Eating healthy and maintaining good nutrition doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite foods. Carolyn O’ Neil, a registered dietitian and author of The Slim Down South Cookbook shows us that a few smart swaps can turn delicious Southern foods into healthy meals.

Baked Smokin’ Mac & Cheese

Mac and cheese can be loaded down with rich butter and lots of cheese, but O’ Neil has added this healthy twist.

“Here’s a really great secret ingredient—fat free evaporated milk,” says O’ Neil.  “The evaporated milk is really rich and creamy, so it adds a beautifulness to the sauce.”

Recipe:

Makes 8 servings

Hands-On 30 min. 

Total 1 hour

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb. uncooked cellentani (corkscrew) pasta
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups fat-free milk
• 1 (12-oz.) can fat-free evaporated milk
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded smoked Gouda cheese
• ½ cup (2 oz.) shredded 1.5% reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground red pepper, divided
• 1 (8-oz.) package chopped smoked ham
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1¼ cups cornflakes cereal, crushed
• 1 Tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare cellentani pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Gradually whisk in flour; cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk and evaporated milk until smooth; cook, whisking constantly, 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Whisk in Gouda cheese, next 3 ingredients, and ⅛ tsp. ground red pepper until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in ham and pasta.

3. Pour pasta mixture into a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Stir together crushed cereal, 1 Tbsp. melted butter, and remaining ⅛ tsp. ground red pepper; sprinkle over pasta mixture.

4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: We tested with Barilla Cellentani pasta and Cabot 1.5% Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese.

CALORIES 453; FAT 12.1g (sat 6.8g, mono 2.3g, poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 26.8g; CARB 59.9g; FIBER 2.1g; CHOL 48mg; IRON 3mg; SODIUM 846mg; CALC 398mg

Skillet Fried chicken

O’Neil uses peanut oil to make a healthier version of Southern fried chicken.

“Peanut oil gets really hot, so the chicken is crispy,” says O’ Neil. “We also took the skin off. Don’t be afraid. It’s still delicious, because the crust is made with ground ginger and smoked paprika. So it’s just as tender and delicious.”

Recipe: 

Makes 4 servings 

Hands-On 1 hour 

Total 3 hours

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. hot paprika
• ½ tsp. fine sea salt
• 2 bone-in chicken breasts, skinned and halved
• 2 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
• 2 chicken drumsticks, skinned
• ¼ cup peanut oil

Directions: 

1. Sift together first 6 ingredients; place mixture in a large zip-top plastic bag. Sprinkle salt evenly over chicken. Add chicken, 1 piece at a time, to bag; seal. Shake bag to coat chicken. Remove chicken from bag, shaking off excess flour. Place chicken on a wire rack; place rack in a jelly-roll pan. Reserve remaining flour mixture. Loosely cover chicken; chill 1½ hours. Let chicken stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Return chicken, 1 piece at a time, to flour mixture, shaking bag to coat chicken. Discard excess flour mixture.

2. Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 25 minutes or until done, carefully turning every 5 minutes.

3. Line a clean wire rack with brown paper bags; arrange chicken in a single layer on bags. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Serving size 1 chicken breast half or 1 thigh and 1 drumstick CALORIES 467; FAT 19.6g (sat 3.8g, mono 8.1g, poly 5.7g); PROTEIN 36.0g; CARB 35.5g; FIBER 2.8g; CHOL 125mg; IRON 3.1mg; SODIUM 459mg; CALC 27mg

Classic Strawberry Shortcake

And if you have a craving for sweets, O’Neil recommends having fruit for dessert.

“It doesn’t mean you can’t have the pastry,” says O’ Neil.  “But do a pastry flip using a lot more fruit than you have pastry.”

Recipe: 

Makes 15 servings 

Hands-On 25 min. 

Total 2 hours, 39 min.

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• ½ cup sugar, divided
• 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut up
• 1½ cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup whipping cream, whipped

Directions: 

1. Toss together strawberries and ¼ cup sugar in a medium bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 450°. Combine flour, baking powder, and remaining ¼ cup sugar in a large bowl; cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Add buttermilk and vanilla, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

3. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto a lightly greased baking sheet.

4. Bake at 450° for 14 minutes or until golden.

5. Split shortcakes in half horizontally. Spoon strawberries with syrup onto each shortcake bottom; cover with tops of shortcakes. Top each shortcake with whipped cream.

Serving size 1 biscuit, ¼ cup berries, and 1 Tbsp. whipped cream CALORIES 200; FAT 7.8g (sat 4.7g, mono 2g, poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 3.5g; CARB 29g; FIBER 1.4g; CHOL 24mg; IRON 1.3mg; SODIUM 174mg; CALC 104mg

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