Cooking Sensibly When Fixing A Meal, Don’t Agonize Over Calories And Fat, Just Use Some Common Sense

Healthy eating is important to me - and so are the foods I love.

Fortunately, it’s possible to have it both ways. Eating well every day means preparing delicious foods simply and presenting them beautifully.

Cooking and eating this way has become intuitive for me. I don’t add up calories and fat grams because I think this process takes the joy out of eating. Food is one of life’s great pleasures, to be savored, not agonized over. And besides, I know that the food I’m making is good for me and my guests, because I pay attention to the ingredients and techniques I use. There aren’t tricks to cooking healthfully; mostly, it’s a matter of common sense.

Instead of making meat the focus of every meal, eat more poultry, fish, vegetables and grains. Give food intense flavor with fresh herbs, spices, vinegars, chile peppers, mustards and marinades.

Perhaps most important, always buy the freshest, best-quality ingredients.

In the summer, eating well is easier than ever. A visit to the farm stand or market yields gorgeous fruits and vegetables that need little adornment. Elaborate planning isn’t necessary - just buy whatever looks most delectable. A platter of juicy sliced tomatoes makes a sumptuous salad. Ears of corn boiled for just a few minutes taste so sweet they don’t need butter. Perfectly ripe fruit makes the most elegant dessert.

The right equipment and techniques are also important in healthy cooking. Buy good-quality nonstick pans, and you’ll find yourself adding drops of oil instead of spoonfuls. Use cooking techniques such as roasting, steaming, braising, poaching and grilling.

At this time of year, you want to be outdoors, which makes grilling even more appealing. It gives wonderful results, with little or no added fat.

The Fourth of July is coming up soon, and the best way I know to celebrate is with family and friends at a picnic or backyard barbecue. For your party, try these flavor-packed marinades.

The Asian marinade is a good match for chicken or pork and is also excellent with shrimp, which stay moist when grilled with the shells on. (Before marinating, split the shells down the back and remove the vein.) Use the yogurt marinade with chicken or seafood.

As a rule, fish and shellfish should marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to several hours before cooking; chicken, pork and beef, from several hours to overnight.

Start the meal with a bowl of refreshing chilled fruit soup (recipe below), which is ideal for a picnic. Pour it into a wide-mouthed jar with a tight lid, and pack it into the cooler.

For more recipes and ideas on healthy cooking, look for my new cookbook, “Martha Stewart’s Healthy Quick Cook Menus” (published by Clarkson Potter), which will be in bookstores in October.

Asian marinade

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

3 scallions, white and light-green parts only, thinly sliced

1 small jalapeno, thinly sliced crosswise

1/4 red Thai chile, thinly sliced crosswise, or 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

8 thin strips orange zest

Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Use to marinate shellfish, chicken or pork before grilling or broiling.

Serves 10; makes 1-3/4 cups (total time: 20-30 minutes).

Refreshing yogurt marinade

This marinade tenderizes as it adds flavor. Don’t leave seafood in it for more than one to two hours.

1 ripe mango (1 pound)

2 cups nonfat plain yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons dry hot mustard

1/4 cup mint leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Slice mango flesh away from the pit and peel. Cut flesh into chunks and place in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth and flecked with mint.

Reserve 1/2 cup to use as a dipping sauce, and use the rest as a marinade.

Serves 6; makes 3 cups (total time: 20-30 minutes).

Chunky fruit soup

3 cups strawberries, hulled

3 medium nectarines

3 medium plums

2-1/2 cups blueberries

1-1/2 cups fresh orange juice

6 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cup raspberries

1 cup blackberries

1-1/4 cups plain nonfat yogurt

Cut large strawberries into quarters, small ones in half. Set aside 1/2 cup in a bowl; place remainder in a stockpot.

Pit nectarines. Slice one nectarine; add to bowl. Cut remaining nectarines into chunks; add to stockpot.

Pit plums, cut into chunks and add to stockpot. Place 1 cup blueberries in the bowl with strawberries; place remainder in stockpot.

Add juice, sugar, cinnamon and 3 cups water to fruit in stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until fruit is broken down and mixture is soupy, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat; pass through a food mill fitted with a small-holed disk into a large bowl (or puree in food processor). While hot, stir in reserved fruit and raspberries and blackberries. Let stand until cool, then cover and refrigerate until cold.

Serve chilled soup with a dollop of yogurt (about 2 tablespoons per bowl).

Serves 10 (prep time: 20-30 minutes, cook time: 20-30 minutes plus chilling time).

MEMO: Questions should be addressed to Martha Stewart, care of The New York Times Syndication Sales Corp., 122 E. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. 10168. Questions may also be sent to Stewart by electronic mail. Her address is: mstewart@marthastewart.com.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Martha Stewart New York Times Syndicate