It's that time of year. As the weather gets colder, we may reach for food as comfort - like spaghetti and meatballs, macaroni n' cheese and chili to remind us of the past.
There is one problem though...
Registered dietitian Marisa Moore says comfort foods are often high in fat, calories or sodium. Eating too much of them can lead to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease.
Moore offers these tips to make your own healthy comfort foods. The idea is to make sure that it has a good nutritional profile so it feeds all of the senses as well as the body.
For mac n' cheese, you can start with a lower-fat milk, that will help to cut back on the calories. Or you can add vegetables to it.
For spaghetti and meatballs, instead of using beef, you might use a lean ground turkey. You might switch up your pasta option and use a spaghetti squash, which is a winter squash. When you flake the spaghetti squash, it resembles noodles.
Moore says this makes for a lower-calorie and lower-carbohydrate dish.
As for chili, heart-healthy chili is actually very easy to make. One thing to do is sort of volumize with vegetables -- you can add beans, you can add mushrooms and carrots. Those are great ways to increase the fiber.
There is one problem though...
Registered dietitian Marisa Moore says comfort foods are often high in fat, calories or sodium. Eating too much of them can lead to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease.
Moore offers these tips to make your own healthy comfort foods. The idea is to make sure that it has a good nutritional profile so it feeds all of the senses as well as the body.
For mac n' cheese, you can start with a lower-fat milk, that will help to cut back on the calories. Or you can add vegetables to it.
For spaghetti and meatballs, instead of using beef, you might use a lean ground turkey. You might switch up your pasta option and use a spaghetti squash, which is a winter squash. When you flake the spaghetti squash, it resembles noodles.
Moore says this makes for a lower-calorie and lower-carbohydrate dish.
As for chili, heart-healthy chili is actually very easy to make. One thing to do is sort of volumize with vegetables -- you can add beans, you can add mushrooms and carrots. Those are great ways to increase the fiber.
