Shellfish

Wrapper's delight: two paper pouches, eight shrimp, 10 minutes — dinner! Take a lowfat cooking tip from French-born Alain Ducasse, whose New York City restaurant, Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, is among the world's swankiest. Ducasse has perfected a simple method of cooking in a paper pouch, which uses trapped steam — not fat — to seal in flavor. In this recipe he teams shrimp with apples and cheese for a trio of seductive tastes. Tuck the ingredients into parchment-paper hearts, pop them in the oven and prepare to fall in love.

Who you callin' shrimp? Livened up with garlic, naturally low-calorie shellfish delivers big-time flavor in this recipe adapted from Remi-to-Go restaurant in New York City. The cannellini beans and celery give the salad a fiber kick for a filling combo.

It's fast and fabulous.

Hello, New Orleans! Mark Twain once said, "New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin." Speaking nutritionally, meat-heavy jambalaya is a misdemeanor. But toss in chicken instead of andouille sausage and pick a leaner cut of ham — keep the shrimp, of course — and you can dine with a clear conscience. Use brown rice instead of white and be generous with the veggies, and one bowl will provide 4 grams of fiber and 20 essential vitamins and minerals. Pretty impressive for a Fat Tuesday feast.

Greetings from Boston, home of New England clam chowder. Clam chowder is a year-round comfort food. But knowing that just one bowl of the creamy kind can pack 41 grams of fat isn't so comforting. We lightened the soup considerably — without sacrificing its velvety texture and rich flavor — by cutting back on butter and using lower-fat Canadian bacon and fat-free half-and-half (we used Land O'Lakes). Now you can feel good about spooning up this soup, which is high in iron (the clams) and calcium (the "cream").

Welcome to Baltimore, where crab cakes rule. This seafood fave has nutritional potential: Crab provides calcium, B vitamins, and iron. But the traditional version, made with mayo and fried in lots of oil, is too fatty to qualify as healthy fare. We cut the fat by more than half and lost 130 calories per serving with simple changes: using egg whites instead of whole eggs; subbing light mayo for the full-fat version; and going easy on oil.

Fat Tuesday made skinny
Everyone knows that Self-control is the antithesis of Mardi Gras tradition. But you can put a skinny spin on a Fat Tuesday celebration. Serve this spicy seared-shrimp-and-rice dish in place of a higher-fat Creole specialty like jambalaya or gumbo. The protein-packed meal is so tasty, it seems indulgent — and so healthy that you can let that Self-control slip in some other area (like dessert!).

To round out the meal: a whole-wheat roll with 1 tsp butter or trans-fat-free soft-tub margarine; 4 oz white wine or juice spritzer; 2 gingersnaps

Want to feel alert and energized? Repeat after us: protein, protein, protein. Here's a way to get lots of it, with very little saturated fat. (For an equally high-energy vegetarian version of this dish, substitute 12 ounces firm tofu, drained and cut in 1-inch cubes, for the shrimp.)

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."

Pasta's reputation — restored! With the bad press that pasta's been getting in these carb-phobic times, you may have given it up entirely. The truth is, pasta is only a problem when the noodles make the meal. The trick is rounding it out with healthy add-ins. Here, Whole Foods Markets' executive chef Steven Petsevsky has tossed in a day's supply of vegetables; they supply lots of vitamin C and good-for-you phytochemicals — plus fiber. Shrimp adds a kick of protein, and a handful of fresh herbs makes all the flavors sparkle. Self's testers' verdict: yum.

Chickpeas transform saucy mussels into a meal that's as hearty as it is seductive.

Po Ho Thng Although this fragrant soup, reminiscent of Chinese egg drop, is meant to be sipped throughout the meal (its clean flavor cools the palate between dishes), we'd make it even if we weren't preparing the rest of this menu. It's incredibly easy (the stock can be made ahead) and requires only a few ingredients.

Kerabu Bok Kwa This fresh, zesty salad cuts through the richness of the heavier main courses. Sambal belacan is a classic Nonya dressing. We've reduced the amount from what would traditionally be used because belacan (shrimp paste) can be rather strong for those who aren't used to it. The paste has a salty fish taste and pungent smell (the odor dissipates once it's added to the dish), but it lends a dimension of flavor very characteristic of Nonya cuisine — were you to eliminate it, you wouldn't really be eating Nonya food. For a more authentic version, use 2 tablespoons belacan and 4 tablespoons lime juice.

Kangkong Masak Lemak This dish is all about the greens; water spinach has a delightfully light and crunchy texture, unlike regular spinach, which tends to be stringy. A bit of coconut milk lends body and richness.

Editor's note: The recipe below is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by Lake Austin Spa Resort. As a way of helping you to meet your daily cactus requirements, we offer you this absolutely delicious and completely refreshing salad inspired by the cooking of coastal Mexico. Cactus paddles are available in Latin or Mexican markets.

This fragrant dish would be great served over couscous.

Editor's note: This recipe is from chef Khalid Mohammed of Battimamzelle in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Mohammed also shared some helpful tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. Buljol, a popular Trinidadian breakfast dish, is a cold salad made from salted codfish. In his Trini-fusion version, Mohammed substitutes squid and locally abundant conch and adds green "figs" (green bananas, called by their local name, and "soused," or pickled, a traditional cooking method). He finishes the dish with the tomato chokha, a local sauce.