Instructions: In trying times, we often seek the foods that made us feel secure as children. For most of us brought up on the 20 th-century American diet, that means thick juicy slices of meatloaf dressed with ketchup, creamy mashed potatoes, golden roast chicken, crisp French fries and spaghetti slathered in a rich ragout with a side of buttery garlic bread.

For years, many of us have deliberately steered clear of these satisfying rich dishes, heeding dire warnings about their possible harmful effects. And in the wake of Sept. 11, even the thin have thrown caution to the wind in search of the familiar and the comfortable. But theres no reason to teeter between unsatisfying deprivation and guilty indulgence. I dont deprive myself. Instead, Ive found ways around the fat so that I have not had to give up my comfort foods.

While the increased demand for comfort food is hard to measure - particularly since fall and winter are traditionally comfort food season - there is more than anecdotal evidence that people are eating differently. A recent A.C. Nielsen survey of grocery store sales showed a spike in comfort food purchases. Snack food sales increased nearly 12.4 percent in September over the previous year; the sale of instant potatoes alone jumped almost 13 percent, according to Information Resources. The coming holidays wont help. Already, nutritionists are tearing their hair out. Weight Watchers groups have reported an unusual number of members saying the Sept. 11 attacks have added an element of stress in maintaining their diets. And diet counselors are papering the media with releases filled with advice on how to stop craving the creaminess of the bechamel sauce and mozzarella in lasagna, the crispy fattiness of the chickens skin, the sweet
silkiness of a soothing pudding. Its a hard sell. But it doesnt have to mean a Spartan diet of thin gruel.

I have accumulated a number of techniques that have kept spaghetti and meat sauce on the menu, that allow for an occasional meatloaf dinner and that have made my lower-calorie, lower-fat version of mashed potatoes the standard for company as well as for family. I dont necessarily tell my secrets. But when someone says they would love more mashed potatoes, but better not, I confess that the creaminess comes from buttermilk, not butter. Ive taken the meatloaf recipe from my old friend Bob Jamieson, an ABC News correspondent who loves good food and wine, and has worked on it over the years, using lean beef and pork.

Once the fat is gone, something has to keep the meatloaf moist and I have experimented with a number of alternatives. I think Ive got it right now: a few bits of vegetable and a little yogurt. And its just as good cold as it is hot.

I suppose my mother would not recognize what I have done to the meat sauce she made every Wednesday for dinner. The biggest change was the substitution of extra-lean ground beef, which is 10 percent fat, for ground chuck, which is 30 percent fat. I grind the beef myself so I know what Im getting. More vegetables and herbs have been added. And the longer it cooks, the better it is.

My favorite comfort dessert does not earn the same universal adulation as the mashed potatoes, but I find it so soothing that I spent years perfecting the less-caloric version. My mothers tapioca pudding used whole milk, canned pineapple and lots of whipped cream. Mine uses skim milk and dried fruit soaked

In apple cider. Theres still some whipped cream, but it has been folded into a lot of
non-fat yogurt. My tapioca pudding fixation has some good company: Jane and Michael Stern, who have spent a lifetime observing the peculiar culinary habits of
Americans, call it the teddy bear of desserts, an edible security blanket.
Let me tell you, Linus, its better than a blankie.

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