I promised my eight year old little girl a nice treat today for having reached some goals we had set. She wanted to go to McDonalds and I was happy to take her. I've been working very hard to get into shape and have recently lost over 20 lbs. So, I was planning on eating some healthy from home.
As I pulled up to the menu board, I started thinking about how much I love some of the items they offer. I looked and saw "Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese." Mmmm, that used to be one of my favorites, but now that I'm working out and eating right I had to pass. That's when it struck me
I've been making copy cat recipes from my favorite restaurant for years. I've just never tried to make them healthy. Usually the goal is to make them taste exactly like I would get in the restaurant. But, now I have a different motive, losing some fat. There's no reason I couldn't substitute low fat cheese for the full fat version. I've done it with other recipes, there shouldn't be a reason I can't do it with restaurant recipes.
Of course, I know it's probably not going to taste EXACTLY the same, but I'm willing to sacrifice a little to save on the scale each morning. I also know Splenda isn't a duplicate for sugar and low fat cheese doesn't always melt exactly the same way regular cheese does, but that's OK.
If you think about it, there are a few major areas that contribute to our battle with our weight. They usually come down to sugar and fat. So, here are some things you can do to curb both of those culprits.
Drop the Fat - The next time you're buying eggs, look around the shelf and you'll probably see a low fat real egg substitute you can use for cook and baking. You'll find the same thing in the cheese section and the other parts of the dairy aisle.
Turkey Isn't Just For Thanksgiving Anymore - As a matter of fact, it's for breakfast many mornings in my house. I've replaced my pork bacon with turkey bacon and cut a ton of fat out of my diet. You'll find turkey ham, turkey sausage and even turkey burgers.
Low Fat Oil? - Well, it's not really low fat oil, but it does reduce the amount of oil you use. What is it? Spray on oil. It's the same oil you pour into a pan, but when you spray it you can coat a pan with considerably less oil than you would pouring. It can even be sprayed on food you would normally deep fry, but want to bake instead. It puts a nice crispy coating on the food.
Sugar Busting - Sugar is everywhere these days. But, you can fight the battle and win. When you're favorite restaurant recipe calls for sugar, measure out some Splenda instead. I've done this with so many recipes and the results have been fantastic.
I'm not going to tell you that a Big Mac made with low-fat secret sauce (shhh, I think it's just Thousand Island Dressing) and turkey patties instead of hamburger is going to taste exactly the same, but it does taste pretty darn good.
I have plenty of top secret recipes on my website that are waiting for your modifications. Don't be afraid to experiment a little and see what you come up with. You never know, you might end up liking the new healthy version better than the one at the restaurant. - 15634
As I pulled up to the menu board, I started thinking about how much I love some of the items they offer. I looked and saw "Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese." Mmmm, that used to be one of my favorites, but now that I'm working out and eating right I had to pass. That's when it struck me
I've been making copy cat recipes from my favorite restaurant for years. I've just never tried to make them healthy. Usually the goal is to make them taste exactly like I would get in the restaurant. But, now I have a different motive, losing some fat. There's no reason I couldn't substitute low fat cheese for the full fat version. I've done it with other recipes, there shouldn't be a reason I can't do it with restaurant recipes.
Of course, I know it's probably not going to taste EXACTLY the same, but I'm willing to sacrifice a little to save on the scale each morning. I also know Splenda isn't a duplicate for sugar and low fat cheese doesn't always melt exactly the same way regular cheese does, but that's OK.
If you think about it, there are a few major areas that contribute to our battle with our weight. They usually come down to sugar and fat. So, here are some things you can do to curb both of those culprits.
Drop the Fat - The next time you're buying eggs, look around the shelf and you'll probably see a low fat real egg substitute you can use for cook and baking. You'll find the same thing in the cheese section and the other parts of the dairy aisle.
Turkey Isn't Just For Thanksgiving Anymore - As a matter of fact, it's for breakfast many mornings in my house. I've replaced my pork bacon with turkey bacon and cut a ton of fat out of my diet. You'll find turkey ham, turkey sausage and even turkey burgers.
Low Fat Oil? - Well, it's not really low fat oil, but it does reduce the amount of oil you use. What is it? Spray on oil. It's the same oil you pour into a pan, but when you spray it you can coat a pan with considerably less oil than you would pouring. It can even be sprayed on food you would normally deep fry, but want to bake instead. It puts a nice crispy coating on the food.
Sugar Busting - Sugar is everywhere these days. But, you can fight the battle and win. When you're favorite restaurant recipe calls for sugar, measure out some Splenda instead. I've done this with so many recipes and the results have been fantastic.
I'm not going to tell you that a Big Mac made with low-fat secret sauce (shhh, I think it's just Thousand Island Dressing) and turkey patties instead of hamburger is going to taste exactly the same, but it does taste pretty darn good.
I have plenty of top secret recipes on my website that are waiting for your modifications. Don't be afraid to experiment a little and see what you come up with. You never know, you might end up liking the new healthy version better than the one at the restaurant. - 15634
About the Author:
Chef Pablo loves cooking. Whether it's his favorite restaurant recipes or authentic Mexican foods from his days growing up in San Diego, he's always excited to teach others how to please their guests in the kitchen with Outback Steakhouse recipes, The Olive Garden, The Cheesecake Factory or Red Lobster.
