Unhealthy recipes turned healthy

sarahertzberger
sarahertzberger Posts: 534 Member
in Recipes
I'm needing recipes for foods that may not be the most healthy but that have been turned healthy and still taste really great! I love all sorts of veggies and fruits and such but I do have some picky eaters and I'm needing some ideas. We're from the South and love our yummy Southern food but that doesn't always mean the healthiest or lowest calories and fat. So, share your recipes with me please!

Replies

  • jpena412
    jpena412 Posts: 42 Member
    A big hit in our house is tacos/ burritos. Little swaps like ground turkey instead of beef, lower fat cheese/ sour cream, less calorie wraps, and loads of fresh veggies. I will also completely forego the wraps/ taco shells and make a big taco salad. Grilled chicken and steamed veggies with a baked potato is also a staple for us
  • Lynn_babcock
    Lynn_babcock Posts: 220 Member
    Unhealthy recipe: Cabbage Jut - 1 head of cabbage, 5# potatoes, 1# bacon, 1/4# butter. Cut bacon then fry it.. leave in it's fat and set aside (it all goes in). Chop your cabbage and potatoes and cook until they mash together easily. Add stick of butter and bacon with all fat. Stir together and serve. It IS delicious!! :)

    The healthy version is probably obvious by now. Here is the one I made last year:
    64oz potatoes, 38oz cabbage, 1.75 tablespoons bacon fat, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt.

    My recipe came out to 105 calories per cup, 3 g protein, 3g fiber and made 15 cups (so add water until you have that much). It's not Cabbage Jutt in all it's glory but when you're counting calories food tastes better anyways. It's a good alternative for mashed potatoes. The flavored instant potatoes I've been making lately are 110 calories per 1/2 cup.. so you get double the food this way.
  • Lynn_babcock
    Lynn_babcock Posts: 220 Member
    Burger Salad when you're craving a burger :) The dressing is the most important part. 3 tsp yellow mustard, 12 Tablespoons olive oil mayo (I use the one made by Kraft, has 35 calories per tablespoon), just over a quarter cup of dill pickle juice, 1 tablespoon of ketchup, and a teaspoon of old-fashioned horseradish.. that part is totally optional because I like horseradish. If you're not crazy about horseradish obviously it will taste better without it anyways. This worked out to be 25 calories per tablespoon. If I'm only using 2 tablespoons (if I've been really bad that day) I add a little more pickle juice to my lettuce and shake it in a container so it spreads around well.

    So then craft your salad with everything you dream of on a burger. I start off with lettuce, 3 cups. I weigh out either a 3oz or 4oz burger patty. Extra lean 93/7 doesn't hold together well for a burger patty but you'll be crumbling it anyways so that's what I try to use. Then I use lots of tomatoes, onions, slice up pickles, avocados if I have them and the calories work out for it that day. I don't usually do cheese but if you get a real fine grater/zester you can get away with very little cheese. I might try parmesan next time.

    I found 93/7 ground beef on sale for $3/# a few days ago and measured it out into 3oz and 4oz patties.. put them in sandwich bags and froze them. Depending how hungry I am or where I stand for calories determines which to grab. So a 3oz burger is 170 calories, 3 tablespoons of dressing is 75 calories.. so your base is 245 calories and the other fixings (apart from avocado) don't account for much more. It tastes better than it sounds :smiley:
  • bebeisfit
    bebeisfit Posts: 951 Member
    The barefoot contesa's roasted eggplant & orzo. She uses tons of oil and orzo pasta. I added chick peas. cut down on the oil and added more vegetable and swapped out the pasta for a healthier grain.

    Doubled the vegetable, using cut up eggplant, red onion, banana pepper and sometimes an orange pepper (not a big fan of bell peppers, add if you love them). Roasted with just a bit of olive oil salt & pepper. Cook up bulger (cracked wheat) or any other healthy grain - quiona, farro etc. Made a vinaigrette from lemon juice and olive oil. Toss it all together then add in a can of rinsed / drained chick peas, chopped parsley, a bit of diced feta cheese and a few pine nuts if you like. Still high in calories, but high in fiber too and super tasty, especially the next day.
  • Tweaking_Time
    Tweaking_Time Posts: 733 Member
    If you like Tex-Mex, I have posted my enchilada casserole recipe in this forum
  • crazymama2both
    crazymama2both Posts: 195 Member
    www.skinnytaste.com *swooooon*
  • Kamikazeflutterby
    Kamikazeflutterby Posts: 775 Member
    There are some foods I think of as "southern" that are ridiculously easy to fit in. Slow cooker pulled pork happens a lot in our house. I use this recipe and add BBQ sauce to taste for sandwiches, or add more seasoning and cheese for taquitos. And here's some Pimento Cheese Stuffed Chicken, if you're into that sort of thing. I haven't tried it (I hate pimento cheese) but it's definitely southern and Emily Bites has never steered me wrong.

    Add some of your "normal" recipes and play around with the serving sizes until you have something doable and worth the calories. And some days... some days I just log the high calorie version and try to keep from going overboard the rest of the day. If there is a low cal recipe for biscuits and gravy, I don't want to see it.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    And just what is so unhealthy about cornbread and collared greens?
  • faegirl22
    faegirl22 Posts: 60 Member
    I love pork chili verde tacos, I have them every day for lunch and it's pretty dang healthy. We take the pork loin roasts from costco and throw them in the crockpot with green enchilada sauce and a bunch of assorted peppers that we roasted in the oven. It's cheap and so yum. With cojita cheese and two corn tortillas its a grand total of 287 calories
  • shaybee377
    shaybee377 Posts: 42 Member
    edited April 2016
    Check out hungrygirl.com! There are tons of "recipe makeovers" on their site.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    Have you tried Bobby Dean's cookbook? He takes all his mom Paula Deen's recipes and makes them healthier. Many of still southern comfort food. Here's a link I found to a bunch of his recipes.

    http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/bobby-deens-healthy-takes-on-paula-deen-recipes.html
  • shaybee377
    shaybee377 Posts: 42 Member
    enterdanger wrote: »
    Have you tried Bobby Dean's cookbook? He takes all his mom Paula Deen's recipes and makes them healthier. Many of still southern comfort food. Here's a link I found to a bunch of his recipes.

    http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/bobby-deens-healthy-takes-on-paula-deen-recipes.html

    This is a game changer! I need to pick this book up!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Google is your friend. When the mood for a particular dish strikes, I just do a google search with 'healthy' in the front. Tons of recipes out there.
  • tisdalla
    tisdalla Posts: 32 Member
    @Lynn_babcock made your burger salad for lunch! Used a veggie burger. OMGosh!!! Delish!!
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
    - Bread chicken w seasoned panko and bake instead of frying, really tasty.
    - Try swapping mayo with plain fat free Greek yogurt for tuna and chicken salads.
    - Baked potatoes w fat free sour cream and chives or green onions
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Reducing fat is an easy way to reduce calories. I find I can use about a quarter of the cheese asked for in most recipes. I also replace all but a tablespoon of oil in muffins with apple sauce.

    Another super easy improvement is trading refined grains with whole grains.

    Grated onion and carrot can be added to soups and stews. Chopped fine enough and even veggie haters won't notice.
  • cafisher0404
    cafisher0404 Posts: 77 Member
    crazymama2both wrote: »
    www.skinnytaste.com *swooooon*

    I just looked here and I love this site, thank you!
  • kristenday5059
    kristenday5059 Posts: 2 Member
    I'm from the south & love sausage. Manda's makes chicken sausage in green onion or jalapeño (less fat than turkey sausage & taste SO much better). I make my red beans or white beans with the chicken sausage and I do a chicken sausage & green pepper with a heart healthy spaghetti sauce (the ones that are around 45 calories). My favorite healthy dishes & my hubby likes them too.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    sarahertzberger wrote: »
    I'm needing recipes for foods that may not be the most healthy but that have been turned healthy and still taste really great! I love all sorts of veggies and fruits and such but I do have some picky eaters and I'm needing some ideas. We're from the South and love our yummy Southern food but that doesn't always mean the healthiest or lowest calories and fat. So, share your recipes with me please!

    Food that has nutrients and is not spoiled or an allergen to you is not unhealthy. You can make lower calorie versions.
    Try grilling or baking instead of frying.
    Cut cooking oil or butter in half. Cut down on cheese. Use regular milk instead of cream. Don't dump a ton of sugar on food or in drinks.
    Adjust portion size of higher calorie foods and fill your plate with more vegetables.
    Have a thin crust pizza.
    http://southernfood.about.com/cs/lowfathealthy/a/alighter.htm
    http://www.budgetbytes.com
    http://www.skinnytaste.com
    http://www.kalynskitchen.com/

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