Healthy Mardi Gras Recipes

This healthy Cajun-inspired bean soup recipe features black-eyed peas, collards and a bit of andouille sausage. Serve it with cornbread and pass the hot sauce.

The slow cooker makes easy work of this healthy jambalaya featuring brown rice and plenty of veggies. If you don't want to make your own seasoning, just skip Step 1 and use 1 1/2 teaspoons purchased salt-free Cajun seasoning in Step 2.

This slow-cooker gumbo recipe skips the fat when browning the flour and swaps in turkey sausage and brown rice, resulting in a healthier dish with the classic Creole taste.

In this steak étouffée recipe, boneless chuck is slowly cooked in a flavorful liquid full of aromatic vegetables, spicy sausage and broth. This beef étouffée recipe calls for a 2 1/2-pound piece of chuck, but if chuck steaks are available at your market, purchase eight 4- to 5-ounce steaks instead of cutting your own from the roast. Serve the steak étouffée with stone-ground grits, polenta or rice, and pass the Tabasco.

Crunchy, battered catfish fillets have jumped out of the Louisiana backwaters to become a national favorite, thanks in large part to the Cajun cooking craze that started in the '80s. Here, the fillets are coated in a spicy mélange of cornflakes and pecans and baked for a traditional yet surprisingly healthy take on this bayou favorite.

This classic and comforting Mexican dish is easy to make on a busy weeknight.

Chock-full of shrimp, chicken, sausage, okra and tomatoes, this flavorful stew is a staple in Louisiana. Make it a meal and serve with Real Cornbread (see associated recipe).

Blackened salmon is great in a sandwich with a spread of mashed avocado and low-fat mayonnaise plus peppery arugula leaves, cool tomato slices and zesty red onion. We grill our Cajun-style salmon so there is no need for any added cooking oil. Catfish makes an excellent stand-in for the salmon but you'll want to use a grill basket if you have one to keep the fish from breaking apart.

Prepare this dish the night ahead of time so all you have to do is pop it in the oven for an easy and delicious dinner.

To keep it simple, we've opted for just the essential ingredients in this rendition of the hearty Creole favorite: sausage, okra, rice and a little spice.

This inverted caramel custard dessert is often found on Mexican dessert menus. This recipe is low in calories and fat.

If you like mild salsa, use banana peppers in this recipe. For a hotter version, try jalapeño or one of the alternate pepper choices.