How to make 4 classic comfort foods healthier

The foods we seek when we need comfort aren't always very healthy. Typically, they're loaded with fat and carbs. If you can't always escape the urge of such comfort foods as desserts, fries or pizza, you can at least make them healthier. Here's how.

Desserts are the first comfort food many people seek when they need comfort. The sweetness provides immediate satisfaction and the ability to eat as much as you want of what was a special treat as a kid is thrilling. The repercussions include weight gain, blood sugar swings and a generally yucky overall feeling if you overindulge.

Here's how you can make two favourite dessert comfort foods healthier.

Cheesecakes are some of the heaviest desserts around – and the most delicious.

• This over-the-top rich dessert can be made healthier if you substitute low-fat cream cheese for the regular kind and use a light graham cracker crust instead of one made from shortening and flour.

These substitutes don't give you the green light to eat as much cheesecake as you want. However, they do help to reduce the overall fat intake.

Cocoa itself is naturally low in sugar and high in antioxidants. It's the other ingredients in milk chocolate or typical brownies that make them unhealthy.

• When baking brownies use whole-wheat flour instead of white flour, egg whites in place of whole eggs, and substitute plain low-fat yogurt for half of the recommended oil or butter.

Fortunately, the intense flavour of cocoa is perfectly suited to cover up the addition of more nutritious ingredients.

Fatty and salty foods can also bring a feeling of relief, but store-bought junk food and many old-fashioned recipes have way more fat and salt than you need.  Among the "classics" are french fries and pizza. Here's how to make them healthier without giving up the taste.

Potatoes are naturally fat-free and loaded with fibre and vitamins. Unfortunately, when you peel and fry potatoes, you add fat, while losing much of the good in this tuber – the skin is the source of many nutrients.

• Instead of turning to store-bought bags of frozen fries, try slicing up whole potatoes and baking them in the oven with just a splash of olive oil. The result will be fries that are as fluffy and crispy as you want them to be.
• Add just a dash of salt to season them, along with pepper and oregano.

Baking fries vs. frying them keeps all the flavour minus the fat they would otherwise absorb in a deep-fat fryer.

Believe it or not, pizza can be healthy and delicious without being a greasy mound of pepperoni and cheese. For starters:

• Replace full-fat cheese with reduced-fat versions
• Use a thin crust base that's made from half whole-wheat flour
• Top the pizza with spinach, fresh basil and sliced tomatoes.
• You can also use your favourite vegetables instead of meat.

It's easiest to make this kind of healthy pizza at home, but if you prefer, most pizzerias these days offer low-fat cheese, whole-wheat crust and a variety of veggie topping options.

Although eating unhealthy food can bring temporary comfort, it will often leave you feeling worse in the long run. That's why preparing healthier comfort foods when you're sad, stressed or unhappy matters, because every little bit of extra effort can add up.