Q. My husband loves to order Reuben sandwiches at diners and because of his medical issues, it would be best if he enjoyed a light version at home. Can you put one together for us and tell us what the calorie and fat savings are?

A. What if I told you that you could save 300 calories per sandwich and 30 grams of fat with this simple recipe? What if you could make this in about five minutes?

Nothing too tricky here, we are just using lightened ingredients: light Swiss cheese, reduced-fat Thousand Island dressing (with about 2 grams fat per 2 tablespoons) and lean pastrami (with about 1 gram fat per 2 ounce serving). Of course, a Reuben wouldn't be a Reuben without sauerkraut.

In many restaurants, this sandwich is grilled with lots of margarine or butter on the bread slices, but we are keeping it light by coating a nonstick skillet and the top slice of the bread with canola cooking spray.

A traditional Reuben sandwich may contain around 660 calories, 43 grams fat, 15 grams saturated fat, and 100 milligrams cholesterol per serving.

If you like your Reuben sandwich thick with meat, you can increase the pastrami to 3 ounces. Substitute mustard for the Thousand Island dressing if you desire.

LIGHTER REUBEN SANDWICH

2 slices dark rye bread

1 1/2 tablespoons light Thousand Island dressing (mustard can be substituted)

About 3 tablespoons bottled sauerkraut, drained

2 thin small slices reduced-fat Swiss cheese or 1 large slice (about 1.5 ounces)

About 2 ounces lean pastrami or turkey pastrami (with about 1 gram fat per 2 ounce serving)

Canola cooking spray

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Spread Thousand Island dressing generously on the bottom slice of bread. Add the thin slices of folded lean pastrami evenly over the dressing, then top with sauerkraut. Top this with the cheese slices and place the remaining slice on top to complete your sandwich.

Coat the center of the skillet with canola cooking spray and add the sandwich on top of this in the hot skillet. Coat the top of the sandwich with some more canola cooking spray. Grill sandwich until the underside is nicely browned (about 1 minute), then turn sandwich over and continue to grill until the other side is lightly browned and cheese is melted (about 1 minute more). Enjoy this sandwich with fresh fruit or raw veggies.