You'd think that a region with bathing-suit weather 365 days a year would have a light, healthy cuisine to complement it. But the downside of Caribbean cooking is that much of it is spectacularly unhealthy -- a less fortunate legacy from Europe. Deep-fat frying remains the cooking method of choice in much of the Caribbean. (Consider the popularity of fritters and fried fish on all the islands.) Lard is still popular on the Spanish islands, and fatty coconut milk is used throughout the islands in rice dishes, stews, and desserts.

The good news is that the explosively flavorful ingredients of Caribbean cuisine are perfectly suited to high-flavor, low-fat cooking. Only small modifications in traditional recipes were required to bring these recipes within Cooking Light guidelines.