Dairy

Sunday lunch. From Lake Austin Spa Resort in Austin, Texas. Chef Terry Conlan calls this hearty sandwich "a two-fisted meal," and it's a healthful one, too: The fat is almost exclusively the good, monounsaturated kind (from olives and olive oil), and the peppers and tomatoes deliver vitamin C and beta-carotene — both known to boost the immune system. The unusual addition of fig preserves gives the sandwich a Mediterranean flair.

A taste of Chicago: deep-dish pizza. Chi-town pizza lovers may be die-hard advocates of the deep-dish, but no matter how you slice it, thin-crust has one major health advantage: It's considerably lower in calories. But if deep-dish is the pie of your dreams, try this one, made with turkey sausage instead of traditional Italian and part-skim mozzarella. We even added some green peppers to sneak in a veggie serving.

Wish you were here in Philadelphia, eating a cheese steak. No doubt about it, cheese steak is the quintessential Philly food. Too bad it can pack more than 60 grams of fat. To keep the greasy drippings from staining shirts, Philadelphians have learned the "Philly lean," a way of bending forward to the cheese steak rather than bringing it to the mouth. Self's "Philly lean" features a trimmer cut of meat, less cheese and more peppers so it has about half the calories and a third of the fat of the original — and provides 60 percent of your daily vitamin C needs.

Los Angeles: land of sun, fun, and burritos. Southern California's Mexican-influenced cuisine has the potential to be an all-out fat fest (cheese, sour cream) or a healthy mix of carbs (tortillas, beans) and protein (chicken, beans). A chicken burrito with the full-fat works can tip the scales at nearly 600 calories and 31 fat grams. To slim it down, we stuffed it with all-white-meat chicken, less cheese and nonfat sour cream. We also rolled it in a whole-wheat tortilla for extra fiber.

Nashville: Try the "fried" chicken, y'all. Southern hospitality wouldn't be quite so hospitable without corn bread, collard greens, and, of course, fried chicken. If you haven't already guessed that grease is what's so "finger-lickin' good," we'll let you in on a secret: You can spend nearly half a day's calories on one thigh of this Southern-fried favorite. So make our baked version instead.

The decked-out deli sandwich Who knew tuna on rye could be so sophisticated? "I go for the big taste," says Taylor Alonso, chef of the Bellport, a comfortably chic restaurant in Bellport, Long Island, that's a favorite summer haunt of New Yorkers. Alonso went for big nutrition, too, when he created this elegant and delicious tuna-steak sandwich for Self. Fresh tuna supplies lots of omega-3s, and goat cheese offers more calcium (with less fat and cholesterol) than most cheeses.

A protein-and-veggie-packed omelette alternative Eggs get the fancy treatment with this frittata, adapted from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Café (Hyperion), the latest by the Moosewood Cookbook author. The dish easily feeds a crowd, and because it uses egg whites in place of some yolks, fat content stays within a healthy range. Self added lean turkey bacon for flavor, but it's worth a gobble with or without the meat.

Watermelon is a lycopene star — 1 cup has nearly 7 milligrams of the cancer fighter. Riesling adds a refreshing crispness.

Tip: Use plain lowfat yogurt in place of sour cream. Result: less fat, great flavor.

Lasagna is comfort food — a real PMS soother. But it's also loaded with symptom-fighting calcium.

Scott Uehlein, executive chef at the renowned Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Tucson, Arizona, provides an easy technique for a dish that is good enough to eat every day — you can't even tell it's good for you!

Plain old pasta goes low-fat gourmet. Creamy pasta, good-for-you greens... What's wrong with this picture? Nothing! It's a weeknight-easy, flavor-packed treat from Alfred Portale, chef at New York City's famed Gotham Bar and Grill and author of the new Alfred Portale's 12 Seasons Cookbook (Broadway Books). Make this low-fat dish even healthier by using reduced-fat goat cheese, which we think is one of the best-tasting slimmed-down cheeses around.

Surprise! A heavyweight makes a lightweight pizza. This healthy pizza comes from boxing champ George Foreman, the master behind the Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine (don't tell us you haven't seen the infomercials!) and author of the new George Foreman's Big Book of Grilling, Barbecue & Rotisserie (Simon & Schuster). Why grill? "It produces great-tasting healthy food, and it's easy," Foreman says.

No time to make a healthy dinner? "I love to cook for myself," says Jennifer Garner, the costar of Fox's Time of Your Life television series. "It's my stay-healthy secret. Making a simple dinner actually calms me down after a harried day. Often I'll spend Sunday nights cooking and then use the leftovers for lunch that week. Right now, I'm really into cooking with orzo. It's a light, rice-shaped pasta that fills me up. I especially love this recipe because the orzo goes well with the shrimp and veggies and it's quick and easy to make."

You'll crave it because it's pizza; you'll love it because it's so good for you. Bake this pie directly on an oven rack for a nice, crisp crust.

The healthiest take-it-anywhere lunch.

Veggie perfection This nutrient-stuffed dish won't leave you hungry. What do you get when you give bell peppers center stage on your plate? A veggie-heavy meal that even a meat fiend will find too tempting to resist. Here we stuff antioxidant-rich bell peppers with couscous (a tiny, round pasta) and hardworking nutrient powerhouses like zucchini and yellow squash. The result? A meal low in fat, high in fiber, and loaded with vitamins A and C.

The ultimate chocolate cake.

This traditional southern Italian pasta recipe, with its base of aglio e olio, garlic and oil, is one of those rustic foods that presents like a gourmet dish. It’s made entirely with pantry items, so it’s a perfect last-minute supper.

La Merenda di Victor When my husband was a schoolboy in Bologna, his favorite afternoon merenda was a crusty slice of grilled bread that his grandmother would top with Parmesan cheese and olive oil. It doesn't need a recipe, just a description.