Red Cabbage with Apples

Use just two ingredients and ten minutes to make this colorful, healthy vegetable side dish. It's pretty enough for your holiday table and a light balance to heavy fare.

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Ready Up Rice and Lentils

Start your morning raring to go with a big bowl of Ready Up Rice and Lentils. Let this hearty, savory breakfast streamline your morning routine, your budget, and your waistline. Brown rice and lentils balance each other to provide a complete source of protein. Carrots add sweetness, color, and beta-carotene. If you'd like, drizzle on a little maple syrup for a pancake vibe without the jitters. Or stir in some tahini for bacon-y goodness without the mess or the saturated fat.

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Confetti Bean Stew

Let this all-in-one meal get you through busy periods. It's a festive, toothsome way to lose weight and stay healthy when you don't have time to focus on cooking. The beans and corn work together to provide complete protein. Tomatoes, spinach, onions, and garlic are all nutritional powerhouses.

And with lots of fiber and less than a quarter teaspoon of oil per serving, this satisfying stew can help you lose weight without feeling hungry or deprived. Add an apple or a banana for a complete, balanced meal. Carrot sticks add snap and more nutrition, but you can get by without them.

Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 30 minutes starting with cooked beans. Serves 10. Vegan and gluten free.

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Apple-Raisin Pockets

Looking for a baked fruit dessert without butter, lots of sugar, or artificial ingredients? Try this recipe for Apple-Raisin Pockets. Just wrap the appealing, apple-pie-like filling with a low-fat dough.

Use the dairy-free, slightly sweet dough below. For a more sophisticated flavor combination that is also vegan, use the Whisk Pizza Dough or Speedy Grilled Pizza Dough from Wildly Affordable Organic. Whisk Pizza Dough does not require a bread machine or kneading, but does rest at least one night in the refrigerator.

Make-ahead or small-family tip: I like to make all the dough at once, then roll out and bake three batches of Apple-Raisin Pockets over a two-week period, using fresh apples each time. This makes the active time of the first batch only 40 minutes and the active time for the other two batches about 30 minutes each.

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Apple Walnut Crumble

Welcome fall with this quick, lighter version of the classic Dutch Apple Cake. It has more apples plus healthy walnuts, half the butter and flour, and less than half the sugar. Instead of wasting time peeling apples, just slice them thinly and cut the slices into bite-sized pieces. The baked peels add texture and nutrition. This recipe is a tribute to Steve Jobs and to my mother-in-law (see notes below).

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