Comfort food is the theme of the year. The fanciest of restaurants are featuring macaroni and cheese, garlic mashed potatoes, and apple cobbler. I find this indulgent trend a welcome counterpoint to the glamorized deprivation that has defined "healthy" for the past thirty-some years. However, it should not serve as an excuse to throw everything we know about low fat cooking out the window. Here are three takes on comfort classics that preserve nutritional value without sacrificing taste.

Shepherds pie needn't be an anemic mound of white potatoes atop canned peas and ground beef. This entree takes some effort to prepare, but it's worth it.

• 12 small-medium potatoes (Yukon Golds work well), peeled and quartered
• 2/3 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup lowfat milk
• 4 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup butter
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped
• 1-ten ounce package frozen green beans, defrosted
• one fourth cup brandy
• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 2 tablespoons dried sage

Cook potatoes until tender. Drain and mash with remainder of "potato" ingredients. Mixture should be firm, with an even yellow color. Keep warm.

In a large skillet melt butter on medium heat. Saute carrots for about 2 minutes, then add onions, mushrooms, and green beans. Saute on low heat until vegetables are tender.

In a medium saucepan bring 1/2 cup broth (at medium high heat) to a boil. Whisking constantly, slowly sprinkle flour into liquid. Slowly add the remainder of the broth, continuing to whisk. Cook for another minute. Add brandy, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, rosemary and sage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

Pour sauce over the vegetables in the skillet. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To assemble dish, lightly oil a 9''x13'' pan. Spoon half the potatoes into it and smooth them out until the layer is an even one inch thick. Spread vegetable mixture on top. Spread other half of potato mixture on top, thinning with more milk if necessary. If you're feeling artistic, you can pipe the potatoes on with a cake decorator or make swirls in the potato layer with a spatula.

Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving.

Despite its ease of preparation, I've always thought of polenta as a rather fancy dish. It often appears on fine restaurant menus, accompanying a roast duck, or swirled with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. This summer, however, our family is traveling to Italy, and in preparation we've been watching tons of Italian movies. One of the many things I've learned is that polenta was the absolute staple of the Northern Italian peasants' diet. Even if there was little else to eat, there was always polenta. So here's variation on this traditional Italian comfort food:

• 2-10 ounce bags of fresh spinach or
• 2 frozen 10 ounce packages
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups lowfat milk
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 1/3 cups polenta
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups lowfat milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Wash spinach if fresh. Steam until just tender, and chop coarsely. (If spinach is frozen, just steam it, chopping into finer pieces if necessary).

In medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, cover and cook, until onion is translucent and soft, around 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, cornstarch, flour and salt. Increase heat to medium and gradually whisk milk mixture into onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in Gorgonzola cheese. Keep warm.

Heat milk and water mixture to boiling in another saucepan. Whisk in polenta. It will absorb the liquid almost immediately but continue to cook on low heat, stirring constantly, for about 3-5 minutes to get rid of the "raw" taste. Add salt and pepper.

Ladle polenta into a shallow casserole dish. Top with creamy spinach and serve.

What could be more classic comfort food than macaroni and cheese? Traditional versions (I'm not talking Kraft here) are rich and luscious, but very high in calories. This Mediterranean take on mac and cheese retains a rich smoothness without the tons of fat. It has a more robust flavor, too.

• 1 pound penne or fusilli pasta
• 12 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup halved kalamata olives
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup lowfat milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain. Toss the cooked pasta with the cheeses, garlic, basil, and olives. Mix the egg with the milk and Tabasco sauce and add to the mixture. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.