I was thinking about how I could revamp some of my old favorites and turn them into new healthy favorites.

Have you done this to any of your old faves? If so tell me about it.

risotto. i love love love it. but what i do now is:
chop up all the veg (peppers, mushrooms, carrots, courgette, onion, whatever is in the fridge really)
spray pan with low fat cooking spray. fry off the veg until they are soft. add some wholegrain rice, veg stock and passata. cover and simmer for 30 mins. the result is almost identical to risotto. and if i have a few points to spare, some low fat cheese on top is absolutely devine.

not as creamy as a risotto, but just as tasty and satisfying.

oh, and i love haddock in a creamy white wine sauce, but what i like to do instead is put a poached egg on top of the fish, and the yolk of the egg gives a delicious sauce and really ups the protein.

I have always loved lasagna. I now make veggie lasagna with a mixture of fresh or frozen cooked veggies, fat free or reduced fat ricotta cheese, reduced fat mozzarella and whole wheat lasagna noodles. I make my own sauce using no salt added diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water and herbs. The best part is that I have not boiled the lasagna noodles in years. I just layer the uncooked whole wheat noodles with the other ingredients and bake for 50 minutes covered with foil at 350 degrees. Then remove the foil and top with some mozzarella cheese and bake 10 more minutes, cool for about 15 minutes and serve.

I have found that I can tweak so many of my favorite things to eat by how I prepare it. For instance, using low-fat dairy, whole-wheat pasta and rice, very lean cuts of meat, adding in more veggies and less meat, etc. I bought a really good non-stick saute pan so that I can cook food by using cooking spray or low-sodium chicken broth instead of lots of oils. I now measure everything and I watch my portions.

I've also had to say good-bye to some favorites because there is nothing I can do to cut enough calories without sacrificing the taste. I will never make biscuits and gravy, fried potatoes and onions, or my mom's fudge.