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Review: Recipe collection aimed at calorie-conscious

Quick look: If shaping up, slimming down and getting healthier are part of your New Year’s resolutions, this new cookbook – with more than 100 recipes with fewer than 300, 400 or 500 calories each – could come in handy.

What’s inside: This 304-page softbound book is aimed at helping home cooks keep track of calories without missing out on flavor. Modern recipes – many with Asian, Italian and other influences – are organized in chapters by calorie level, then grouped again by meal type.

Recipes are approachable, and most feature common pantry items or other ingredients home cooks are likely to have on hand. Another plus: The majority are accompanied by full-color photographs.

For breakfast, look for Overnight Oatmeal with Figs and Yogurt (268 calories per serving), Pan-Roasted Vegetable Quinoa with Eggs (342 calories per serving) and Brunch-Baked Apples with Greek Yogurt (438 calories per serving).

Lunch options include Pho-Flavor Flank Steak Lettuce Wraps (158 calories per serving), Indian-Spiced Turkey Kabob Pitas (322 calories per serving) and Meatball Banh Mi (417 calories per serving).

For dinner, find Lentil-Toasted Barley Soup with Sausage (245 calories per serving), Coconut-Curry Chicken (393 calories per serving) and Massaged Kale and Pork Salad (456 calories per serving).

Check marks in boxes at the top of each page quickly denote whether recipes are gluten free, high in fiber or vegetarian, as well as if they can be made ahead or in 30 minutes or fewer. Simple swap ingredients lists are also noted.

The first two sections of the book discuss slimming down and cooking smart. There are tips for shopping and cutting calories as well as explainers for good and bad carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

After the three main meal chapters, find two smaller sections for snacks – such as Chocolate-Peanut Butter Granola Bars, Berry Yogurt Parfaits and Blueberry Oat-Chia Seed Muffins – and desserts, including Pear-Pecan Crisp, Almond-Lemon Gelato.

What’s not: At the end of the book, find two weeks of menu plans to help new calorie-counters get started. After that, though, they’re on their own.

Lentil-Toasted Barley Soup with Sausage

From Better Homes and Gardens’ “Calorie-Smart Meals”

Dreary and cold January evenings beg for belly-warming soups and stews. Just because they’re hearty doesn’t mean they have to be unhealthful. This chicken sausage-speckled soup is full of fiber but not loaded with calories – if you can keep to one serving.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup regular barley

1 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped carrots

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

1/2 cup lentils, rinsed and drained

1 bay leaf

1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained

6 ounces cooked chicken-apple sausage links, halved lengthwise and sliced

4 cups fresh baby spinach

In a 3- to 4-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add barley; cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until barley is golden. Add onion, carrots and garlic; cook about 10 minutes or just until vegetables are tender, stir occasionally. Stir in cumin; cook and stir 30 seconds or more.

Add the next four ingredients (through bay leaf). Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered; about 55 minutes or until barley and lentils are tender. Stir in tomatoes and sausage; heat. Remove and discard bay leaf. Add spinach, stirring until spinach begins to wilt. Serve immediately.

To make ahead: Prepare as directed through removing and discarding bay leaf. Do not add spinach. Let soup cool. Cover and chill up to 3 days. To reheat, bring stew to boiling, then add spinach and continue as directed.

Makes: 6 servings (1 1/3 cups each) at 245 calories per serving