Add a Healthy Twist to Your Favorite Foods

Family Features) If you are like most Americans, you might have lapsed a little on your New Year’s resolution to eat healthier. Getting back on track is easy and guilt-free, and can be done with just a few steps.

Celebrity chef and registered dietitian Diane Henderiks offers three simple ways to help you get back on the right track and make sure you are eating the right foods:

• Eliminate sugary drinks, like soda, as they don’t offer any nutritional value.
• Identify ways to reduce the amount of food you eat, as we all tend to eat more than we need to.
• Most importantly, limit the amount of carbohydrates you eat – this means trying to reduce the amounts of pastas, breads and sugars you are consuming – and focus on eating more fiber-rich vegetables, healthy fats and optimal protein.

“It’s easy to transform your favorite meals into healthy, low-carb meals that are rich in flavors and will satisfy you,” Henderiks said.

Henderiks has transformed some of her favorite meals into low-carb deliciousness for each meal of the day, including dessert, because you can still enjoy your favorite sweets and all of their great flavors with a few twists that make them healthier.

Living a low-carb lifestyle can also be effective in helping you lose and keep off unwanted weight – just in time for spring.

Find more recipes that make it easy to eat low-carb all year long at Atkins.com.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

Luscious Lemon Squares

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1/2 cup almond or hazelnut meal
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon natural sugar replacement
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 tablespoons natural sugar replacement
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper.
2. To make crust, in large bowl, combine almond meal, coconut flour, cinnamon, salt and sweetener. Add melted butter and vanilla extract. Combine all ingredients together and press dough evenly into bottom of baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden around edges. Remove from oven and set aside.
3. To make filling, stir coconut flour and sweetener together. Whisk in eggs and lemon juice.
4. Pour filling into crust and bake 10-15 minutes, until golden around edges.
5. Let cool at room temperature then refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours before cutting into squares.

Serves
16