You may still be basking in warm weather where you live, but autumn has nevertheless begun (on September 22, in fact). It’s time for wearing thick wool sweaters, watching football games, and raking leaves. It’s also time for comfort food—and who doesn’t need comfort now more than ever? If you don’t want to get a head start on that extra wintertime weight, can you still enjoy the comforts of the season? Yes, you can! Try these 10 delicious but lighter comfort foods for fall, each under 500 calories. Oven-baked chicken parmesan Chicken parm is traditionally pan-fried in oil. Maybe that’s how your nonna made it, but this version takes a healthier spin on the comfort food classic by baking it in the oven and serving it over whole wheat pasta. (Psst! The secret to keeping the coating crispy in the oven is using panko breadcrumbs.) Get the recipe. One serving: 374 calories Chicken tikka masala Chicken tikka masala is comfort food—with just a little kick of spice. Though it may sound exotic, this dish likely originated in England where its creamy curry sauce is often made with ghee (clarified butter) and heavy cream. But here’s a healthier version that lightens up the recipe with canola oil, low-fat milk, and fat-free yogurt. Get the recipe. One serving: 191 calories Healthy meatloaf The name itself—meatloaf—certainly doesn’t sound healthy. Is it possible to lighten up this comfort food standby and still call it meatloaf? And will it taste anything like regular meatloaf? If that’s your goal, give this recipe a try. It was originally published in The Dude Diet cookbook (subtitled “Clean(ish) Food for People Who Like to Eat Dirty”). The recipe swaps out half the beef (lean beef, at that) with ground turkey. It also replaces traditional breadcrumbs with low-carb, high-protein quinoa, and it uses low-fat Greek yogurt (plus eggs) to bind it all together. Get the recipe. One serving: 393 calories Swiss chard and sausage egg bake Wake up, it’s time for breakfast! When we think of breakfast comfort foods, we may think of high-calorie horrors like Belgian waffles or biscuits and sausage gravy. When you think of healthy breakfasts, on the other hand, you might think of an egg-white omelet or a half of a grapefruit—nothing wrong with those options, but they don’t exactly fill your belly with comfort-y goodness. Here’s a prize-winning breakfast recipe that checks off both boxes: healthy and satisfying. It uses savory Italian turkey sausage and plenty of Swiss chard, a very healthful green vegetable. The eggs (which we now know aren’t so bad for us) provide plenty of protein for the day, and mushrooms, garlic, white wine, and shredded cheese give it a great savory flavor. Get the recipe. One serving: 248 calories Fish and chips Whether you’re in Brighton, England, or Berkeley, California (or anywhere in between), fish and chips is one of the ultimate comfort foods. But it’s also extremely unhealthy and high in calories. (A burger and fries are “healthier,” according to experts.) Instead, how about these fish and chips that are baked in the oven, avoiding all the deep frying? The crunchy coating is made with chopped almonds, and fresh thyme gives the potato crisps extra flavor without extra salt. Get the recipe. One serving: 307 calories Shepherd’s pie When you come inside after being out all afternoon in the cold, few things seem as warm, comforting, and appetizing as shepherd’s pie. It’s hot, savory, and filling—the definition of comfort food. But it’s also loaded with fat, salt, and calories. This chef’s recipe for shepherd’s pie slightly revises many of the usual but unhealthy ingredients, while retaining all the flavor and comfort. It includes more veggies, for instance. Fatty chuck is replaced with very lean ground beef, and only a pat or two of butter is used in the mashed potatoes. Shredded Swiss cheese on top makes for a flavorful addition. Get the recipe. One serving: 390 calories Tuna casserole How many of us gathered around the family dinner table to gulp down gloppy and smelly tuna noodle casserole? Put those unhappy childhood memories aside, because here’s a recipe that jazzes up that old standby. The usual canned cream of celery soup is replaced with salsa and shredded cheese, and brown rice and corn take the place of the bland egg noodles. Just add tuna, pop it in the oven, and you’ve got a quick and easy comfort food casserole that kids (and adults) actually want to eat. Get the recipe. One serving: 474 calories Tailgate turkey chili What’s better than a hot and hearty bowl of chili on a chilly fall weekend? Leftover chili that you can take to work during the week. Scooping it into a microwave-safe bowl is quicker than making a sandwich in the morning and—with this lean turkey chili recipe—it’s healthier, too. Sure, turkey chili is nothing new, but this popular, tasty recipe (it was featured on ESPN) ups the veggies and lowers the fat. Get the recipe. One serving: 262 calories Sloppy Joes Why is a sloppy joe sandwich called a “sloppy joe”? Was there an actual person named “Sloppy Joe”? Some historians trace the name to a 1930s cook named Joe who added tomato sauce to traditional “loose meat” sandwiches offered at a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa. No matter who or where this messy sandwich came from, it sure tastes good. Unfortunately, the usual sloppy joe is loaded with fat, sodium, and empty carbs from the hamburger bun. Instead, Ellie Krieger—Food Network host, best-selling cookbook author, and registered dietician nutritionist—came up with this sloppy joe recipe that cuts back on the fat and sodium, adds mushrooms to beef up the flavor, and is served on a whole wheat bun. Get the recipe. One serving: 410 calories. Healthy pumpkin pie Time for dessert! What is autumn without pumpkins—and pumpkin pie? These days, people eat—and drink—everything from Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes to Pumpkin Spice Twinkies (yes, you read that correctly), while they burn a Spiced Pumpkin Yankee Candle. In all the pumpkin spice hullabaloo, does anyone eat actual pumpkin pie anymore? If you want melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin pie but you don’t want all calories, Chocolate Covered Katie (a top food blogger) has a healthy pumpkin pie recipe that’s every bit as tasty, but lower in calories and secretly healthier for you (with ingredients like coconut milk, rolled oats, and ground flaxseed). Get the recipe. Source
