Healthy Food That Actually Tastes Good — 12 Recipes from World Cuisines

Healthy food isn't food without flavour

The biggest mistake in dieting is eating things that taste of nothing, which is why people give up after two weeks. The answer isn't inventing new food — it's choosing traditional dishes that are already balanced, and adjusting only how they're cooked.

Dishes under 400 calories

• Lebanese tabbouleh (180 kcal) — parsley, tomato and very little bulgur. The highest fibre content in Arab cooking.
• Molokhia with chicken (310 kcal) — high protein and low carbohydrate if you skip the rice.
• Okra stew with beef (330 kcal) — vegetables, not grain, are the base of the dish.
• Mesaqaa (340 kcal) — if the aubergine is roasted rather than fried.
• Chinese soy chicken stir-fry (380 kcal) — protein and vegetables with very little oil.
• Algerian chorba (260 kcal) — a complete meal in a soup bowl.
• Russian borscht (290 kcal) — vegetables and protein; serve it with yoghurt rather than sour cream.

Balanced dishes under 500 calories

• Korean bibimbap (450 kcal) — rice, vegetables and protein in near-ideal proportions.
• Vietnamese pho (450 kcal) — a clear broth and protein, with very little fat.
• Hummus with tahini (240 kcal a serving) — plant protein and fibre.
• Moroccan chicken tagine (420 kcal) — steam-cooked rather than fried.
• Ramadan khoshaf (230 kcal) — naturally sweet with no added sugar.

Five changes that halve the calories

1. Roast instead of frying. Fried aubergine absorbs four times the oil of roasted aubergine.
2. Salt aubergine and courgette before cooking. It cuts oil absorption substantially.
3. Swap cream for thick Greek yoghurt. The same texture at a third of the fat.
4. Less rice, more vegetables. The same plate size at half the calories.
5. Start with stock instead of oil. Onion softens in stock exactly as it does in oil.

One important note about calories

The numbers in the recipes are estimates and vary with portion size, the oil used and the amount of meat. Treat them as a way of comparing dishes rather than as absolute values. And if you have a specific medical condition — diabetes, blood pressure or cholesterol — speak to a dietitian; this article is general information, not medical advice.