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Healthy recipes this week: Comfort foods

These brutally cold days can cause some unhealthy cravings – including our favorite comfort foods.

These brutally cold days can cause some unhealthy cravings – including our favorite comfort foods.

Why? Because they're simple, and keep us warm and fulfilled. But you can still warm up with your favorite meals without worrying about packing on the pounds. With a few simple swaps, you can reduce fat and calories without compromising the flavor.

Craving that mac and cheese? Easy! By using whole wheat macaroni and reduced fat cheese, you'll have a meal for less than 250 calories.

Warm up this week with this guilt-free recipe and other comforting and health-conscious options below:

Monday: Zucchini lasagna

Didn't think it was possible to enjoy lasagna without pasta? Think again! This recipe substitutes zucchini for the pasta, which tremendously cuts the carbs. The recipe also calls for 93% lean beef and other veggies.

Per serving: 345 calories, 17g fat, 16g carbohydrates, 36g protein, 2g fiber

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Tuesday: Chili with chipotle and chocolate

Packed with beans, onions, bell peppers and tomatoes, this turkey chili has all the rich flavor you'd get from traditional beef chili, but with much less fat. The unsweetened cocoa powder also provides the antioxidant benefits of chocolate without the sugar you'd find in a chocolate bar.

Per serving: 257 calories, 6.6g fat, 26g carbohydrates, 23.6g protein, 6g fiber

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Wednesday: Chicken potpie

This guilt-free potpie is topped with whole-wheat biscuits for added fiber. Filled with peas, mushrooms, carrots, onions, and reduced-fat sour cream, this hearty meal only has 12 grams of fat!

Per serving: 403 calories, 12g fat, 46g carbohydrates, 29g protein, 4g fiber

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Thursday: Meatloaf

The dried mushrooms and bulgur in this dish increase the vitamins and minerals and decrease the saturated fat from what you'd typically find in a meatloaf. This loaf is made free-form, rather than baked in a pan.

Per serving: 313 calories, 10g fat, 32g carbohydrates, 24g protein, 6g fiber

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Friday: Mac and cheese

You won't feel bad indulging with this mac and cheese, which uses whole wheat macaroni, reduced-fat cheddar cheese, nonfat Greek yogurt, and whole wheat panko bread crumbs. This easy-to-make comfort food comes at less than 250 calories!

Per serving: 237 calories, 7g fat, 31g carbohydrates, 17g protein, 3g fiber

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