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Cruft: Lasagna Cupcakes. When Intelligentsia Coffee opened in Pasadena recently, I was intrigued the lasagna cupcakes they served. The cupcakes are made by Heirloom LA, a catering business. About the size of a muffin, a single lasagna cupcake was a delicious meal. After seeing how much my daughter enjoyed them (she ate my entire cupcake and I had to order a second one), I decided I had to try making them at home.

After a bit of research, here is my method. The girls love them and take them to school as lunch. The ingredients are fairly simple. Mozzarella, Ricotta, and Parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, meat (if you so desire), and wonton/gyoza wrappers. Spray or wipe the cupcake tin with olive oil for prevent sticking and add a little flavor. Once you filled in the first layer, gently press another wrapper in, forming another cup. Once you've placed the second wrapper, repeat the filling as you see fit. A bit of Mozzarella cheese on top of it all. The small cupcake size works well for us. Turkey Chili. Go lean by using ground turkey and build flavor with spices, beer, and a bit of chocolate Though we've never been shy about professing our undying affection for chili, it's not without its dangers, namely soaring sodium counts and reliance on fatty ground beef.

Go lean by using ground turkey and build flavor with spices, beer, and a bit of chocolate. You'll Need: 1 Tbsp canola oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/4 cup chili powder 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon 2 bay leaves 2 lb lean ground turkey 2 Tbsp tomato paste 1 piece (1 oz) dark chocolate or 1 Tbsp cocoa powder 1 bottle or can (12 oz) dark beer 1 Tbsp chopped chipotle pepper 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes 1 can (14 oz) white beans, rinsed and drained 1 can (14 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained Salt and black pepper to taste Hot sauce or cayenne (optional) to taste Raw onions, shredded cheese, chopped scallions, lime wedges, sour cream (optional) Chicken Fried Rice. Our recipe turns fried rice on its head, relying on a ton of fresh produce, considerably less rice, and a bit of oil for crisping it up The name says it all: One of the most nutritionally dubious staples (white rice) combined with the most treacherous technique (frying).

The calorie counts are predictably stratospheric; even a small scoop used as a base for a stir-fry will run around 500 calories. More important, it contains little to no true nutrition. Our recipe turns fried rice on its head, relying on a ton of fresh produce, considerably less rice, and a bit of oil for crisping it up. How to Make It: *In a wok or a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. *Stir in the rice and soy sauce and cook for another 5 minutes, allowing the rice to get crispy on the bottom. Waffles with Ham & Egg. Our take on Denny's Slam has nicely balanced flavors, a perfect portion size, and a nutritional profile that's just what you want for the most important meal of the day Waffle and pancake plates are bad enough at most restaurants and diners, but throw in a side of eggs and breakfast meats and you're bound to start your day with the caloric equivalent of a triple cheeseburger.

We've made our own version of Denny's superpopular (and supercaloric) Slam by building an open-faced sandwich with a toasted waffle. The ingredients may sound like a strange combination, but the flavors are nicely balanced, the portion size is perfect, and the nutritional profile is just what you want for the most important meal of the day. You'll Need: 4 thick slices Canadian bacon or deli ham 4 eggs 4 frozen whole-grain waffles 2 Tbsp maple syrup 4 Tbsp shredded sharp Cheddar cheese Salt and black pepper to taste Parsley (optional) How to Make It: *Heat a nonstick skillet or saute pan over medium heat.

Lasagna Rolls. Most restaurant lasagnas are soupy messes. This unique twist on a favorite is easy to make, appealing to eat, and much healthier for you The idea of building a multi-tiered, multi-component lasagna can be dizzying for most cooks. For them, we offer this simplified form, the lasagna roll: a tight pasta bundle containing all the same flavors as the traditional baked pasta, but without the daunting architecture. It's basic shape helps you avoid creating one of those cheesy, soupy catastrophes so common in Italian-American restaurants, the ones where it's impossible to discern where the pasta stops and the sauce begins. The structure is sound, the flavors are clear and pronounced, and the calories are greatly reduced. How to Make It: *Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

*While the pasta cooks, brown the sausage in a large saute pan over medium heat until cooked through. *Preheat the oven to 400F. *Top the lasagna rolls with the remaining marinara, then with the mozzarella. Loaded Alfredo. We've ditched the cream and made an alfredo with chicken, vegetables, and far less calories and fat than your average dish Here's how restaurants make Alfredo: cream, butter, and cheese. We ditched the cream and made a basic bechamel sauce with flour, milk, butter, and Parmesan. We solved the other major shortcoming of pasta Alfredo (that is, a dearth of any true nutrition) by adding chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, and, for good measure, sundried tomatoes. You'll Need: 2 Tbsp unsalted butter 3 Tbsp flour 3 cups 2% milk 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan Salt and black pepper to taste 1/2 Tbsp olive oil 2 cups bite-size broccoli florets 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes 8 oz cooked chicken breast, thinly sliced (store-bought rotisserie chicken works well) 12 oz whole-wheat fettuccine (we like Ronzoni Healthy Harvest) How to Make It: *To make the bechamel, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Chicken Pot Pie. There's no need to worry about calories or trans fat with this comfort food recipe Pot pies may be one of America's favorite comfort foods, but there's nothing comforting about a dish that packs nearly 4 days' worth of trans fat. We clear out the artery-clogging fats, but the calories by 60 percent, and deliver an easy pot pie you're bound to love. You'll Need: 2 Tbsp butter 1 onion, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups stemmed and quartered white or cremini mushrooms 2 cups frozen pearl onions 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (leftover or pulled from a store-bought rotisserie chicken) 1/4 cup flour 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed 1 cup 2% or whole milk 1/2 cup half-and-half 1 1/2 cups frozen peas Salt and black pepper to taste 1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted 2 egg whites, lightly beaten How to Make It: *Heat the butter in a large saute pan or pot over medium heat. *Preheat the oven to 375F.

Cut the pastry into quarters. The Ultimate BLT. With its soft, oozing, fried egg topping, our Ultimate BLT recipe earns its title. Anything else is just an imposter Is there any combination as rewarding and perfectly calibrated as a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich? With the crispy, smoky bacon playing off the cool crunch of the lettuce and the acidic sweetness of ripe tomato, it's a top contender for Last Meal on Earth status. Bog down the BLT with bulky, sweetened bread and a sea of mayo, though, and the appeal vanishes—just as the caloric toll rises. Arby's self-proclaimed Ultimate BLT has nearly as many calories in the corn syrup-spiked bread (361) as you'll find in our entire sandwich. You'll Need: 1 egg 2 slices 7-grain or sourdough bread, lightly toasted Handful of arugula 3 thick slices tomato 4 strips bacon, cooked Salt and black pepper to taste How to Make It: Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Honey-Mustard Salmon. This easy-to-cook salmon will save you hundreds of calories over your typical restaurant fare Many Americans view fresh fish as restaurant fare, food best left to professionals to skillfully prepare. But when you leave the fish cooking to "professionals" at places like Outback, Friday's, and Applebee's, your hopes of a healthy dinner may be sunk. Why blow the cash and the heavy caloric toll on a meal you can prepare at home in less time than it takes to order out? Plus, if you ever hope to get a kid to eat fish, this 3-minute sauce (which goes great on shrimp, scallops, and chicken, as well) is the key.

You'll Need: 1 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp brown sugar 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp soy sauce 1/2 Tbsp olive oil Salt and black pepper to taste 4 salmon fillets (6 oz each) Roasted Parmesan Asparagus How to Make It: *Preheat the oven to 400F. Stuffed Chicken. The cheesy restaurant chicken dish (one likely to involve bacon and ranch dressing as well) will ruin any shot you have at a good day of eating. Apply those same appealing flavors at home to crispy stuffed chicken, though, and you'll escape unscathed. You'll Need: 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced 4 cups baby spinach 1/4 cup roasted red peppers 2 Tbsp pine nuts Salt and black pepper to taste 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 oz each), pounded to 1/2" thickness (many markets sell chicken cutlets already pounded) 1/2 cup shredded fontina or mozzarella cheese 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 cups bread crumbs, preferably panko How to Make It: * Heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat.

When hot, add the prosciutto strips. Cook until lightly crisp, about 1 minute. Add the spinach, peppers, and pine nuts. Makes 4 servings Cost per serving: $4.00 500 calories 19 g fat (4.5 g saturated) 790 mg sodium. Better Grilled Cheese. Funky versions of America's simplest sandwich have been popping up at national restaurants and quick-service chains more and more in recent years.

Problem is, when restaurants start to get creative, it usually spells trouble for your waistline. Au Bon Pain's Prosciutto Mozzarella Sandwich is a perfect example of this "more is more" mantra, where a few thin slices of cured ham and a mozzarella blanket turn a lunchtime bite into a sandwich that packs as much saturated fat as 5 scoops of Breyers vanilla ice cream.

We're all for innovating, but if you're going to do it, do it right. The curious combination of sweet apples, smoky bacon, and sharp cheese isn't just delicious, it contains less than half the calories of most other grilled cheese sandwiches out there. You'll Need: 1 Tbsp butter 8 slices whole-grain bread (we love Martin's Whole Wheat) 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard 6 oz shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced 8 strips cooked bacon.

Chicken Fingers. With sweet, spicy chipotle-honey, these fingers are a unique and delicious twist on an old favorite Whether shaped like nuggets, stars, crowns, or fingers, deep-fried chicken bites do a major disservice to one of the planet's best sources of protein. Let the restaurant coat it in one of their special sauces and you could be downing nearly a full day's worth of calories on a food designed for children. In fact, Chili's popular Crispers pack in more calories than a dozen Fresco Beef Tacos from Taco Bell and more sodium than 24 small bags of Lay's potato chips. Make the switch to this oven-fried version once a week and you'll shed 25 pounds (and cut out 210,080 milligrams of sodium) in a year. You'll Need: 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders Salt and black pepper to taste 3 egg whites, lightly beaten 2 cups panko bread crumbs 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp chipotle pepper puree 1 Tbsp honey How to Make It: * Preheat the oven to 450°F.

SECRET WEAPON Panko bread crumbs. Guinness-Braised Short Ribs. Seems like braised short ribs adorn every French and Italian menu in the country, but why pay the money for something you can do just as well at home, especially if you can cut the calories in half? Seems like braised short ribs adorn every French and Italian menu in the country these days. And why not? It's an inexpensive dish that takes minimal effort from the chef but that can still fetch a $20+ price tag wherever it's served. Why pay the money for something you can do just as well at home, especially if you can cut the calories in half? You'll Need: 1 Tbsp canola oil 2 lb boneless short ribs Salt and black pepper to taste 2 cans or bottles (12 oz each) Guinness Draught 2 cups low-sodium beef broth 3 large carrots, cut into large chunks 2 onions, quartered 2 stalks celery, cut into large chunks 8 cloves garlic, peeled 2 bay leaves GREMOLATA (optional): 1/2 cup chopped parsley 2 cloves garlic, minced Grated zest of 2 oranges or lemons.

Dr. Pepper Ribs. Order ribs at a restaurant and you could gain a pound of fat by the time the bill comes. We keep them lean by serving up half-slabs with a perfectly balanced sauce. Order ribs at a restaurant and you could gain a pound of fat by the time the bill comes. Think we're kidding? The ribs at Outback, with more than 4 days' worth of saturated fat, are the Worst Food in America. You'll Need: 2 racks baby back ribs 1 bottle (2-liter) Dr. How to Make It: *Place the ribs in a baking dish large enough to hold them comfortably.

*Preheat the oven to 350F. *While the ribs are in the oven, make the barbecue sauce. *Heat a grill until hot. Pulled Pork Sandwich. When restaurants interpret this dish, they use a bucket of sickeningly sweet sauce. We get back to the humble hog treatment and turn out a sandwich flush with flavor and light on calories. Traditional North Carolina pulled pork is dressed with nothing more than a bit of spicy cider vinegar, used to accentuate the meat's flavor, not mask it. Unfortunately, when restaurants interpret this dish for a national audience, they use the same cheap trick unleashed on barbecued beef and racks of ribs: a bucket of sickeningly sweet sauce made from a slurry of sugar, corn syrup, and other insulin-spiking ingredients. The result: A single sandwich with as many calories as three Big Macs! We get back to the humble hog treatment and turn out a sandwich flush with flavor and light on calories.

How to Make It: *Heat a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Cut the pork into 2 or 3 big pieces and season with salt and pepper.