Q: I would love it if you could lighten this recipe for Madame Quiche's Quiche Au Fromage that I found on epicurious.com. I usually add lots of bacon pieces when I make it, too. I would like you to still use a pie crust though (store-bought) because that's honestly what I will use.

A: Quiche is one of my all-time favorite French foods. It's so versatile. Serve it for brunch, lunch or dinner. I've lightened my share of quiches over the years (with or without crust, vegetarian versions to crab quiche), but I was more than happy to take a look at Madame Quiche's recipe for Quiche Au Fromage. The reader asked me to still use store-bought pie crust, but she didn't say what type of store-bought crust. ... I like to use the whole-wheat organic pie crust in the frozen food section at Whole Foods. This at least adds some fiber and some more desirable fat.

Elaine Magee

Quiche

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To keep the filling as light as possible, I crumbled up seven slices of turkey bacon and used three higher omega-3 eggs blended with 2/3-cup egg substitute (instead of six large eggs). I replaced the 2/3 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole milk with 1 1/3 cups of fat-free half and half. The recipe also calls for 8 ounces of Gruyere, a high-flavor cheese that doesn't have a reduced-fat option. So, the way I see it, you have two great options. If you want to use Gruyere, just use a third less (1 1/3 cups shredded instead of 2 cups). If you want to use all 2 cups of shredded cheese, switch to a reduced-fat Swiss cheese (there are a couple of brands available in most supermarkets).

The light version has 35 percent fewer calories and half the fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol of the original recipe. The store-bought pie crust is adding 8 grams of fat, 4 grams of which are saturated, to the serving totals, so if you want to bring this part down further, make a crust-less version. Coat a pie plate generously with canola cooking spray and cover the inside of the pie plate with whole-wheat cracker crumbs.

Light Bacon Quiche Lorraine makes 8 servings

• Hands on: 25 minutes
• Total time: about 1 hour, plus cooling time

My whole family really enjoyed the light version of this recipe. The original recipe contains (including bacon) 445 calories, 33 grams fat, 16 grams saturated fat and 241 milligrams cholesterol per serving.

• One whole-wheat pie crust or pastry (available in Whole Foods and other specialty supermarkets)
• 3 large eggs (higher omega-3 if available)
• 2/3 cup egg substitute
• 1 1/3 cup fat free half and half
• 2 cups shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese (or 1 1/3 cups shredded Gruyere cheese)
• 7 slices turkey bacon, cooked in nonstick pan until crisp and then crumbled into bite-size pieces
• Fresh pepper as desired (around 1/4 teaspoon or more)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line the pastry with aluminum foil and pastry weights and bake in bottom third of the oven for about 10 minutes. If you don't have pastry weights, poke the crust several times with a fork (so the heat and steam can vent).

In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, egg substitute and fat-free half and half by beating on medium speed. Stir in the shredded cheese, bacon and pepper as desired. Pour the egg mixture into the partially baked pie crust, spreading the cheese and bacon evenly on the bottom. Sprinkle nutmeg over the top.

Bake in the center of the oven until the filling is nice and golden and cooked throughout (about 35 minutes.) You can test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife into the center of the quiche, and if it comes out clean, it's ready. Let cool to desired serving temperature and enjoy.

Per serving (including Wholly Organic Whole Wheat Pie Shell for the pie crust): 288 calories (percent of calories from fat, 50), 19 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 16 grams fat (7.8 grams saturated), 120 milligrams cholesterol, 390 milligrams sodium, 0.5 omega-3 fatty acids, 3 grams omega-6 fatty acids, 6 Weight Watchers points.

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Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian and author of 25 books on nutrition and healthy cooking. Need us to help make your recipes healthier?

E-mail Elaine Magee at betterhealth@ajc.com.