5. Try a fruity twist to your favorite treat.
Sara Moulton, Gourmet magazine’s executive chef, maintains her weight by altering the foods she loves—that way she doesn’t skimp on the flavors and foods she craves. These stuffed strawberries, a fruity twist on the cannoli, swap out deep-fried dough and fatty ricotta cheese for strawberries and low-fat cream cheese.

Quick tip: Traditional cannoli contains as much as 17 grams of fat! But a serving of Moulton’s dessert has only about 4 grams of fat, and the strawberries add a jolt of immunity-boosting vitamin C.

6. Add flavor without fat.
Natural flavors—such as citrus products, herbs, spices, and vinegar—add zing to meals while zapping fat and sodium. Giada De Laurentiis, of the Food Network’s Everyday Italian, agrees, telling Cooking Light that naturally fat-free lemon juice is the most essential ingredient in her kitchen. She flavors these salmon fillets with lemon juice, white wine, rosemary, and capers, so they need just a pinch of salt, which cuts out half the sodium found in this fattier seafood sauce.

Quick tip: Toss the salt in favor of lemon juice often enough, and you may even lower your blood pressure.

7. Get inspired by Asian cuisine.
Asian cuisine is typically low in bad fats and full of fruits and veggies. Fish, a staple in the Japanese diet, is a great source of heart-healthy omega-3s. Take the Asian inspiration a step further by pickling vegetables. Harold Dieterle, the first winner of Top Chef, has been commended for his restaurant Perilla, whose menu includes watermelon pickles. The vinegar (essential for pickling) adds bold flavor without fat or cholesterol.

Quick tip: These Pickled Ginger Cucumbers add some unexpected flavor, and the ginger boasts anti-inflammatory benefits.

8. Go nuts.
Nuts are loaded with healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats, so they’re an easy way to load up on heart-healthy fat and fiber. Walnuts are especially rich in omega-3s, so adding them to a decadent dessert, like French pastry chef François Payard does in these cookies, can make an indulgent treat feel less sinful.

Quick tip: The USDA recommends that adult women consume 1.1 grams of omega-3s every day. Just one of these cookies would nearly knock out your daily recommended intake.

9. Control portion distortion.
Celebrity chef Bethenny Frankel is known for using all-natural ingredients in her lean, low-fat “Skinny Girl” recipes. But she knows that we all crave guilty pleasures once in a while. To keep your diet on track when indulging, she suggests preparing treats in proper portion sizes. Her recipe for Guilt-Free Chocolate Muffins has only 5 grams of fat per serving, without sacrificing any of the rich chocolaty taste you’d expect from a baked treat.

Quick tip: A typical store-bought chocolate muffin would wreak havoc on heart health with as much as 11 grams of artery-clogging saturated fat!