Home-made Fast Food

Craving fast food, but don’t want the added calories, fat and sodium? You can make your own version of some fast food favorites in your own kitchen. Try these ‘fast-food’ recipes from the Dietitians of Canada Cookbook, ‘Simply Good Food’.

Chicken Parmesan Strips

Prep time: 15 min / Marinating time: 15 min to 4 hours / Cooking time: 20 min

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• ½ cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs or corn flake cereal, finely crushed
• 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
• Salt

Directions:

• Place chicken in a shallow dish and pour in milk. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or for up to 4 hours. Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In another shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley and pepper. Remove chicken strips from milk and dip in crumb mixture, coating well. Place on prepared baking sheet. Discard any excess milk and crumb mixture.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside.

Variations:

• Add flavor with other dried herbs, such as thyme, basil or oregano.
• Add fibre by replacing some of the bread crumbs with ground flaxseed.

Turkey Burger

Prep time: 15 min / Cooking time: 30 to 40 min in oven

Preheat oven to 350°F, if cooking in oven

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• 1 tart apple, such as Mutsu or Granny Smith, finely chopped
• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 1/3 cup ground flaxseed
• 3 tbsp. prepared yellow mustard
• 1 tbsp. ketchup
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Form into patties.
• Cook on a barbecue or grill, or bake in preheated oven until a meat thermometer inserted in the centre registers an internal temperature of 170°F.
• Serve on a bun with your favorite burger toppings.

Lightened-Up Guacamole and Chips

Prep time: 20 min / Cooking time: 10 to 15 min per batch of tortillas

Preheat oven to 350°F

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe avocados, peeled and mashed
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced (or ½ tsp garlic powder)
• ½ cup fat-free plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup tomato salsa
• 2 tbsp. chopped green onion
• 2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ground cumin (or to taste)
• 1 tsp. chili powder (or to taste)
• 8 to 10 10-inch multigrain or whole wheat tortillas

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, except tortillas.
• In batches, place tortillas directly on the middle rack of preheated oven and toast, turning once, for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and starting to crisp. Let cool on a wire rack, then break into dipping-size pieces.
• Serve guacamole in a dish, surrounded by toasted tortilla chips.

Reference: 2007. Simply Great Food. Dietitians of Canada. Robert Rose.