GET COMFORTABLE IN YOUR KITCHEN. Get comfortable in the supermarket. Get comfortable wielding pots and pans, stocking your fridge and pantry, making smart decisions in the grocery aisles.
Nowadays, most of us are more comfortable shouting “cheeseburger with fries” into a squawk box from our car window than we are making a cheeseburger and fries in our own kitchens. Whereas once the fridge was the starting place for every meal, now it’s the ending place—a sad, chilly refuge for forgotten takeout leftovers slowly morphing into epic fungal art projects. Whereas once the kitchen was the very center of the home, nowadays it’s just a small patch of linoleum we have to venture into in order to get ice cubes.
It’s time to rethink the kitchen. Instead of a forbidding dungeon where things get beaten, shredded, and burned, it needs to become the safest room in the house. It needs to become your Bat Cave, your Cone of Silence, your base camp at the bottom of Everest—the place you can retreat to for safety, for comfort, to gather up the tools you need for your next great adventure.
Because that’s what a kitchen really should be: the base camp of life. Eating well, feeling nourished, and staying fit and healthy are hard jobs out there in the real world. Your kitchen is your green zone.
So in this chapter, we’ve created a complete inventory of all the tools and foods you’ll need to create the ultimate Skinny Kitchen. Most of them you’ll already have on hand. Others you’ll need to stock up on. But knowing you have the absolute best tools on hand will give you the confidence you need to whip up the many simple recipes in this book.
Ready to get comfortable?
The
Skinny
Pantry
The 50 best staples for building healthy, flavorful meals any time of the day.
Choosing between mayonnaises and canned tomatoes might seem like trivial stuff, but the health implications can be massive. Make just two swaps that save you 100 calories a day and you stand to lose 10 pounds in a year. We’ve laid out the purest, healthiest, most delicious staples to pack into your pantry. Consider these the building blocks not just for amazing comfort classics, but for a lifetime of leanness.
Land O Lakes Unsalted Whipped Butter (1 Tbsp) 50 calories By using whipped butter, you can enjoy the taste of real butter for half the calories. |
Imperial Vegetable Oil Spread (1 Tbsp) 70 calories This margarine contains the absolute maximum amount of trans fat you should consume within a day in every tablespoon. |
Pure Wesson 100% Natural Canola Oil (1 Tbsp) 120 calories Canola boasts a near-perfect ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats, making it an ideal all-purpose oil for sautéing, roasting, and making dressings. |
Crisco Pure Vegetable Oil (1 Tbsp) 120 calories Soybean oil—which is what Crisco uses—is low in heart-friendly monounsaturated fats. |
King Arthur Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour (¼ cup) 100 calories This flour combines the fiber of wheat with a taste and texture similar to regular white flour. |
Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour (¼ cup) 100 calories All flour starts out full of fiber, but nearly all of it is lost in the refining process. |
Tropicana Trop50 Some Pulp (8 fl oz) 50 calories Trop50 is partially sweetened by Purevia, which helps to cut down on sugars. |
SunnyD Tangy Original (8 fl oz) 60 calories SunnyD contains 5 percent orange juice. The other 95 percent? High fructose corn syrup, oil, and a host of other low-grade additives. |
Arnold Healthfull 10 Multigrain (1 slice) 45 calories This bread may be two grains down, but packs double the fiber per slice. |
Nature’s Pride 12-Grain Bread (1 slice) 110 calories This slice is one of the most calorie-dense breads in the supermarket. Too bad it doesn’t have the fiber to justify the high caloric cost. |
Martin’s Potato Rolls (1 bun) 130 calories We love that these rolls pack 3 grams of fiber into 130 calories, but we also love that Martin’s is the bun of choice for many of the country’s burger masters. |
Arnold Select Hamburger Rolls (1 bun) 160 calories Each bun is more caloric than a McDonald’s hamburger patty. |
Thomas’ Light Multi-Grain English Muffins (1 muffin) 100 calories Thomas’ manages to cram 8 grams of fiber—that’s as much as a Fiber One bar!—into every muffin. |
Thomas’ Honey Wheat English Muffins (1 muffin) 130 calories One gram of fiber is a waste of a muffin. |
Mission White Corn Tortillas (2) 90 calories Corn tortillas actually count as a whole-grain option, since they’re made with whole corn kernels, water, and little else. |
Mission Flour Tortillas, small (2) 220 calories Flour tortillas lose to corn in every major category: calories, fat, sodium, carbs, fiber, and number of ingredients. |
La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb High Fiber Large Tortilla (1) 80 calories One tortilla supplies half of the daily fiber requirement for women (and nearly half for men). |
Mission Multi-Grain Medium Tortilla (1) 150 calories Five grams of fiber isn't bad, but you can do a lot better for 150 calories. |
Ronzoni Smart Taste Elbows (2 oz dry) 170 calories The best of both worlds: the familiar taste of traditional pasta, but with 5 grams of fiber and 40 fewer calories per serving. Make this your go-to pasta. |
Ronzoni Elbows (2 oz dry) 210 calories Consuming fiber with pasta is vital as it will help keep your blood sugar stable as you take in the crush of carbs. Two grams per serving, though, is just not going to cut it. |
Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Grain Quinoa (¼ cup dry) 170 calories Quinoa is a complete protein—it contains every amino acid needed for proper nutrition. Add 4 grams of fiber per serving, and it’s the ultimate meal base. |
Near East Pearled Couscous Original Plain (⅓ cup dry, as packaged) 210 calories Couscous is more pasta than whole grain, which explains the low fiber count. |
Near East Wheat Pilaf (1 cup prepared) 200 calories With 8 grams of fiber in every cup, this bulgur-based pilaf packs more than double the amount found in brown rice. |
Rice-A-Roni Rice Pilaf (1 cup prepared) 310 calories A cup swallows up more than two-thirds of a day’s allotment of sodium and nearly a full day's worth of nasty trans fats. |
Lundberg Long Grain Brown Rice (¼ cup dry) 150 calories If you’re going to make rice a part of your meal regimen, make sure it has at least 3 grams of fiber per serving. |
Carolina Brown Rice Whole Grain (¼ cup dry) 150 calories A “whole grain” that is nearly fiber-free sounds like an oxymoron, but nothing surprises us in the food world. Rice can be one of the most dangerous foods in the pantry. |
Bob’s Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal (¼ cup dry) 140 calories Bob is a hero of the American food chain, responsible for putting out the best grains you’ll find in the supermarket. This cereal is like waking up to a bowl of rocket fuel. |
Cream of Wheat Instant Original (¼ cup dry) 160 calories Even a bowl of Froot Loops packs more fiber than this classic breakfast cereal. Time to find a new beginning to the day. |
Pillsbury Simply Buttermilk Biscuits (1 biscuit) 100 calories With just 100 calories and zero trans fats, you won't find a better biscuit in the supermarket. Stuff with scrambled eggs for a breakfast bonanza. |
Alexia Biscuits (1 biscuit) 190 calories These biscuits are made with palm oil, which research has indicated promotes heart disease. |
Triscuits (6 crackers) 120 calories Our favorite cracker of all time, not just because it has 3 grams of fiber, but because it pairs with everything from Cheddar to chocolate to salsa. |
Carr’s Table Water Crackers (8 crackers) 120 calories A fiber-free cracker is only a small step above a cookie. |
Kitchen Basics Original Chicken Stock (1 cup) 20 calories Stocks are less seasoned (read: less salty) than broths so as to let other ingredients’ flavors come through. Good for your food; good for your body. |
College Inn Chicken Broth (1 cup) 15 calories Both neurotoxin MSG and partially hydrogenated oil, the source of trans fats, plague this broth. |
Swanson Unsalted 100% Natural Beef Flavored Stock (1 cup) 20 calories Swanson’s regular stock contains 350 percent more sodium than the unsalted version. |
Emeril’s All Natural Beef Flavored Stock (1 cup) 15 calories With so much sodium in the stock, it becomes impossible to control the seasoning in the soups, stews, and sauces you add it to. |
Imagine Organic Creamy Tomato Soup (1 cup) 80 calories A study found that organic tomatoes contain nearly double the amount of flavonoid antioxidants than conventional crops. |
Campbell’s Slow Kettle Style Soups Tomato & Sweet Basil Bisque (1 cup) 260 calories This bisque packs as much fat as two scoops of Edy’s Grand Mud Pie ice cream. |
Bush’s Best Baked Beans Maple Cured Bacon (½ cup) 140 calories Baked beans in general rely too heavily on sugar, but at least these are bolstered by a potent combination of fiber and protein. |
B&M Baked Beans Bacon & Onion (½ cup) 190 calories There are five different sources of sugar listed on the ingredient statement. |
Eden Organic Refried Pinto Beans (½ cup) 90 calories Not just an excellent source of protein and fiber, beans are also loaded with anthocyanins, antioxidants that help fight off disease. |
Ortega Refried Beans (½ cup) 150 calories The benefits of beans are undercut here by a bit too much oil and way too much salt. |
San Marzano Crushed Tomatoes (½ cup) 40 calories San Marzano tomatoes are considered by many to naturally be the best, sweetest sauce base in the world. No need for excess sugar and salt in these cans. |
Del Monte Stewed Tomatoes Mexican Recipe (½ cup) 40 calories Salt is fourth on the ingredient statement, and just 1 serving contains 20 percent of your entire day’s sodium allotment. |
Lidia’s Marinara (½ cup) 60 calories Lidia Bastianich is one of the great pioneers of Italian cooking in America and her sauces reflect her culinary philosophy: first-rate ingredients messed with as little as possible. |
De Cecco Marinara (½ cup) 80 calories More calories, fat, sugar, and total ingredients than Lidia’s. Plus, 1 serving knocks out nearly half of your daily sodium allotment. |
Sacla Italia Sun Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Sauce (¼ cup) 110 calories With healthy sun-dried tomatoes as the primary ingredient powering this pesto, there’s less room for oil to drive up the calorie count. |
Mezzetta Homemade Style Basil Pesto (¼ cup) 300 calories This sauce harbors more fat than a bacon-topped Double Stacker from Burger King. |
Smuckers Simply Fruit Blueberry (1 Tbsp) 40 calories The mark of a great jam is being 100 percent fruit. Smuckers makes this fantastic line with nothing but fruit and fruit juice concentrates. |
Welch’s Concord Grape Jam (1 Tbsp) 50 calories Sometimes the most vital facts lie in the ingredient statement. There you’ll find that corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup are the second and third ingredients in this spread. |
Medford Farms Apple Butter (1 Tbsp) 25 calories This sweet spread is made purely from apples. Try it on toast, drizzled on ice cream, or spread on a warm biscuit. |
Smuckers Sweet Orange Marmalade (1 Tbsp) 50 calories The first two ingredients are high-fructose corn syrup and corn syrup. |
Maple Grove Farms 100% Pure Maple Syrup Dark Amber (¼ cup) 200 calories Real maple syrup is a top source of manganese and zinc—both important immune system boosters. |
Eggo Original Syrup (¼ cup) 240 calories This syrup is packed with more calories than the waffles it tops, and all of them are supplied by refined sugars. |
Justin’s Classic Almond Butter (2 Tbsp) 200 calories New research indicates that almond-derived calories may not be fully absorbed by our bodies, which gives us even more reason to love this sweet, creamy spread. |
Jif Natural Creamy (2 Tbsp) 190 calories This “natural” spread is rife with added sugars and palm oil. The best peanut butters have two ingredients: peanuts and salt. |
Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Sauce Mild (2 Tbsp) 25 calories This tomato-based sauce gets its flavorful kick from a blend of antioxidant-rich spices. |
Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce (2 Tbsp) 50 calories Two tablespoons of this sauce contain as much sugar as an entire bowl of Lucky Charms cereal. |
Huy Fong Sriracha (1 Tbsp) 15 calories Capsaicin, the compound that gives chiles their heat, is known to increase metabolism. This sauce, made almost entirely from chiles, will kick your fat-burning engine into full gear. |
Asian Gourmet Chili Oil (1 Tbsp) 130 calories You'll find this condiment on tables in restaurants across Asia (and increasingly in America, too). There are lighter, more concentrated ways to get your spicy fix. |
Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil Reduced Fat Mayonnaise (1 Tbsp) 45 calories The olive oil in this mayo supplies polyphenols, antioxidants that help your body ward off disease. |
Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise (1 Tbsp) 90 calories If a magical mayo with half the calories of your normal spread existed, why wouldn't you use it? |
Muir Glen Organic Garlic Cilantro Salsa (2 Tbsp) 10 calories The Muir Glen ingredient list reads like a stroll through an organic garden. |
Tostitos Restaurant Style Salsa (2 Tbsp) 15 calories Salt is listed as the first seasoning in this salsa. |
Wholly Guacamole Classic (2 Tbsp) 60 calories The closest thing to homemade guacamole you’re going to find in the supermarket. |
Mission Guacamole Flavored Dip (2 Tbsp) 40 calories Oil, cornstarch, and “avocado powder” replace real avocados in this guacamole imposter. |
Bolthouse Farms Classic Ranch (2 Tbsp) 45 calories Ranch, one of the highest-calorie condiments on the planet, is normally nothing but trouble, but Bolthouse uses a yogurt base to give this dressing creaminess without the fat. |
Hidden Valley The Original Ranch (2 Tbsp) 140 calories Two spoonfuls of this dressing pack as much fat as a Taco Bell Beef Gordita Supreme. |
Marie’s Balsamic Vinaigrette (2 Tbsp) 50 calories Balsamic and red wine vinegars supply flavor without adding too many calories. A fantastic all-purpose dressing to keep around for your salad needs. |
Newman’s Own Olive Oil & Vinegar Dressing (2 Tbsp) 150 calories Newman sticks to a more traditional 3-to-1 oil-to-vinegar ratio, which gives this dressing its caloric heft. |
Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce (1 Tbsp) 10 calories A solid choice to keep in your pantry for stir-fries and marinades. Even with the sodium reduction, apply this sauce sparingly. |
La Choy Soy Sauce (1 Tbsp) 10 calories Each tablespoon packs more sodium than an entire can of Pringles. Stock your pantry with this at your own peril. |
La Choy Teriyaki Stir Fry Sauce (1 Tbsp) 10 calories This sauce manages to avoid the two most common pitfalls of Asian condiments: excess sodium and excess sugars. |
House of Tsang Saigon Sizzle Stir-Fry Sauce (1 Tbsp) 45 calories A single tablespoon holds as much sugar as two Keebler Fudge Stripes cookies. |
President Crumbled Feta (1 oz) 70 calories Feta’s full, pungent flavor belies a surprisingly low caloric tax. Try mixing with chopped olives, tomatoes, garlic, and basil for an incredible salsa for grilled chicken or steak. |
Alouette Blue Cheese (1 oz) 100 calories Blue cheese is among the most caloric of the crumbled cheeses. |
Kraft Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella (¼ cup) 70 calories Consider part-skim dairy products a more flavorful, less rubbery medium between “low fat” and “full fat.” |
Kraft Natural Cheese Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (¼ cup) 110 calories A quarter-cup of this three-cheese blend packs more saturated fat than two Twinkies! |
Kraft Singles 2% Milk Sharp Cheddar (1 slice) 45 calories These slices are the key to guilt-free grilled cheese. Also one of our favorite ways to top a cheeseburger. |
Kraft Deli Deluxe Sharp Cheddar Slices (1 slice) 110 calories One slice contains more saturated fat than an entire box of Kraft Mac and Cheese. |
Polly-O Part Skim Ricotta Cheese (¼ cup) 90 calories Each quarter cup has as much protein as a glass of milk. Try adding a scoop to your next batch of mac and cheese for an extra creamy texture. |
Sorrento Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese (¼ cup) 120 calories With whole milk as its base, Sorrento’s ricotta packs 50 percent more fat than Polly-O’s. |
Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese (2 Tbsp) 60 calories The whipping process introduces air into the cream cheese, making it both lighter and easier to spread. That means no accidentally overloading your breakfast breads. |
Organic Valley Organic Regular Cream Cheese (2 Tbsp) 100 calories Organic saturated fat is still saturated fat, and two spoonfuls of this spread pack 30 percent of your daily max. |
Wild Planet Wild Skipjack Light Tuna (2 oz) 69 calories In addition to being sustainable and packed in BPA-free cans, Wild Planet’s tuna contains more omega-3 fatty acids and less mercury. |
Starkist Solid White Albacore in Vegetable Oil (2 oz) 90 calories Conventional albacore contains about three times as much mercury as light tuna. |
Hormel Natural Choice Oven Roasted Deli Turkey (56 g) 60 calories More protein, fewer calories, and no added nitrates? Sign us up! |
Land O’Frost Premium Oven Roasted Turkey Breast (50 g) 70 calories Proof that not all turkey meat is necessarily lean. |
Applegate Naturals Sunday Bacon (2 strips, 14 g) 60 calories Not only is this as lean and meaty as bacon gets, Applegate also avoids using potentially harmful nitrites when curing this pork. |
Hormel Black Label Maple (2 strips, 18 g) 90 calories This bacon contains sodium nitrite and caramel coloring, both of which are linked to cancer. |
Aidells Italian Style with Mozzarella Cheese (1 link, 85 g) 170 calories Aidells keeps the fat count down by using only mozzarella, a naturally lighter cheese. |
Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Sweet Italian Style with Peppers and Mozzarella Cheese (1 link, 84 g) 280 calories More calories and fat, and less protein than Aidells. |
Applegate Organics Chicken & Apple Chicken Sausage (1 link, 85 g) 140 calories The top two ingredients are chicken and dried apples. A perfect example of why we love all of Applegate’s products so much. |
Johnsonville Chicken Sausage Apple (1 link, 85 g) 180 calories Chicken, water, and corn syrup dominate the ingredient statement. What makes up less than 2 percent? Apples. |
Applegate The Great Organic Original Beef Hot Dog (1 link, 48 g) 90 calories Applegate’s dogs are made from grass-fed beef, which has a higher concentration of healthy fats. |
Ball Park Jumbo Beef Franks (1 link) 240 calories Between the trans fats and the precipitous sodium count, these are some dangerous dogs. |
Cascadian Farm Shoe String French Fries (85 g) 110 calories Cascadian Farm lightly brushes its fries with pure canola oil, which gives them a crisp exterior without soaking them in excess calories. |
McCain 5 Minute Fries (85 g) 200 calories These fries are doused in an oil blend which saddles them with as many calories as real french fries. |
Breyers Natural Vanilla (½ cup) 130 calories Breyers uses more milk than cream, helping to keep this ice cream commendably light. Make this line your standard choice for sundaes, milk shakes, and midnight carton raiding. |
SheerBliss Vanilla (½ cup) 300 calories Move over, Häagen-Dazs. This new line of so-called premium ice cream manages to cram even more fat and sugar into its pints. |
The healthiest ways to bring comfort to your kitchen when there's not enough time to do it yourself.
1. LASAGNA
Stouffer’s Lasagna with Meat & Sauce (1 package, 297 g)
340 calories
12 g fat (6 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
850 mg sodium
This traditional favorite is also surprisingly moderate, thanks to judicious use of part-skim mozzarella and fat-free milk and cottage cheese.
2. PIE
Mrs. Smith’s Pumpkin Pie (⅙ pie, 127 g)
280 calories
14 g fat (6 g saturated)
17 g sugars
Pumpkin is rich in vision-boosting vitamin A, and just one slice of this pie fulfills 45 percent of your recommended daily value.
3. CHILI
Campbell’s Chunky Roadhouse Chili (1 cup)
220 calories
6 g fat (3 g saturated)
870 mg sodium
One cup contains less fat, more fiber, more protein, and fewer calories than an entire Baked Chicken Lean Cuisine frozen meal. Top with diced raw onions and a shake of hot sauce.
4. PIZZA
Amy’s Single Serve Margherita Pizza (1 pizza, 176 g)
400 calories
17 g fat (5 g saturated)
720 mg sodium
A fantastic alternative to delivery. Dress it up with fresh produce, turkey pepperoni, or chicken sausage.
5. FRIED CHICKEN
Banquet Chicken Fried Chicken Meal (1 entrée, 286 g)
350 calories
17 g fat (4 g saturated)
930 mg sodium
A complete meal of chicken, corn, and mashed potatoes, all for fewer calories than you’d find in two Outback Steakhouse hot wings.
6. POT ROAST
Stouffer’s Beef Pot Roast (1 package, 251 g)
230 calories
7 g fat (2 g saturated)
820 mg sodium
Stouffer’s specializes in comfort food, and many of their dishes are impressively low in calories. Serve this beefy blend atop quinoa for a hunger- quashing meal.
7. ALFREDO
Michelina’s Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo (1 package, 241 g)
310 calories
10 g fat (6 g saturated)
650 mg sodium
Michelina’s uses half-and-half instead of heavy cream to create the lightest Alfredo we’ve seen anywhere.
8. MAC & CHEESE
Annie’s Organic Shells & Real Aged Cheddar (1 cup prepared)
280 calories
4.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
520 mg sodium
The two main ingredients are pasta and organic cheese—no FrankIngredients to be found. Power-up the pasta with ham, steamed broccoli, and sundried tomatoes.
9. POT PIE
Banquet Chicken Pot Pie (1 pie, 198 g)
400 calories
23 g fat (8 g saturated)
780 mg sodium
Banquet is one of the few pot pie manufacturers that doesn’t try to disguise one pie as two servings. Consider this one of the only pot pies safe enough to eat (besides our own of course).
10. WAFFLES
Van’s 8 Whole Grains Multigrain Waffles (2 waffles, 76 g)
160 calories
6 g fat (0 g saturated)
230 mg sodium
6 g fiber
These fiber-rich waffles are made from quinoa, amaranth, and millet flours. Cover with a bit of peanut butter, sliced banana, and a drizzle of agave syrup.
These powerful pantry players are the key to cooking dishes that are both intensely flavorful and incredibly lean.
Agave Syrup
Made from the same form of blue agave used to produce tequila, agave syrup is sweeter than sugar (about 1.5 times sweeter) yet has a very low glycemic index. Debate is ongoing, but many scientists believe that sweetening foods with agave syrup may have a gentler impact on your blood sugar than sugar, which is exactly what you want, since those spikes both deplete you of energy and signal your body to start storing fat. This natural sweetener has just the taste and the texture to fit seamlessly into most recipes in this book.
HOW TO USE IT: As a sub-stitute for maple syrup on pancakes and waffles; as a sweetener for iced tea, coffee, and cocktails; to flavor unsweetened yogurt or oatmeal; in any savory recipe in this book that calls for sugar.
2% Milk
In most professional kitchens, heavy cream is as common a staple ingredient as salt and pepper. Not only does that spell doom for your waistline, but it also gives food a uniformly heavy, fatty feel that leaves little room for other flavors. That's why we love milk: it lends a bit of dairy creaminess to soups, sauces, and desserts without muscling out the real stars of the recipe. Why 2%? Because some of milk's best nutrients are fat soluble, meaning your body needs a bit of fat to fully absorb them. Plus, a little fat can be a lovely thing.
HOW TO USE IT: Use to make béchamel, which forms the base for mac and cheese, pot pie, and lasagna; stir into chowders; in recipes that call for heavy cream, try using three parts 2% milk to one part Greek yogurt as a low-calorie substitute.
Greek Yogurt
The Greeks have had thousands of years to perfect yogurt. By skimming off the watery whey from the milk, you get a final product that packs twice as much protein as standard yogurt. More than that, you also get a yogurt with an intensely rich, creamy texture that works in both sweet and savory dishes.
HOW TO USE IT: Mix with chopped garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh herbs to make a sauce for lamb, steak, or grilled fish; scoop it onto tacos or baked potatoes as a replacement for sour cream; stir into sauces or soups instead of heavy cream.
Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes
The little-known secret behind most great Italian restaurants’ red sauce is that it’s made with canned tomatoes. That’s because canned tomatoes are picked at the height of the tomato season and canned instantly, preserving the intensely sweet, acidic flavor of summer tomatoes. We love whole peeled tomatoes more than, say, diced or crushed tomatoes because they’re minimally processed, giving you a fresher-tasting final product. Muir Glen makes our favorite tomato products.
HOW TO USE IT: Use it as the base for homemade salsa; combine the tomatoes with nothing more than olive oil and salt for a perfect pizza sauce; use as the base for a slow-cooked dish, like our Provençal Chicken; make the perfect pasta sauce by simmering with onions, garlic, and chili flakes sautéed in olive oil.
Chicken Stock
Restaurants typically use butter and cream as the base for most of their sauces, which explains a lot about why restaurant food is so disastrous to your waistline. Using chicken stock—to moisten stuffing, to build sauces, to braise meat and vegetables—gives you the flavors of roasted chicken and root vegetables with minimal caloric impact (about 10 per ½ cup). Of course, vegetable and beef stock are both excellent, but for our money, chicken is the most flavorful and the most versatile. Learn how to make your own here.
HOW TO USE IT: Combine with equal parts red or white wine, plus shallots and herbs, and boil until reduced to sauce consistency (perfect for steak or chicken); stretch a pasta sauce without boosting calories by adding a few splashes of stock; deglaze a skillet or a roasting pan you cooked meat in with a cup of stock, then add a few pinches of flour and a pat of butter for instant gravy.
Balsamic Vinegar
Balsamic is probably the most famous vinegar of all, beloved for its tangy-sweet taste. Granted, real balsamic from Italy must be aged a minimum of 12 years in multiple barrels, but who’s counting? The supermarket standard is still perfect as a base for building salad dressings and marinades, as well as a special secret touch when caramelizing onions, braising meat in a slow cooker, or quick-pickling vegetables.
HOW TO USE IT: Combine with equal parts soy sauce, plus chopped garlic, for a great steak or chicken marinade; mix with two parts olive oil, a small spoonful of Dijon, and salt and pepper for an all-purpose vinaigrette; cover onions or cucumbers with balsamic for 10 minutes for an instant pickle; combine with chopped strawberries and pour over vanilla ice cream (trust us!).
How five comfort classics go wrong, and how you can rescue them in your own kitchen.
It’s a cruel reality that the most comforting food is so often the most damaging to our bodies. Salt, sugar, fat: These form the basis of so many of our collective cravings, as well as the framework behind so many of America’s greatest health problems. After spending months in the kitchen running through the full gamut of comfort foods, we’ve learned a lot about the perils of the most familiar foods in America, especially when left to the devices of corporate kitchens looking to maximize profit.
To help ensure that comfort food and healthy food aren’t mutually exclusive, we’ve done a full autopsy on five of the most iconic American comfort dishes, pinpointing the major trouble spots and offering quick, easy-to-adapt fixes for each. The tricks and techniques on the pages to come are not just meant to right the nutritional wrongs of these specific dishes, but to serve as a blueprint for keeping all your favorite comfort foods comfortably lean.
Check out our recipe!
1. Mac & Cheese
Look up “comfort food” in a dictionary and you’ll see a bubbling crock of mac and cheese. Problem is, short of eating mayonnaise straight from the jar, you’d be hard-pressed to find a food with more calories per gram than macaroni and cheese from a restaurant kitchen. But we believe that a creamy, cheesy, relatively healthy bowl of mac and cheese is an inalienable right of every American, and we think we’ve cracked the code.
The cheese
Most restaurants choose to use low-cost cheese-like substances of the Velveeta variety. Problem is, these cheeses are long on fat and calories and short on true cheesy flavor. The restaurants’ solution, of course, is to use more cheese, inevitably drowning the pasta in a bland bath of processed junk.
THE FIX: Opt for quality over quantity. Extra-sharp Cheddar packs twice as much cheesy intensity into every calorie as the mild variety (and about four times as much as processed cheese blocks). With the strong Cheddar flavor as the base, we work in naturally low-calorie cheeses to give the sauce more body and less caloric density. Both Swiss and mozzarella are lower in calories and fat than Cheddar and are excellent melting cheeses, giving the mac that amazing stretchy-cheese quality.
The sauce
A cautionary tale: Matt used to work at a restaurant (which shall remain unnamed) that made one of the most famous mac and cheeses in Los Angeles. What made it so famous? The recipe started with a quart of heavy cream and two sticks of butter. All of that was cooked down until thick like yogurt, then hit with an astounding heap of cheese. How many bowls did they make out of this great vat of bubbling intensity? Four, each packing an estimated 2,100 calories.
THE FIX: Béchamel, a mixture of milk, flour, and butter, is a perfect lower-calorie stand-in for any recipe calling for heavy cream or excess cheese. The point of the béchamel is to provide rich, smooth texture and stretch the impact of the cheese without burdening the pasta with unnecessary calories and fat. We make ours with 2% milk (you need a bit of fat, of course) and a light hand with the butter. Simmer until the flour combines with the milk to create a thick sauce, then stir in the cheese.
The cooking
Most mac and cheese starts in the pan, then is finished in the oven for up to 30 minutes of high-temp baking. But as the sauce bubbles away, it reduces down, thickening with each passing minute it spends in the oven. To compensate, restaurants bathe their macaroni in copious amounts of cheese sauce, which means mac and cheese often resembles an orange soup as much as it does a pasta.
THE FIX: A short, high- temperature blast under the oven’s broiler gives you a crunchy caramelized crust without drying out the mac. To tease out the textural contrast even more, we add a light layer of bread crumbs and grated Parmesan, both of which brown up beautifully under the heat of the broiler.
Check out our recipe!
2. PotPie
Potpie hits all of the touchstones of classic comfort food: It’s meaty, creamy, saucy, salty, carby, and downright delicious. It’s also dangerously overloaded with the kinds of ingredients that give your cardiologist nightmares: bad fats, empty carbs, sodium, low-quality calories. Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way. A few simple tricks can return potpie to the realms of nutritional respectability without sacrificing the creature comforts of the original dish.
The crust
The flaky golden-brown lid may be the sexiest part of a potpie, but it’s also the most glaring of the dish’s many nutritional pitfalls. Its principle ingredients, flour and fat, pack a punch in any iteration, but the fact that shortening and other hydrogenated fats are frequently used introduces a whole new element of danger to the table: trans fats. Given that many restaurants use the pastry as both a base and a top for the potpie, you could be looking at a double dose of dietary disaster.
THE FIX: We’ve made really excellent potpies with phyllo dough, which gives the dish the same flaky, buttery quality with considerably fewer calories. But for those who want the full pastry effect, buy puff pastry without trans fats and use a rolling pin to stretch out the shell to a ¼-inch thickness. You will still have the buttery golden top, but for about a quarter of the calories of a standard pastry lid.
The filling
The standard potpie filling is made with heavy cream combined with butter or cheap industrial oil, cooked down until thick and gloppy. In there is a token amount of vegetables—a smattering of carrots and onions, if you’re lucky—plus a big serving of dark-meat turkey or chicken.
THE FIX: Make a roux, using a small amount of oil or butter mixed with flour, chicken stock, and low-fat milk. As the flour heats up, it thickens the stock and the milk to form a creamy low-calorie base. More importantly, spike the sauce with as many vegetables you can get your hands on: Onions, carrots, potatoes, and peas should be in there of course, but other vegetables like parsnips, turnips, and mushrooms also work well. As for the meat, we prefer chunks of white-meat turkey or chicken—a pure protein addition to the potpie party.
The size
It’s no secret that portion distortion is at the heart of the nutritional shortcomings of restaurant food, but dishes like potpie are particularly problematic because the size of the potpie depends entirely on the size of the serving vessel, which tends to be fabulously exaggerated. A serving of potpie should be about the size of a bowl of cereal, so think twice when the waiter shows up with a horse trough instead.
THE FIX: We prefer to make a whole batch of potpie in a single baking dish, which simplifies the cooking process and makes it easier to carve out reasonably sized individual portions. Dump the entire filling into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, top with the pastry, and pop it into the oven.
Check out our recipe!
3. Steak and Potatoes
Caveman steaks and overstuffed potatoes aren’t just for expense account businessmen, but also for people who love the primal simplicity of a juicy cut of beef and a block of carbohydrates. It’s one of the most expensive meals you can eat outside of the house—not just in terms of dollars and cents, but also calories, fat, and sodium. Here’s how to cut costs across the board.
The cut
The iconic steakhouse cut, the rib eye, also happens to be among the fattiest steaks available. An 8-ounce rib eye clocks in at 554 calories and 42 grams of fat. Other popular choices don’t fair much better: Porterhouse , T-bone , and tenderloin all pack 560 calories and more than 40 grams of fat per 8-ounce serving—and that’s before any sauce or topping touches it.
THE FIX: We love steaks that combine big beefy flavor and maximum tenderness for minimum calories. We’ve run the numbers on all cuts of steak and singled out our favorites: sirloin (446 calories per 8 ounces) for being both tender and intensely meaty; flank steak (352 calories) for its pleasant chew and ability to stand up to marinades; and hanger steak (348 calories), the dark-horse winner, because no steak packs more beefiness into fewer calories.
The sauce
The classic steakhouse sauces boil down to one thing: butter. Béarnaise, hollandaise, green peppercorn—all contain lavish amounts of fat and little in the way of supporting flavors. In fact, many steakhouses don’t even bother with a sauce and instead drown their beef in liberal amounts of melted butter just before serving.
THE FIX: A truly great steak needs nothing but salt and fire, but we love a great sauce as much as the next carnivore. The best route is to build around the flavor of the steak itself, combining the leftover juices and brown bits from the cooking pan with red wine and stock to create a perfect accent to the red meat. Can’t imagine cooking a steak on anything other than a grill? Then serve it with a batch of chimichurri, a bright and balanced counterpoint to the char of the open flame.
The spud
A large russet potato, before a single shred of cheese or a crumb of bacon hits it, contains 290 calories, almost all of which come from quick-burning carbohydrates. Start tacking on pats of butter, scoops of sour cream, handfuls of Cheddar and that number quickly climbs above 500 calories.
THE FIX: Twice-baked potatoes may seem like a counterintuitive fix to a high-calorie problem, but hear us out: The roasted flesh of the potato is scooped out of the skin, bolstered with modest amounts of cheese, bacon, and Greek yogurt, then returned to the shell to bake until crispy and bubbling. Two large potatoes become four substantial portions, so what feels like an over-the-top indulgence is actually a savings of over 300 calories.
Check out our recipe!
4. Supreme Pizza
The everything pizza, the epitome of delivery-style pie, is one governed less by the idea of balance and subtlety and more by the tried-and-true American dictum: More is more. While the nuts and bolts may vary (bacon or ham? green peppers or mushrooms?), the end result is uniformly problematic: A single slice of supreme pizza can pack more calories and saturated fat than you should consume in an entire meal. But you can have your pizza and eat it too, as long as it comes from your oven and not some delivery dude.
The toppings
A small serving of pepperoni can pack up to 140 calories. Pork sausage? About 80 calories per slice. The calories add up quickly when dealing with ingredients like this, which is why specialty pizzas from places like Domino’s and Pizza Hut are so problematic to begin with.
THE FIX: Don’t settle for standard pepperoni and sausage. Try Applegate Natural Pepperoni, which contains nearly half the calories and fat of the market leader, Hormel. Chicken sausage, both raw and fully cooked, from producers like Al Fresco and Aidells, should be standard replacements for all pork sausage in your kitchen, not just for pizza. Balance the meat out with plenty of nutrient-dense vegetables like mushrooms, roasted peppers, and artichoke hearts and you can turn pizza from a liability into a health boon.
The cheese
Somewhere in the chain pizza makers’ handbook lies a rule that says all pizzas must be covered in a thick carpet of mediocre cheese. Low-quality mozzarella means that more is needed to actually lend flavor to the pizza, which inevitably masks the flavor of the other ingredients, the sauce, and the base of the pizza itself. It also turns a serving of pizza into a legitimate health hazard.
THE FIX: We make our pizzas with fresh mozzarella, not just because it contains fewer calories and less fat than normal packaged mozzarella, but because it actually tastes better—the creaminess is more intense, the milky awesomeness more pronounced—which means a little mozz goes a long way. Major producers like BelGioioso make high-quality fresh mozzarella on a national scale; make it a standard part of your pizza experience.
The crust
The idea of a light, airy crust is a structural impossibility with delivery pizzas for two dominant reasons: First, to support this torrent of toppings and cheese, a thicker crust is absolutely essential. Second, to survive a 20-minute ride in a cardboard box to the front door of a hungry family takes serious substance and durability. The result is a thick, chewy crust that makes up the bulk of the pizza’s flavor and nutritional profile.
THE FIX: By rolling out your own dough at home, you can set the stage for a more balanced pizza. Use a rolling pin to shape thin rounds about ⅛-inch thick. If homemade dough is too daunting a task on a weekday, there are other great vessels that will work: pitas, loaves of ciabatta, and, our favorite, English muffins—which make the most perfectly sized personal pizzas imaginable.
Check out our recipe!
5. Ice Cream Sundae
It used to be so simple: a scoop of ice cream, a drizzle of chocolate, and a cherry on top. But those sundaes have disappeared, replaced by the mammoth creations from places like Baskin-Robbins and Cold Stone Creamery—tricked-out sundaes that contain more calories than a pound of steak and more ingredients than the most diabolical witch’s brew. Follow these tips and you’ll return the sundae to its rightful place as a sensible indulgence.
The ice cream
So-called premium ice creams, like those made by Häagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry’s, Cold Stone, and others, are made with heavy cream and tons of sugar, packing up to twice as many calories into a ½-cup scoop as the lighter brands out there. That means in a full-size sundae, choosing the wrong ice cream can be a difference of 300 calories or more.
THE FIX: Breyers ice cream starts not with cream but with milk. The taste and texture, though, are still spot-on. Know why? Because they don’t bother with chemical fillers and other bizarre ingredients you often find in light ice creams. Breyers Natural Vanilla contains just 5 ingredients, which is exactly how it should be. If not Breyers, look for ice creams with minimal ingredients and calorie counts well below 200 per serving. Blue Bunny also fits the bill.
The toppings
Candy bars and cookies are high-calorie treats in their own right; crumbling them up and adding them to ice cream is doubling down on dessert in the worst possible way. Beyond that, beware of sneaky calories from items like peanut butter, marshmallows, and other sources of sweetness. A hundred calories of whipped cream on top of a bowl of frozen sweetened cream? There are better ways to spend calories.
THE FIX: We prefer high-impact ingredients that make an impression without saddling you with excess calories or fat. A tablespoon of dark chocolate sauce transforms a bowl of ice cream for just 50 calories. A scattering of roasted peanuts brings crunch and salty contrast for even less. And fresh fruit adds depth, natural sweetness, and a modicum of true nutrition to a dessert desperately needing some. We love to grill fruit—bananas, pineapples, peaches—because the fire adds an extra layer of flavor.
The dish
Yes, even the dish matters. Consider this study from well-known portion patroller Brian Wansink, a researcher at Cornell University. Wansink and his team invited 85 participants to an ice cream social and put out a variety of bowls and serving scoops for dishing up the dessert. The people who used large bowls and large scoops served themselves 57 percent more ice cream than those using small bowls and small scoops. The kicker? All of the participants were nutrition experts! If nutrition professors and grad students can’t spot the difference, should you be expected to?
THE FIX: Yes, you can use the smallest bowl you have in the house, but an even better option is a coffee mug or a stemless wine glass, which allows you to marvel at your creation while limiting its size. Even more than the ice cream and the toppings you chose, this may be the biggest factor in determining the nutritional value of your next sundae.
Kitchen Wisdom
The best culinary minds know that simple touches can lead to magical meals. Here are 20 kitchen tips, tricks, and philosophies that’ll ensure every dish makes your taste buds happy.
1. Season to taste.
Very few of the recipes in this book have specific measurements for salt and pepper for a reason: Your mouth is more accurate than a measuring spoon. Taste and adjust as early and often as possible. (Oh, and get rid of that salt shaker! Put kosher salt in a small bowl by the stove and season with your fingers, which gives you real control and accuracy.)
2. When you salt is as important as how much you salt.
Season chicken, pork, and turkey up to 8 hours before cooking. The salt will penetrate the meat fully and yield juicier, more fully seasoned results. (That said, only season burgers seconds before throwing them onto the grill—otherwise the salt will break down the protein strands and create tougher patties.)
3. Fix your mistakes.
Too much salt? Use a splash of vinegar to provide a counterbalancing punch of acid. Too much heat? Try a drizzle of honey to mellow out the spice.
4. Shop for food on Monday or Tuesday before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
Research shows that these are the least-crowded moments of the week at the market, making it the best time to pick out first-rate products without the clamoring masses.
5. Pat meat and fish dry before cooking.
Surface moisture creates steam when it hits a hot pan or grill, impeding caramelization. If your fish has skin, use a sharp knife to squeegee off the water trapped within it.
6. For deeply flavored foods, don’t overcrowd the pan. Ingredient overload makes a pan’s temperature plummet, and foods end up steaming rather than caramelizing. This adds cooking time and subtracts flavor. All ingredients should fit comfortably in one layer, so use a pan that’s big enough for the job, and cook in batches if necessary.
7. Don't scorch the nonstick!
Teflon can deteriorate over high heat, so save your nonstick pans for gentler tasks like cooking omelets and fish.
8. Nothing beats crispy chicken skin.
Buy a whole chicken the day before you’ll cook it, sprinkle on a teaspoon of kosher salt, and leave it uncovered in the fridge. The air and salt will draw out excess water. Just be sure to pat dry with paper towels before cooking.
9. Think of a broiler as an inverted grill,
a source of concentrated, quick-cooking heat. Chicken, pork chops, and steaks take about 10 minutes to broil; just be sure to flip them midway through the cooking process.
10. Instantly improve your next TV dinner:
After cooking, add fresh herbs, a squeeze of citrus, and a drizzle of olive oil to transform any frozen entree.
11. Keep tomatoes out of the fridge.
Same with peaches, potatoes, onions, bread, garlic, and coffee. Cold temperatures compromise the flavor and texture of these staples.
12. Warm food served on a cold plate is a rookie mistake.
Heat your dishes in a 150°F oven for 10 minutes before plating a meal. On the flip side, lightly chilled plates (use your freezer) boost the freshness of cold dishes like summer salads.
13. Adapt at will.
Ingredients aren’t set in stone. Mushrooms can stand in for eggplant if that's what you have. Don’t want to spend $3 on a bunch of celery just to use a single rib? Omit it. You like pork chops more than chicken breast? Switch it. Point is, if you understand the basic techniques and know what tastes good together, the possibility for creation in the kitchen is infinite.
14. Shop with the seasons.
Sure, sometimes you just need a tomato, but there are three great reasons to shop in season: It’s cheaper, it tastes better, and it’s better for you (and the planet).
15. Make friends.
Talk to butchers, produce suppliers, and fishmongers before buying. They can steer you to the best ingredients. Your supermarket doesn't have a butcher? Find a new place to shop.
16. Freshen up limp vegetables.
Drop your aging produce into ice water before cooking. Plants wilt due to water loss; ice water penetrates their cells to restore crispness.
17. Get more pucker for the price!
Zap lemons, limes, or oranges for 15 seconds in the microwave before squeezing them. The fruit will yield twice as much juice.
18. Go to farmers’ markets early or late.
Early arrivals get the first pick of all the prettiest produce; latecomers can score last-second deals from vendors looking to unload their goods.
19. Flip your meat more than once. Research shows that near-constant flipping of steak, chicken, chops, and burgers not only allows your food to cook faster, but also more evenly. Aim for one flip per minute.
20. Give it a rest.
If you slice into meat right after it finishes cooking, precious juices will escape. Wait 5 minutes before biting into burgers or grilled chicken, 7 minutes before cutting into steaks, and 15 minutes before carving a large roast.