Healthy Fast-food!

You read correctly! Eating healthy doesn’t mean giving up on your favourite meals. Most often than not, traditional fast food is high in fat and salt, and low in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. By changing the cooking mode and a few ingredients, we can make the same kind of food, but with a much better nutritional value!

Homemade fries
To make good fries, you have two options. The old-fashioned oven method, or the new ActiFry deep fryer, which requires only one tablespoon of oil to make low-fat “fried” food. If you make your fries in the oven, cut your own potatoes to get as much nutrients as possible, because frozen fries have often been bleached or pre-cooked. The key to crispy fries is to leave one inch between them on the cooking plate so that they don’t get cooked by the steam and become soft. Instead of using only salt, season your fries with Cajun spices, chilli powder, or cumin. For an interesting variation, try using sweet potatoes or parsnips!

Nuggets
Your children have very specific tastes, and chicken nuggets are a sure bet? Nothing is easier than making homemade nuggets that can also be turned into different versions! For breadcrumbs with more fiber, replace the variety made with white bread with oat bran, and add ground flaxseeds if you have some. To limit the fat content, store the deep fryer, arrange your nuggets on a cooking pan covered with parchment paper, and place it on the grill in the center of the oven. Try Geneviève O’Gleman’s Indian-style lentil nuggets recipe (extracted from the book Bonne bouffe en famille), or fish cakes made with salmon, tuna, or tilapia!

Pizza
For a low-fat pizza, replace the pepperoni with cooked chicken, shrimps, or ham. Use only half of the recommended quantity of cheese and use part-skim cheese, such as Saputo’s pizza mozzarella, at 15% M.F. Try making your favourite recipe on a whole-wheat pita or tortilla, and add more vegetables such as bleached broccoli, roquette, or baby spinachs.

Bon appétit!

By Marilyne Petitclerc

Healthy Fast-food! is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
Copyright © Nautilus Plus 2012