Butter beware

Move over Rachael Ray. Holly Clegg, Louisiana’s own “Queen of Quick,” is dishing out a collection of Gulf Coast favorites that aren’t just easy and delicious. They’re shockingly good for you.

As part of her best-selling cookbook series trim&TERRIFIC, Clegg’s Gulf Coast Favorites hit shelves in September and has already made the life of this Louisiana cooking devotee a little easier. Gone is the guilt I usually feel when serving up Cajun and Creole classics with an overabundance of fat and calories, not to mention the obligatory pound of butter hidden within.

For classics like jambalaya, Clegg recommends using turkey sausage and leaner cuts of chicken with fresh veggies and spices to achieve a flavorful and healthy version of this traditional one-pot meal. Similarly, her take on barbecue shrimp combines heart-healthy olive oil, fat-free Italian dressing and light beer for an amazingly decadent sauce. Toss with tender Gulf shrimp and whole wheat angel hair pasta and you’ve got a quick dinner perfect for a weekday meal or an evening entertaining friends. Don’t be afraid to use fat-free cheese and skim milk or chicken breasts instead of thighs. Sure, it may not taste like your Maw Maw’s, but you won’t have to dedicate ten hours to the treadmill working it off.

With more than 850,000 copies of the trim&TERRIFIC series in print and having appeared on Fox & Friends, The Today Show and The 700 Club, Clegg has garnered a national reputation for coming up with user-friendly recipes focused on maintaining great taste while supporting a healthy lifestyle. Her latest is no exception.

Clegg even includes a handy pantry-stocking guide and highlights freezer friendly and vegetarian dishes. With gorgeous food photography of Baton Rouge’s own David Humphreys, Gulf Coast Favorites is sure to become a staple in kitchens across the Capital City and the country. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to America’s WETLAND Foundation. hollyclegg.com