3 Light Comfort Foods from Ellie Krieger

Comfort Food Fix © 2011 by Ellie Krieger

January means many things: Bundling up, taking down the holiday decorations, and eating healthier to make up for December's over-indulgence.

This year, help your menu planning along with Comfort Food Fix (Wiley, 2011), by Food Network chef Ellie Krieger. Her diverse and comprehensive roundup of over 150 lightened favorites includes Buffalo wings, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, cupcakes, and more. Krieger prides herself on using real food, too – there are no strange substitutions or bizarre Frankenfoods in her recipes, which means you can feel fine about feeding them to your grandchildren. Plus, the kids will love the flavors so much, they’ll never guess their favorite dishes have been made more wholesome.

To kick off 2012, Krieger shared three of her most scrumptious recipes with Grandparents.com, including a lighter lasagna and a breakfast finger food kids will flip for. Go ahead and indulge:

Go to the recipes now:

• Crispy French Toast Fingers
• Better Beef Lasagna
• Chicken Parmesan

Excerpted from Comfort Food Fix © 2011 by Ellie Krieger. Photographs courtesy of Quentin Bacon. Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Looking for more healthy dishes to kick off the new year? The Grandparents.com Recipe section is full of ideas like Spinach Casserole.