Tuesday, February 24 is Mardi Gras, which is the 24-hour food fest that ushers in the six weeks of Lent, the 40 days of abstinence leading up to holiday, Easter. Similar to Thanksgiving, this is one of those holidays that is dedicated to eating - a lot.

With a name that translates to “Fat Tuesday,” there is really not much hope for getting through the Mardi Gras’ festivities without loosening your belt a few notches. And since concocting a low-cal and low-fat version of the paczki might require a veritable culinary miracle from the heavens, we’ve drummed up some healthy Mardi Gras favorites from the Diets in Review kitchen.

With Lent beginning next Wednesday, February 25th, Catholics around the world will have to forgo eating meat each Friday and opt to eat meals centered around veggies, grains and fish. Eating fish is pretty “in” these days considering the massive amounts of research which has elucidated the powerful health benefits of eating a diet that regularly contains certain fish like wild-caught salmon.

Most fish are a lean source of protein and provide you with a healthy dose of essential fatty acids and other nutrients. But lean white fish, when dredged in breadcrumbs, deep-fried and smothered in artery-clogging tartar sauce is not so lean after all.

As Lent beckons your need to swap out your burger or roast beef sandwich for fish, how does your favorite finned sandwich fare from fast-food restaurants in regards to nutrition? Here is a comparison of the most popular fish sammies and their stats:

For Catholics, today is the first day of Lent 2008. As if giving things up for your diet in-progress wasn’t hard enough, now you’re making the decision to leave something else behind for the next 40 days. Without question, you’ll be dismissing meat from your diet for each of the next seven Fridays. Many of my Catholic friends often make an easy out of fast-food fried fish sandwiches, but I have something that’s not only so much healthier, but also quite delicious.

Check out these more than 40 wonderful Weight Watchers recipes featuring fish and seafood that will give your family an entirely new reason to say “TGIF!”

Here are my seven top picks- one for each Friday of Lent.

Baked Stuffed Shrimp
Buffalo Style Catfish Strips
Crab Cakes
Crab Quiche
Crispy Parmesan Orange Roughy
Grilled Red Snapper with Herb Pesto
Glorified Salmon