It depends. High calorie ingredients like cream, butter, and cheese certainly can set back the best waist-watching efforts. So can big portion sizes. Researchers from Cornell University found that recipe portions have grown by about 35% in the cookbook classic, Joy of Cooking,. This means that a portion that was, say, 300 calories in an earlier edition, now is 400 calories. It takes only 25 days-worth of an extra 100 calories to gain a pound! So what can you do?

My colleague JoAnn Hattner, a San Francisco-based dietitian, suggests serving smaller portions and pairing higher calorie favorites (read it here: sfgate.com), like her creamy baked oysters, with lower calorie dishes. And get guidance from books like 400 Calorie Fix that feature tasty and even indulgent recipes in right-size portions.