Have you even wondered how can healthy recipes help you stay fit and slim? Healthy eating is important not only for losing weight but also for your overall well-being. A healthy diet can significantly improve your physical fitness and make you feel and look better. A healthy diet incorporates eating a variety of foods, eating nutritious food items like vegetables, grains, and fruits , eating white meat like chicken and fish instead of red meat , limiting the amount of alcohol, salt, and caffeine in your diet , limiting fattening food like fast food , pizzas etc . You need to balance the nutrients that you eat.

Low fat/ Calorie recipes: Choose from a list of Healthy snack recipes, Healthy food recipes , healthy dessert recipes , low cholesterol recipes and healthy chicken recipes

1. Soup Recipes : Low Fat Soup Recipe ( You can use all types of vegetables for this delicious, healthy, low fat soup.)
Ingredients : Winter melon - 400g ,Ginger slices - 5 to 8 ,Knorr soup mix - 3/4 tbsp,Salt - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon,Green onion - 1 (diced),Sesame oil - 1 teaspoon and Water - 3 cups

Directions : Peel and core the winter melon. Cut into 3cm squares that are 1cm thick. Bring the water to a boil, and add in the winter melon, soup mix, ginger slices, and salt.Cook for 7 to 10 minutes until the winter melon is tender. Then dish into a bowl.Sprinkle on the green onions, and sesame oil.

2. Low Fat Snacks: Healthy Fruit Berries Salad

Ingredients : Blue berries - 1 cup ,Raspberries - 1 cup ,Black berries - 1 cup and Cherries - 1 cup

Directions: In a large bowl, mix the four fruits. Add a little whipping cream on top if you like. This is a very healthy fruit snack. It's low in fat, contains a lot of vitamins, and bioflavnoids.

3. Homemade Garlic Bread

Ingredients : 2 large sourdough or whole grain dinner rolls , 1 tablespoon lowfat margarine ,1 teaspoon garlic powder , 1 teaspoon fresh or dry parsley and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese.

Directions: Combine margarine with garlic and parsley. Spread on bread and broil under the broiler until cheese browns lightly. Cut into quarters and serve.

4.Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients: 2 cups elbow macaroni,1/2 cup grated reduced-fat cheddar cheese,1/3 cup skim milk ,2 tablespoons sliced scallions ,1 egg white, lightly beaten and 1 tablespoon nonfat Parmesan cheese topping.

Directions: Cook the macaroni according to package instructions, and drain.Place the macaroni in a large bowl and add the cheddar cheese, milk, scallions, and egg white. Stir well. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place the macaroni in a nonstick casserole pan and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Bake about 25 minutes or until the top is browned and firm.

5.Baked Eggrolls
( Baking results in a slightly chewy but low-fat eggroll. Serve with hot Chinese mustard)

Ingredients : 1 teaspoon olive oil, Pinch of sea salt , 2 cups leeks, washed and thinly sliced , 1/2 each red and yellow bell peppers, 1 teaspoon rice syrup , 1 teaspoon tamari , 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar , 1 1/2 cups snow peas, thinly sliced , 3 tablespoons water and 10 eggroll wrappers.

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat wok over high heat until very hot. Add oil and salt, then leeks; cook 3 minutes or until leeks are softened, stirring. Add peppers and cook 6 minutes, stirring frequently.Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix vinegar, tamari and rice syrup. Add snow peas and vinegar mixture to stir fry; cook 1 minute. Add water, cover and steam 2 minutes or until snow peas are done. Set aside.To make eggrolls, place 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling diagonally on wrapper. Fold the corner over the filling, then fold both sides in. Moisten edge of last flap with water and roll tightly. Place filled egg rolls on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.

6.Creamy Egg-Tomato Pasta

This simple pasta dish is low in fat and high in protein.

Ingredients : 12 ounces spinach linguine,1 tablespoon olive oil ,1/2 cup sliced red onion ,1/2 cup sliced mushrooms ,3 cloves garlic, minced ,1 cup halved cherry tomatoes , 1/4 cup chopped black olives , 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves and 4 eggs.Salt and pepper, to taste. 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.

Directions : In a large pot, cook pasta until nearly al dente, about 10 minutes.While pasta is cooking, in a medium skillet heat olive oil and sauté onion and mushrooms until onions are just tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and olives and cook 4-5 minutes, or until tomatoes are tender. Add basil and remove from heat.Drain all but 1 cup of the pasta water. Quickly return hot pasta with the water to stovetop. Add eggs, stirring vigorously to cook. Add tomato mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

7.Apricot Glazed Chicken

Ingredients: 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts , 1 (10.75 ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth 3/4 cup apricot preserves , 1 tablespoon light soy sauce , 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water .

Directions : Spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Brown chicken in heated skillet. Add chicken broth, jam and soy sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is done (no longer pink in the center).Remove chicken from skillet. Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water to sauce to thicken (equal amounts more of each if you like it thicker). Return chicken to skillet and turn to coat thoroughly with sauce.

8. Desserts : Low fat desserts for those who have a sweet tooth. Apple Cinnamon Cake Recipe: Healthy and Low fat Cake Recipe: You can also use other fruits such as peaches, pears, and oranges instead of apples.

Ingredients: Flour - 3/4 cup , Eggs - 3 , Caster sugar - 1/2 cup , Apples - 4 , Raisins - 1/2 cup , Ground cinnamon - 1 to 2 tsps , Honey - 3 to 4 tbsps , Water - 1 tbsp, Low fat soft cheese - 1 cup, Low fat fromage frais - 4 tbsps , Lemon juice - 2 teaspoons , and Apricot glaze - 3 tbsps.

Directions : Preheat oven to 375, and lightly grease a cake tin.Beat the eggs with sugar in a bowl until thick. Sift the flour and cinnamon over the egg mixture, and mix. Add in to the prepared cake tin, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and core the apples. Then cut 3 apples into thin slices. Put in a pot, and add 2 tablespoons of honey and 1 tablespoon of water. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Add in the raisins and cinnamon, and mix well. Let it cool. In a bowl, mix the soft cheese with 1 tablespoon of honey, fromage frais, and the lemon juice. Mix well. When the cake is done, cut it in half horizontally - so you have 2 round halves. Spread on 2/3 of the cheese mixture, and top off with the cooked apples and sauce. The place the other half on top. Spread the leftover cheese mixture on top of the cake. Thinly slice the last apple, and lay it in a circular shape. Brush on the apricot glaze, and its ready to serve.

9. Mexican Rice

Ingredients: 3/4 cup long grain white rice , 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes with juice , 1/4 white onion 1 clove garlic, 2 teaspoons olive oil , 1 3/4 cups chicken broth, lightly salted and 2/3 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed.

Instructions: Cover the rice with hot water and soak for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Let the rice dry before cooking it. Meanwhile blend the tomatoes, onion and garlic until smooth and set aside.

Heat a heavy bottomed pot over a medium heat and add the oil. Stir the rice in and coat it. When the rice has become quite white (turn the heat down if it is sticking or taking on any color) stir in the tomato mixture and stir gently for several minutes. Add the broth and turn the heat to very low. Cover the pan and cook undisturbed until the rice is tender, approximately 25 minutes. Add the thawed peas and carrots and put the cover back on immediately. Right before serving fluff the rice with a fork distributing the vegetables throughout

10. Baked Whole Salmon

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons chopped parsley , 1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper , 2 - large lemons, thinly sliced , 1 large onion, thinly sliced lemon wedges, 1/2 teaspoon salt and whole salmon.

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place salmon on heavy-duty foil (large enough to wrap the salmon). Layer salmon with lemon and onion slices; add wine. Sprinkle with parsley, pepper, and salt.Seal foil tightly around salmon. Bake 50 to 60 minutes until fish is flaky and tender. Remove from oven; open foil and arrange salmon on a platter. If you like, remove the skin before serving. Garnish with lemon wedges.