How to… cook healthy comfort food

Treat yourself to all the deliciousness of comfort food and none of the guilt, with our latest tips on how to cook healthy winter-warmers.

The trick to cooking healthy comfort food is to use high-quality ingredients, and watch those portion sizes. Here are some of our favourites, complete with ways to keep the calories down:

Beef stew

• Use a lean cut of beef and trim off any excess fat
• Seal the meat using a low-fat vegetable oil rather than butter
• Add the richness of flavour with a homemade chicken or vegetable stock with the fat skimmed off instead of using a cube
• Get your five-a-day in one sitting by adding in a good amount of carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, artichokes and tomatoes
• Leave out the alcohol (beer, wine), and pack with fresh herbs including bay leaves to create a full-bodied beef stew
• Serve with a hunk of wholegrain bread or rice rather than buttery mashed potato.
  

Toad in the hole

• Use good-quality sausages as these will naturally be lower in fat than cheap ones
• Grill the sausages rather than fry them
• Make your batter using skimmed milk, and pack it with fresh rosemary or thyme for real depth of flavour
• Line your baking dish with low-fat oil rather than vegetable or nut oil
• Serve with loads of steamed vegetables or a fresh green garden salad.
  

Warm banana bread

• Use more banana than your recipe tells you to; not only will this mean even more healthy fruit but it will also intensify the flavour
• Make the bread using a wholewheat flour rather than plain white
• Replace the sugar in your recipe with honey or unsweetened apple juice for a healthier version
• Add nuts or dried fruits for a delicious twist on this traditional recipe.