Mushroom

This is a ridiculously easy soup to make. It's tasty and durable, and it gets even better overnight.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon. This recipe originally accompanied Basic Oven-Baked Marinated Tempeh and Lentil Croquettes. White wine, Dijon, miso, good vegetable stock — the flavors in this are incredibly good and fly in the face of anyone who thinks that something vegetarian and low-fat cannot be intensely delicious. Instead of the fat-intense roux technique that is typical of gravy making, the thickeners are buzzed in the food processor with some of the liquid. Countless entrees and entree plates would be sparked by this sauce — basic baked tempeh or tofu, for instance, with a grain side dish and some steamed broccoli.

Traditionally, escabeche refers to fish marinated in a spicy sauce. Here, mushrooms stand in for the fish with delicious results.

Truffles are pressure-cooked during the canning process, which causes them to release some of their water content. Using just a bit of this truffle juice in a vinaigrette will impart a delicious woodsy flavor.

This delicate salad, combining crisp celery and tender fresh porcini, grew out of the memories of two food editors — Zanne Stewart and Alexis Touchet — of similar ones they had enjoyed at restaurants in Italy. (Surprisingly, they were in different regions and traveling 20 years apart.)

If you use canned truffles and plan to serve these omelets with the mesclun salad with truffle vinaigrette , be sure to save any juice for the dressing.

With the mercury rising, who wants to feast on a winter stew? Lighten up with this dish from Sondra Bernstein, author of The Girl & the Fig Cookbook (Simon &Schuster). It features fresh herbs and veggies and a protein-packed halibut fillet. Then, instead of hitting the couch to digest, you can hit the pavement for an after-dinner stroll.

Chef Nadine Barner, who kept Gwyneth Paltrow looking fab with a macrobiotic regimen (a diet of mostly grains and vegetables), has served these tasty morsels at private parties hosted by the actress. Brain-boosting omega-3 fatty acids from the walnuts makes this a smart starter. The calcium and protein combo found in tofu works to bolster bone density (no wonder Paltrow stands so tall in Hollywood), and the mushrooms' potassium helps protect against high blood pressure.

Round out your lunch: Add half a mango or papaya.

A bowl of soup is the winter equivalent of a summer salad — an easy, all-in-one way to get your veggies and protein. This filling dish, adapted from The Weekend Chef by Barbara Witt (Simon &Schuster), calls for flavorful leeks and potassium-rich mushrooms. Whip some up and freeze leftovers for future quickie dinners.

Sunday dinner. From Golden Door in Escondido, California. Executive chef Michael Stroot loves this stir-fry because it's a showcase for his garden-fresh herbs and produce. And cooking the dish makes the kitchen smell fantastic. Serve it over fiber-rich brown rice.

Sunday breakfast. From Miraval Resort & Spa in Catalina, Arizona. Egg-white omelettes don't have to taste like quilt batting. Chefs at Miraval whip up a fluffy, veggie-heavy number. Their secret? A dollop of lowfat cream cheese, which improves the texture and adds a rich taste.

When the heat is on, veg out with this easy meal. With farmers' markets sprouting up everywhere, it's easy to feast on good veggies. How to prepare all that produce? Serve it on skewers with a side of hummus, says Daniel Orr, executive chef of Guastavino's in New York City. Not only are the vegetables healthy, but the creamy bean dip boasts plenty of protein, some heart-helping monounsaturated fat and rosemary for an added antioxidant punch.

Forget the chicken sandwich — have a few of these leafy treats. When Daniel Green needed to drop a considerable amount of weight eight years ago, he didn't just go on a diet: He learned to cook and create his own lowfat meals. Nearly 70 pounds lighter, he launched an international modeling career — only to find he'd rather be in the kitchen than on the catwalk. Now Green shares cooking tips on British television and here for Self, in this moo shu–inspired dish. Its do-it-your Self assembly is perfect for dinner with friends.

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

Although this recipe has a long ingredients list, it's a snap to throw together, even when you're zapped by sneezes and sniffles. Best of all, you'll be feeling better in a flash — chicken soup is a true germ conqueror, and the spiciness kicks up the cure a notch.

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.