Skinny enchiladas: great flavor with lower calories and cholesterol. Photo courtesy Denise Austin.

As we were writing this, we heard two television newscasters discussing their diet resolutions for 2015.

“I lasted five minutes into the Rose Bowl,” said one. “I made it to yesterday [January 2nd]”, said the other.

Sure, it’s tough to diet. But on a daily basis, it’s easy to downsize the calories and saturated fat. If you must have Fettuccine Alfredo or cheesecake, look for Cooking Light-style alternatives to your favorite dishes, from Fettuccine Alfredo to cheesecake.

Here are two Mexican favorites “downsized’ by health and fitness expert Denise Austin, who debuted a new online diet and fitness program this month. Try them, and if they please your palate, look for more “skinny” versions.

RECIPE: DENISE’S SKINNY ENCHILADAS

Ingredients

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with oil spray.

2. HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent and very soft, about 7 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano and cayenne and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, broth, and salt and cook until hot, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. RESERVE 3/4 cup of the sauce. Add the chicken and spinach to the remaining sauce and cook until the spinach is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. WRAP the tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for 30 to 60 seconds to heat through.

5. DIVIDE the chicken filling evenly between the 8 tortillas. Roll the tortillas and arrange them seam sides down in the baking dish. Spread the reserved 3/4 cup sauce evenly over the tortillas and top with the cheese. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and broil the top for 3 to 5 minutes to brown the cheese.

6. TOP each serving (2 enchiladas) with 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt and scallions.

Calories per serving: 510.

RECIPE: DENISE’S SKINNY NACHOS WITH VEGETARIAN CHILI

Ingredients

 
For The Vegetarian Chili

Skinny nachos amp up the flavor with spices. Photo courtesy Denise Austin.

Preparation: Nachos

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

2. ARRANGE the tortilla chips in a single layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is just melted.

3. SPRINKLE the tomato, olives, and scallion evenly over the nachos. Divide into 2 equal portions and serve each portion with 2 cups Vegetarian Chili topped with 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt.

Preparation: Chili

1. HEAT the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.

2. ADD the onions, carrot, cilantro, tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir well and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.

3. ADD the tomato juice and beans. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Calories per serving: 430.

As someone who is overly fond of bagels and breakfast pastries—not a whole lot of nutrition in exchange for all of those calories—we’re glad we discovered New York Style Bagel Crisps. They come in regular and mini sizes

The light and crispy chips are made from bagel-type dough, but cut into small, thin, crisp slices that can be enjoyed at breakfast or for snacking (they have half the fat and fewer calories than regular potato chips).

The flavors are everything you’d expect in a bagel:

 
Bagel Crisps are great on their own or paired with toppings, dips and spreads—a delectable snack in a New York minute.

But the company doesn’t rest on its bagel laurels. There are also:

New York Style Pita Chips

These baked pita chips have real pita pockets, all the better for dipping. They’re available in:

 
Enjoy them plain or with dips like hummus and guacamole. We like dipping them in plain Greek yogurt.
 
Panetini

We’d have called these crostini; but by any name, they’re crunchy, tasty and great with dips,spreads, soups and salads. Try them in:

Instead of a cookie, have a Cinnabon Swirl Crisp or a Chocolate Swirl Crisp. It satisfies that sweet craving with a cup of coffee or tea; and we turned them into little crispy ice cream/frozen yogurt sandwiches.

Discover more at NewYorkStyle.com.
  

Kale sprouts: a new hybrid. Photo courtesy Melissas.com.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get trendier, there’s a new kale in town: kale sprouts, grown in California and available year-round.

A hybrid cross of Russian red kale and Brussels sprouts, kale sprouts look like a very tiny head of kale, much smaller than baby kale.

Kale sprouts—also known as lollipop sprouts or lollipop kale—are harvested when the first leaves of the plant have developed around a tiny, compact central head. This small, leafy delicacy has the same striking coloring as Red Russian Kale; silvery-green to blue-gray leaves with pronounced crimson veins.

Kale sprouts have a sweet peppery flavor and crispy fresh texture. Use them as a tasty garnish for meat entrées, mixed with spring greens in a salad, or sautéd lightly with mushrooms and garlic.

Send them as a gift to your favorite kale lover. You can buy three packages for $22.95 at Melissas.com.
 
  

We love to start the new year with lettuce wraps instead of bread-based sandwiches.

 
Here are two variations on a similar recipe—Asian turkey wraps—from Jennie-O, a specialist in turkey products from ground to whole to burgers and bacon.

You can substitute your meat of choice (it’s a great way to use up leftovers) or create vegetarian versions.

The first recipe is simpler in flavor profile, and uses ground turkey cooked from scratch. The second recipe is more complex in flavor, and uses leftover roast turkey.

RECIPE: CHINESE LETTUCE WRAPS

Chinese lettuce wraps with turkey, flavored with hoisin sauce, soy sauce and hot sauce. Photo courtesy Jennie-O.

 
*Tabasco makes a sweet and spicy version of its original hot sauce. It’s much milder than original Tabasco: (100-600 on the Scoville Heat Scale as opposed to 2500-5000 for original Tabasco. There are other brands of “sweet heat,” including Sweet Sunshine, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.
 

Preparation

1. COOK the turkey as specified on the package. (Always cook turkey to well-done, 165°F, as measured by a meat thermometer.)

1. HEAT the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 3 minutes or until they begin to brown. Mix in the turkey, sweet and spicy pepper sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and cucumber. Heat through.

3. MAKE the wraps: Spoon the turkey mixture onto lettuce leaves and the wrap leaves around filling.

RECIPE: THAI LETTUCE WRAPS

This recipe uses leftover cooked turkey, although you can cook raw, ground turkey as in the previous recipe. There are more ingredients, resulting in more authentic, complex flavors.

The reason this is a “Thai” wrap instead of a “Chinese” wrap is the Thai cuisine ingredients and seasonings: lime juice, grated ginger, fresh mint and cilantro, shredded carrots, fish sauce and sweet chili sauce.

Prep time is less than 15 minutes; total time is less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

1. COMBINE the onion and lime juice in small bowl; let stand 15 minutes.

2. HEAT a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, ginger and garlic. Cook 1 minute or until fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat.

3. COMBINE the onion mixture, turkey, mint, cilantro, sauces and carrot in large bowl. Spoon the turkey mixture into each lettuce leaf and sprinkle with peanuts.
 
WHAT IS HOISIN SAUCE?

Hoisin sauce is a thick, sweet-and-pungent condiment that’s used in Asia much the way we use barbecue sauce (but the taste is completely different). It can be used to coat meat and poultry prior to cooking, it can be stirred into dishes and, as in the case of Peking Duck, it can be used as the principal condiment—a very elegant “ketchup.”

The flavor of hoisin sauce has always seemed pruny-plummy to us (in the sense of a sweet fruitiness of roasted plums). In fact, recipes for a hoisin sauce substitute can include prunes.

However, there’s no fruit in traditional hoisin sauce; unless you count a touch of chiles, which are, by botanical definition, fruits. The base of hoisin sauce is soybean paste, which is flavored with garlic, vinegar and sometimes some other spices. The resulting sweet-and-spicy paste is extremely flavorful and may overwhelm people who try it the first time. But keep trying; you’ll learn to love it.

The grated carrots and zucchini in the meat loaf mixture add moisture and are a tasty way to eat more veggies.

RECIPE: MUFFIN PAN MEAT LOAF

Ingredients For 12 Servings

For The Meat Loaf

 
For The Sauce

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Mix all meat loaf ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Divide the mixture into 12 balls. Place each ball into a muffin cup.

2. BAKE for 25 minutes or until cooked through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. While the meat loaves are baking…

3. MAKE the sauce. Place all the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat until heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve with the meat loaf.