Lighten Up Your Next Delicious Meal

This weekend I made a delicious meal for my family to celebrate my mom's birthday. Here's the menu, completely out of a Cooking Light cookbook.

Appetizers:
Three kinds of crostini

1. Artichoke & Olive
2. Gorgonzola, with Fig Jam, and Caramelized Onions
3. Mushroom Pate

Main Course:

1. Semolina, Roasted Red Pepper Biscuits
2. Chicken Thighs Two Ways
3. Brown Rice
4. Green Beans

Dessert:
Italian Cream Cake

By selecting recipes that are lighter than traditional recipes and pairing them with simple healthy sides, everyone had plenty to eat, no one felt stuffed, and everyone left feeling like the meal was a delicious treat.  There are plenty of recipes made lighter by replacing oil with applesauce and other easy, inexpensive tricks.

Another nice feature of the Cooking Light recipes, they all have the serving size and basic nutritional information. It doesn't matter if you're counting calories, fat, fiber, salt, sugar, or all of the above, you can still stay on track with these recipes.

At your next special occasion try cooking at home instead of going out. You'll save thousands of calories, add something new to your repertoire, and everyone will appreciate your efforts.  The most important thing is to plan ahead, just like you do when food shopping for the week or packing lunch and snacks for the day.

Another tip is to try and find recipes with similar types of ingredients. We all know how it feels go have to buy a bottle of something for a 1tbsp requirement for a special recipe knowing we'll never use the remainder of the bottle. I found three recipes for my menu that called for low fat buttermilk, two that called for parsley, and two that called for capers. By creating a meal that has consistency in taste, you appeal to your guests' pallets and you don't break the bank.

So Lighten Up!