttermilk in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Refrigerate sealed bag in a medium-size bowl for several hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Use a pastry brush to coat the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch baking dish with canola oil.
3. In a new gallon-sized zip-top bag or medium-sized shallow bowl, stir together the flour, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and white pepper to blend well.
4. Remove a chicken breast from buttermilk and gently shake off any excess. Immediately dip chicken into flour mixture; coat well. Holding chicken piece over a plate, spray both sides well with canola cooking spray. Dip chicken piece into flour mixture a second time and spray again with canola cooking spray. Place into prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining chicken.
5. Bake until chicken is cooked throughout and coating is golden brown (about 25-30 minutes). If needed, switch the oven to broil, and broil the chicken 6 inches from the heat for a minute or two (until outside of chicken is nicely browned), watching very carefully so as not to burn.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Information:
PER SERVING: 194 calories, 28 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 5.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 74 mg cholesterol, 0.5 g fiber, 225 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 26%

Journal as: 1 serving "lean meat with 1 tsp fat maximum"

The Series:

• Comfort Food Makeovers
• The Mashed Potato Makeover
• Macaroni and Cheese, Please!
• The Fried Chicken Makeover
• Top-Rated Gourmet Meatloaf
• Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Related Topics:

• 'No-Fry' Fried Foods
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Macaroni and Cheese, Please!

That's healthful and delicious!

The two keys to a more healthful mac & cheese are to use a whole wheat or whole grain blend pasta (there are lots of products to choose from) and to make a lighter cheese sauce that's lower in fat and saturated fat. Traditional recipes call for several tablespoons of butter, whole milk or half and half and whole milk cheese, but in this recipe we cut the butter to one tablespoon and switched to whipped butter or less fat margarine, used fat free half and half and lowfat milk and reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese.

WHAT YOU SAVE
Making these changes cut from each serving:

• 318 calories
• 36 grams total fat
• 23 grams saturated fat
• 129 mg cholesterol

And fiber increases by about 6 grams per serving!

Light Mac & Cheese

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

3 cups dry macaroni noodles, whole wheat or whole grain blend
1 tablespoon whipped butter or less fat margarine
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
5 tablespoons Wondra quick-mixing flour (white flour can also be used)
1 1/2 cups low fat milk
1 1/2 cups fat free half and half
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch or two of cayenne pepper
3 1/2 cups shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
2/3 cup croutons of your choice, crumbled (optional)
Paprika to taste

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Coat two loaf pans (9 x 5-inch) with cooking spray. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni noodles and boil until al dente (about 8 minutes depending on the noodle), then drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized saucepan melt the butter, remove it from heat, and blend in the sour cream and flour to make a paste. Whisk in the milk and half and half and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to simmer, stir in the salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, and stir frequently until the sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Whisk in an additional tablespoon of flour if needed for desired thickness.
3. Remove the sauce from the heat, add the cheese and stir well. Pour the cheese sauce into a large saucepan, add the drained macaroni, and stir to combine. Serve immediately or pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle crumbled croutons and paprika (if desired). Bake for 30 minutes, or until the mixture bubbles and is lightly browned around the edges.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Nutrition Information:
Per serving: 408 calories, 27 g protein, 43.5 g carbohydrate, 13 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 41 mg cholesterol, 7 g fiber, 420 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 29 percent.

Journal as: 1 cup "starchy foods with 1 tsp fat" + 2 ounces low fat cheese OR 1 frozen dinner light, pasta dish with light sauce + 2 ounces lowfat cheese OR 1 1/2 hearty stews

The Series:

• Comfort Food Makeovers
• The Mashed Potato Makeover
• Macaroni and Cheese, Please!
• The Fried Chicken Makeover
• Top-Rated Gourmet Meatloaf
• Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Related Topics:

• Healthy Eating: Cutting Unhealthy Fats from your Diet
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

The Mashed Potato Makeover

Comfort Food Makeover #1

The original recipe for this dish comes from MarthaStewart.com and it calls for a stick of butter (which we completely deleted) and 1 1/2-cups heavy cream (which we substituted with fat free half and half).

WHAT YOU SAVE
Making these changes cuts from each serving:

• 180 calories
• 20 grams total fat
• 12.5 grams saturated fat
• 65 mg cholesterol

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

2 large heads garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half
4 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste (optional)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice about 1/4-inch off the top of the garlic heads, throw the tops away, and place heads on a piece of foil. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the garlic heads and wrap them well in the foil. Bake until tender and golden, (about 35-45 minutes). Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel the skin away from the garlic cloves.
2. Add the garlic cloves to a small nonstick saucepan along with the fat-free half-and-half. Simmer the mixture over medium heat until cream is hot. Reduce heat, cover the pan and continue to simmer for a couple of more minutes. Turn the heat off and lift out the garlic cloves with a slotted spoon, place in custard cup, and set aside. Leave the saucepan with half-and-half on the stove until needed.
3. Place quartered potatoes in a large stockpot, cover with cold salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potato pieces in a colander.
4. Add hot, steaming, and drained potato pieces directly to a large mixing bowl and beat on low while you slowly pour in the fat-free half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper if desired and gently stir in the roasted garlic cloves. Serve!

Yield: 10 servings

Nutritional Information:
Per serving: 200 Calories, 7 g protein, 45 g carbohydrate, 0.7 g fat (0.1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 55 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 3 percent.

Journal as: 3/4 cup starchy foods without added fat.


The Series:

• Comfort Food Makeovers
• The Mashed Potato Makeover
• Macaroni and Cheese, Please!
• The Fried Chicken Makeover
• Top-Rated Gourmet Meatloaf
• Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Related Topics:

• Healthy Eating: Cutting Unhealthy Fats from your Diet
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Comfort Food Makeovers

Lightening Up Your Favorite Comfort Foods!

There's something about favorite comfort foods that just speaks to our hearts as well as our stomachs.

Piping-hot macaroni and cheese with a crunchy golden-brown crust, chewy and gooey chocolate chip cookies warm from the oven, or a big mound of fluffy white mashed potatoes with a pool of melted butter dripping down the side: Who doesn't like comfort food? We all need a little extra comfort every now and then but in the current economic climate we want and need our comfort foods more often than every before.

"When we are anxious or fearful, we fall back to foods we associate with times of lowest stress-that is, with childhood," says Dr. John Foreyt of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Comfort foods are "feel-good" foods, soothing and nurturing us, but they usually come with a rather steep nutritional price tag: they are usually high in fat, saturated fat and calories and sometimes sugar. So what are some of these all-time favorite comfort foods? While men seem to prefer warm, hearty meat-related comfort foods, such as steak, casseroles, and soup, women prefer more snack-related foods like chocolate or ice cream. A few years ago more than 6400 people took my comfort food survey on www.allrecipes.com and these were the top 3 comfort foods:

• Mashed potatoes and gravy
• Macaroni and cheese
• Chocolate chip cookies

Wondering where some of your favorite comfort foods are on the list? Pot roast was the 7th ranked comfort food with fried chicken as the 8th, pasta as the 9th, and meatloaf as the 11th.

For the next few days, I'll be lightening up some of these all-time favorite comfort foods... proving to you along the way that you can have your favorite comfort foods and eat light too!

Sources: John P. Foreyt, Ph.D., Director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston Texas.ESHA Research, Food Processor nutrition analysis software.

The Series:

• The Mashed Potato Makeover
• Macaroni and Cheese, Please!
• The Fried Chicken Makeover
• Top-Rated Gourmet Meatloaf
• Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Related Topics:

• Emotional Eating and Weight Loss
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox