Make Fat Tuesday Healthy

Lose yourself, keep your figure on Fat Tuesday.

Fat Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras, is the celebration that kicks off Lent, the season of fasting and religious penance. Instead of letting the rich, fatty foods go to waste during Lent, they are used up on Fat Tuesday in a day-long feast that may include pancakes, pastries, creamy sauces and stews, and enough celebratory cocktails to wash it all down. To slim down your Fat Tuesday, simply employ a few quick tips to make all of your favorite recipes healthy dishes.

Instructions

Appetizers and Main Courses

1. Fill up on fish and seafood.

Cook or order mostly fish-based dishes. Fish is high in protein and low in fat. Fill your plate with shrimp cocktail, oysters, crawfish, catfish jambalaya, grilled salmon or tuna.

2. Keep oysters fresh, not fried.

Steer clear of the fried foods. Fat Tuesday is rife with dishes like oysters po'boy (fried oysters in a baguette), fried shrimp, corn fritters and chicken fried steak. Rather than frying, steam, grill or roast instead -- or skip the dish entirely.

3. Add some color to your plate with barbecued vegetables.

Choose vegetables! Fill your plate with salad, char-grilled peppers or corn on the cob so that you fill up on the good stuff before being tempted by the rich stuff.

4. Put a low-fat turkey sausage on your plate.

Swap and switch things like sausage gumbo for a version made with chicken and vegetable greens; fried crab cakes for fresh crab salad with avocado; andouille sausage for turkey sausage; and potato salad for one made with baby greens.

Desserts

5. Make healthy adjustments and substitutions to your desserts. Cut out the pastry in dishes like bananas foster; look for flourless cake and cookie recipes; use only whole wheat flour and fresh berries in pancakes.

6. Forget about fried desserts like beignets (fried dumplings with powdered sugar) altogether.

7. Build parfaits of fresh fruit and frozen yogurt.

Make a beautiful and delicious dessert, like a parfait of frozen yogurt with layers of fresh fruit. Use passion fruit, blackberries, blueberries, mango, purple plums and mint to mimic the official purple, green and gold colors of Mardi Gras.

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