Comfort Foods Made Healthy

For years I carried around an extra 10 pounds. No matter how often I worked out, my weight stayed constant. So despite the fact that I thought I ate pretty well, I went to see a nutritionist. I was on board with her advice to switch to nonfat salad dressing and to learn to love hummus. But when she said, "Consider cutting back on bagels," I balked. A bagel with cream cheese has been my lifelong comfort food.

Whether it's chocolate cupcakes, mom's lasagna, or a big bag of salty chips, we all have favorite eats that give us more than just nutrients and calories. "We crave certain foods because we associate them with pleasant memories, like family celebrations, or consider them rewards because that's how they were presented when we were young," says Larina Kase, PsyD, coauthor of Joining the Thin Club (Three Rivers Press). That's why when we're sad or stressed we reach for cookies or muffins rather than celery or asparagus.

The good news is that when weighing whether to indulge in comfort foods, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. When I started limiting myself to half a bagel with light cream cheese two or three times a week, the weight came off! We've got smarter, healthier ways to hang on to your food faves.