Nutrition

Six healthy junk food recipes

You don’t have to sacrifice junk food for your clean-eating routine. Replacing just a few traditional ingredients with healthy alternatives can boost the nutritional value of your favorite guilty pleasures. Six simple recipes for a delicious new approach to food, just in time for Independence Day on July 4.

  • healthy junk food
    feryersan
    1/6

    Veggie burger What's different and why? Make your burger with a beet-quinoa steak and avocado sauce, to replace a commonplace beef steak and cheese combination. Traditional beefburgers are difficult to digest, packed with bad toxins, contain more fat than calcium and slow down the digestive system. The ideal recipe: A beet steak with avocado sauce, on a wholewheat bread burger bun. Start by grating a beet and seasoning it with lemon juice, before putting it to one side. Glaze a finely chopped onion in a frying pan, before boiling two spoonfuls of quinoa. Add the quinoa and beetroot to the onion to make your burger patty. For your sauce, use a fork to crush half an avocado, mixing it with sesame seeds and dash of lemon. Spread the sauce over the bread buns, followed by your vegetarian burger. Beauty benefits: Quinoa seeds provide a strong dose of green proteins, more easily digestible than animal proteins. Beets promise plenty of antioxidants, while avocado contains good fatty acids for radiant skin.

  • healthy junk food
    BRETT STEVENS
    2/6

    Caesar pizza What's different and why? Inspired by a Caesar salad, this hybrid recipe avoids the overload of cheese (mozzarella and parmesan) in a classic pizza. On top of this, using wholewheat flour to make the dough ensures the fiber needed for easy digestion. The ideal recipe: Mix 350 grams of spelt flour, two teaspoons of salt, a sachet of yeast and three spoonfuls of olive oil together in a salad bowl. Beat the mixture together while gradually adding 25cl of warm water, until you have a dough that can be removed from the salad bowl. Leave the dough to rest for one hour, and then precook it for approximately 12 minutes. Spread the mustard and cover your pizza in sliced chicken breast, fresh tomatoes and anchovies. Once cooked, sprinkle young shoots on top. Beauty benefits: Spelt flour is rich in fiber and mineral salts to boost energy. The chicken breast and anchovies provide a source of protein, while fresh tomatoes give a dose of antioxidants.

  • healthy junk food
    3/6

    Vegetable chips What's different and why? Quick and easy to prepare, these snack alternatives don't need a frying pan or oil, which is difficult to digest, greasy and devoid of nutrients. The ideal recipe: Preheat the oven to 200°, then slice turnips, parsnips, carrots and sweet potatoes. Place the vegetables on a sheet of baking paper, lightly salt them and if necessary, add no more than 3 sprays of coconut oil. Cook in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Beauty benefits: Although carrots are well-known for their beta carotene content, sweet potatoes are in fact one of the vegetables with the highest levels of this nutrient. Turnips are packed with potassium, calcium and vitamin C, and parsnips offer plenty of vitamin K and magnesium.

  • healthy junk food
    Johner Images
    4/6

    Banh Mi sandwich What's different and why? Make your sandwich filling from lean meat and raw vegetables. This healthy recipe is filling but rather than making you feel lethargic, it will double your energy levels! The ideal recipe: Start by coating the inside of your sandwich with sesame oil. Then, marinate a chicken breast in soya sauce, lemon and sesame for 10 minutes before grilling it in a frying pan. Sprinkle the juice of half an orange and poppy seeds over a grated carrot, before placing the sliced cucumbers, chicken, grated carrots and fresh coriander into your sandwich. Beauty benefits: Chicken contains a healthy dose of lean protein, while carrots are packed with plenty of beta carotene. Coriander is an active antioxidant, while the 95% water content of a cucumber is perfect for refreshing your system.

  • healthy junk food
    Westend61
    5/6

    Green hot dogs What's different and why? Turn to tofu or soya sausages, with organic herbs and a homemade, carrot-based ketchup for a nutritious yet delicious hot dog alternative. The ideal recipe: Slice along the length of the bread. Fee from greasy, fatty properties, cook the tofu sausage and place in the hot dog bun, seasoned with homemade carrot ketchup. You can then add other condiments, such as gherkins and onions, on top. Beauty benefits: Beta carotene helps give your complexion a healthy glow as vegetal proteins work to nourish your muscles without contaminating your stomach. The condiment alternatives are rich in probiotics, which help to rebalance gut flora.

  • healthy junk food
    DEA PICTURE LIBRARY
    6/6

    Light fish & chips What's different and why? Most importantly, fish is oven-cooked rather than deep-fried, with a quinoa breadcrumb instead of the traditional white flour breadcrumb. The ideal recipe: Blend 6 bars of quinoa, and cut 8 fish sticks from a cod loin. Dip the fish in two beaten egg yolks, then coat them in the quinoa base and spray with vegetal oil. Cook the fish in the oven at 250° for 5 minutes, before spraying with lemon juice to finish. Beauty benefits: The strong, healthy mix of vegetal protein and lean protein via the quinoa-coated cod. Rapeseed oil is rich in omega 3 and 6, while the lemon provides an energizing dose of vitamin C.