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Baked Butternut Squash

Very little is asked of the cook in this recipe, but the rewards, both gustatory and nutritional, are superb. Just note the minuscule amount of fat.

In this homemade granola, we use frozen cranberry-juice concentrate and a touch of honey to sweeten the cereal and pack it full of good-for-you ingredients like wheat germ, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries.

Fresh Blueberry Granola Crisp

For the topping on this quickly assembled dessert, you could use any low-fat granola, such as those sold in bulk in health-food stores. But we tested this with a national brand of granola available in supermarkets and it worked very nicely. For an extra treat, serve the crisp with a scoop of frozen yogurt or a dollop of lightly sweetened reduced-fat sour cream.

Breakfast Fruit Salad

You can make this salad a couple of hours ahead of time, but wait until just before serving to add the bananas so they don’t get mushy.

Angel Biscuits

Angel biscuits are also called Bride’s Biscuits, because the extra leavening power of yeast makes them virtually foolproof-perfect for the new bride or beginner cook. A bit of whole-wheat flour is a health improvement over the original refined-flour version.

Jamaican Jerk Pork with Mango-Kiwi Relish

Jamaican jerk is a combination of herbs and spices, frequently very hot ones, rubbed into meats, usually chicken or pork before grilling on the barbecue. Be careful not to get the jerk mix on your hands--it has jalapenos in it. The refreshingly cool relish is a perfect counterpoint to the heat. Either rice or sweet potatoes is a traditional accompaniment.

Parmesan-Crusted Baked Eggplant

These crisp eggplant rounds can be served as they are intended, as a vegetable side dish or topped with your favorite tomato sauce and a bit of shredded part-skim mozzarella and baked again just until the cheese has melted.

Peaches & Cream

This is a good trick for an easy dessert, though you have to think about it ahead of time because it takes 2 hours to chill. The rest is a snap, and you can make it with all sorts of fruit, or even storebought applesauce. You just need about 2 cups of fruit puree.

Dried Fruit & Bran Bread

Start with bran muffin mix, add some dried fruit and chopped nuts, and you can make a tasty loaf in no time. Using pineapple juice as the liquid adds a nice hint of natural sweetness and moisture to the loaf.

Hot & Spicy Cocktail Sauce

This sauce gets its heat from a smoky chipotle pepper and a healthy amount of cayenne. Chipotle peppers packed in adobo can be found at Mexican markets and many supermarkets. If you can’t find chipotles, substitute a canned or bottled jalapeño and increase the chili powder to 2-1/2 teaspoons.