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A couple of weeks ago, a good friend called to tell me her father was dying. I went to the kitchen and started to cook.

The Ultimate Comfort Food: Chicken and Dumplings

Cooking in sad times is not an exclusively Southern thing, but I think we do it really well down here. And I'm sure I could dig up some sociological and anthropological theories which would justify what I know to be true.

Simply put, when we moved into our first home in Tennessee, welcoming neighbors arrived at our door carrying fresh pies and baked bread. When we moved into our first home in Los Angeles, I took the homemade pies to our neighbors. Hardly scientific, but you see where I'm going with this. In all fairness, I do have some lovely, cooking, food-bearing friends in L.A., but I don't think it's quite the habit that it is here in the South.

Of course, being a preacher's granddaughter and the daughter of a Sunday-school superintendent has trained me well. I grew up going to visitations and funerals. And I listened to my dad read the obituary page every evening with such flair you would have thought he was reading from a novel. But I grew up understanding that it is the ritual that comforts us in times of great loss.

Probably no surprise that I've included a funeral scene in both of my books. And my third, yet to be released, is tentatively titled, THE FUNERAL DRESS. I'm not sure why I'm drawn to this particular ritual. I don't think it's a morbid obsession with death but more of a fascination with life and how we live through the sorrow and grief.

My friend's father died a few days after that call. Again, I cooked.

This time, I started thinking, really thinking, about the food I was preparing. Since my mother-in-law died of cancer several years ago, I've wanted to take a much closer look at our favorite comfort foods and figure out a way to make them better, healthier. I just hadn't found the time, until now.

So I've teamed up with a Chattanooga nutritionist to do just that. Rebecca Ellen Greer, is a registered dietitian with all the right abbreviations beside her name–MS, RD, LDN. Rebecca and I are going to work together to bring you recipes that are not only comforting but good for you. And we'll suggest the best dish for the right occasion–whether it's to care for those who've experienced a loss, feed those who are ill, or celebrate with those welcoming a new baby into the home, or just wanting to enjoy a simple family meal. Think of us as your go-to site when doing a good culinary deed!

We're going to start with the ultimate comfort food: CHICKEN 'N DUMPLINGS. I prepared this Saturday night, and my family loved it.

According to Rebecca, chicken soups are simply the gold standard for comfort food. "With it's mix of protein and fat, it's sure to please the palate. The browning of the chicken in this recipe before it is added to the soup really amps up the flavor factor. When cooking healthier versions of foods, it's important to take a little extra time to up the flavor (in this case browning the chicken before hand) without taking shortcuts by simply adding more salt or fat. That is what I consider cooking with love-providing delicious and nutritious dishes at the same time."

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

Ingredients

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8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 1/2 cups (1/4-inch) diagonally cut celery

1 cup (1/4-inch) diagonally cut carrot

1 cup chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

6 parsley sprigs

2 bay leaf

6 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup non-fat milk

Preparation

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking

spray. Add chicken to pan; cook, browning on all sides.

Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add celery and next 5 ingredients

(through bay leaf) to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender.

Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute. Add broth to pan; bring mixture

to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a

knife. Combine flour, chopped parsley, baking powder, and salt in a

medium bowl. Add milk, stirring just until moist. Spoon by heaping

teaspoonfuls into broth mixture; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until

dumplings are done. Discard parsley sprigs and bay leaf.

Each serving provides:

Calories per serving: 318

Calories from fat: 24%

Fat: 8.5 g

Saturated fat: 2 g

Monounsaturated: 4.4 g

Polyunsaturated: 1.5 g

Protein: 25.5 g

Carbohydrate: 36g

Fiber: 3.3 g

Cholesterol: 55mg

Iron: 3.5 mg

Calcium: 133 mg

Sodium: 596 mg*

*Sodium content will vary by the type of chicken broth used. Regular chicken broth can contain up to 1400 mg sodium/cup while low sodium versions can be as low as 140mg/cup. It's always smart to prepare low sodium versions and then add a bit of salt on top if needed (after tasting of course).

Good source of Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Zinc, and Copper

Excellent source of Phosphorus, Potassium, manganese, selenium,Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K,Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, VitaminB6 and Folate