Lightening up old-fashioned favorites

It's not a new tip. I've heard it before, most recently just before the holidays at a Weight Watchers meeting. Last night I tried a new-to-us recipe from my cast iron cookbook for Macaroni and Cheese. With bacon! First, I was trying to reduce the number of servings from several to no more than 4. I think I managed that. I don't know how many pieces of bacon the recipe called for originally, because it gave the measurement in weight, but I used only 3 pieces and we had plenty of flavor. Let's say I was cutting the recipe in half. I used less than half of the cheese called for in the recipe. I also reduced the flour for the sauce and the amount of bread crumb/cheese topping suggested. My notes for next time: use sharper flavor cheese to get more flavor with reduced fat, and leave out the bread crumbs altogether. In the cast iron skillet we had plenty of crunchy topping without the bread and I felt it detracted, rather than added, to the overall flavor of the dish. Looking forward to our leftovers tonight! It would be great if others could share tips for lightening their favorite recipes!