Sometimes, you just really want a plate of nachos or a burger. Here\’s some ideas for making some of your favorite junk food dishes a slightly healthier treat.
Black Bean Burgers
Mix one can of well-drained black beans with two slices of crumbled bread, half a chopped onion, half a cup of flour and salt, garlic and onion powder to taste. Mix thoroughly, and shape into patties. If you\’re baking these rather than pan frying them, brush them with a little milk or oil so they crisp on the outside.
Cashew Nacho Cheese
Soak a cup of cashews overnight, or if you\’re pressed for time, give them a good rolling boil for fifteen minutes. Add two cups of water (less if you prefer thick cheese, more if you like it thin), half a teaspoon of garlic powder and onion powder, a good pinch of paprika, the juice of one lemon, and a good handful of nutritional yeast (not the type you use for bread – this yeast is yellow flakes and you\’ll only find it at health food stores). Add two teaspoons of salt, and if you like, some pimentos (the orange things you get in the middle of green olives). Blend until completely smooth.
Yoghurt Pizza Bases
Mix four cups of self-raising flour with four cups of Greek yoghurt, and a few pinches of sea salt. This will make 8 – 10 small bases (about as big as a dinner plate).
Mashed Cauliflower
Mashed cauliflower is a slightly lighter alternative to mashed potato – the process is pretty much the same, except you\’ll need to make sure you strain your cauliflower really, really well before you mash and you probably won\’t need to add any liquid (as cooked cauli can be quite watery).
Homemade Pita Chips
This one is very simple: buy a packet of light wraps, cut them into chip shapes, and bake them on a baking tray – you\’ll need to keep an eye on them as they cook very quickly. Wraps also make a great alternative to pastry – all the crunch without the butter.
Coconut Bacon
Get a packet of coconut chips from your supermarket\’s baking aisle, and toss them in a mixture of water, soy sauce, maple syrup and liquid smoke (adjusted for how salty, sweet or smoky you like your bacon). Bake in your oven, turning regularly. Again, you\’ll need to keep an eye on them as they will burn very quickly.
Karlie Kloss Kookies
Follow this link for a tasty, healthy New York City approved cookie recipe.
Carrot Hot Dogs
This may sound odd, but give it a try – kids love them, and they have much less fat and processed stuff than store bought hot dogs. Peel your carrots, cut the ends off, and boil them at a medium heat until they\’re cooked, but not soft (you should be able to slide a fork in). Put a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar, a quarter cup of water, two tablespoons of soy sauce, a good pinch of garlic powder and a few dashes of liquid smoke in a plastic container with a lid (this will be enough for four hot dogs). Leave the carrots in this mixture, sealed, for 24 hours before cooking.
Lemon Yoghurt Cake
This incredibly moist cake has a fair bit of sugar (about as much as you\’d expect for a cake), but absolutely no butter or oil – you just replace it with yoghurt. Mix 1 3/4 cups sugar, rind of 2 lemons, two large eggs, two cups of yoghurt, half a teaspoon of salt, a few tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 cups of self-raising flour together. Bake for 30 minutes.