4 Comfort Food Tweaks That Won't Widen Your Waist

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How to make it

1. In a large pot or saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon until it's browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and reserve.

2. Add the onion and celery to the bacon fat in the pan and cook them until soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in the liquid from the canned clams, the bottled clam juice, and the milk.

3. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the potatoes and thyme. Cook at a steady simmer just until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Season the chowder with salt and black pepper. Just before serving, add the canned clams and simmer just long enough to heat them through. Garnish with the crispy bacon.
(Makes 4 servings)

Plus: Cook once, have breakfast all week with this recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Omelet Bites.

Estimated average restaurant clam chowder
Calories: 519
Fat: 39 g
Sodium: 1,106 mg

Our clam chowder
Calories: 254
Fat: 7 g
Sodium: 575 mg

SAVE 265 calories, 32 g fat, and 531 mg sodium!

Chicken Pot Pie

Classic pot pie is meaty, creamy, saucy and downright delicious. It's also dangerously overloaded with ingredients that give your cardiologist nightmares: cheap fats, empty carbs and lots of sodium. Of course, it doesn't have to be that way. A few simple tricks can make potpie nutritionally respectable without sacrificing the creature comforts of the original dish.

More: Another Fat-Blasting Comfort-Food Favorite: Skinny Artichoke-Garlic Dip