How to Make Healthier Versions of Your Favorite Fast Food

Swearing off fast food is easy for some. For others, the siren call of Taco Bell is almost irresistible, and the light of the Golden Arches beckons us like moths to flames. If you’re trying to stick to New Year’s resolutions, going cold turkey is never a good idea. And in general, completely depriving yourself of treats is not a great strategy. But no matter how many so-called healthy options your favorite fast food joints and chain restaurants tout, you’re better off satisfying some cravings at home.

Happily, there’s no shortage of recipes that combine the copycat urge with the drive to eat healthier. As you might expect, most of them replace animal-derived ingredients with vegetables and meat alternatives, in addition to swapping out flours, fats, and cooking methods. Tweaking recipes in such a manner is an obvious and easy way to make things better for you without completely depriving yourself, but if you’re not used to doing it, it can be easy to overlook. Making your own meals rather than eating out also ensures, to a certain extent, that you know exactly what’s on your plate and how it’s been handled. At the very least, you can choose ethically sourced ingredients if you want to, and you won’t have to wonder if someone dropped your sandwich on the ground before serving it to you. (If you dropped your sandwich on the ground, well, at least you know how clean your floors are, and can invoke the five second rule if you see fit.)

Sometimes, of course, you have to give in to convenience and you’re gonna choose the drive-through instead of the grocery store (or opt for the walk-up window at 3 am on a Saturday instead of attempting to re-enact an episode of “My Drunk Kitchen“), but a little pre-planning can help with that too. If McMuffins are your vice, for instance, try making these veggie-packed freezer breakfast sandwiches that you just have to warm up in the morning. Or if you’re regularly tempted to grab some BK chicken fries on your way home or at lunch, consider packing an alternative snack; these Spicy Oven-Roasted Chickpeas, for instance, may not be anything like fried chicken, but they are simultaneously salty, spicy, and crunchy, not to mention much better for you. It’s worth a shot, anyway.

While the health benefits of rejiggered junk food may seem specious, it’s a fact that most of us at least occasionally crave something unhealthy, so why not indulge without totally giving in to sometimes-gross excess? Even if you’re not going full-on paleo, gluten-free, vegan (or what have you), making multiple minor changes to your culinary habits, like baking instead of frying, cutting down on oils and fats, reducing sugar and salt, eating a little less meat every week, and skipping the easiest dine-out options in favor of cooking at home more often, can really add up to feeling better.

And treating yourself to healthier fast food can be as simple as slapping some meatless Morningstar BBQ “riblets” on a bun with onions and pickles for a vegan McRib—any time you want it, no need to wait until it inevitably comes back. Or you can get a little more involved and make one of the recipes below when the urge strikes you.

Of course, some things are fully, unabashedly (and delightfully) trashy and there’s simply no point in trying to make them better for you. Take the Kit Kat quesadilla—there’s just no way to make that healthy, and that’s okay! Sometimes, straight-up gluttony is exactly what’s called for. And it’s certainly always on the menu.

For the other times, use these recipes—whether as-is, or as inspiration.

Instead of Taco Bell: Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme

Damn Delicious

You can easily veganize this homemade Crunchwrap by swapping the beef for taco-spiced lentils (or TVP or store-bought meatless taco crumbles), and subbing in vegan cashew sour cream and vegan cheese (including vegan nacho cheese for the proper amount of ooze), but if you eat meat, simply using real, identifiable beef is a big step up from the original, even if you still can’t technically call this health food. Get the recipe.

Instead of Outback Steakhouse: Baked Paleo Blooming Onion

Paleo Grubs

Deep-frying may be a sure path to crunchy food, but baking works well enough without nearly as much oil. This recipe also uses almond flour in the name of a paleo diet, but you can use whatever type of flour you like and have on hand. If you can find Vidalia or other sweet onions, try those, and if your onions are really large, you might need to increase the amount of seasoned flour in order to coat every beautiful petal. Get the recipe.

Instead of Panda Express: Baked Orange Cauliflower

Simple Healthy Kitchen

There’s a whole world of meat substitutes to delve into if you’re eliminating—or just cutting back on—animal protein, from tofu and seitan to jackfruit and tempeh, but simply swapping in heartier vegetables is also a great option. Here, tender-yet-meaty cauliflower stands in for chicken. If you’re not afraid of frying, you can double-dip cauliflower in hot oil before hitting it with a sticky orange-sesame sauce, but this recipe coats it in panko and bakes it instead, for an even healthier take on an old favorite. Get the recipe.

Instead of Chipotle: DIY Chipotle Burrito Bowl

What’s Gaby Cooking

As fast food chains go, Chipotle can be a pretty great choice (sporadic e coli outbreaks notwithstanding); the main issue comes from eating an entire humongous burrito (okay, and piling on allll the cheese and sour cream). If you make a Chipotle-style bowl at home, you can not only copy their delicious chicken recipe, but better control your portions and ingredient ratios. Adding even more vegetables is always a smart move, and you might think about subbing in brown rice or another grain like quinoa, in which case you can—and should—still add the cilantro and lime juice (unless, of course, you hate cilantro)! Get the recipe.

Instead of McDonald’s: Vegan Big Mac

Namely Mary

While plenty of other fast food and chain spots offer vegan options, McDonald’s has not historically bothered to (although some things on the menu happen to be meat-free). That said, why not take things into your own hands and craft a vegan Big Mac analog at home? Two all-quinoa-pinto-bean patties doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but every ingredient in the jingle is accounted for and veganized where necessary. If you’re cool with replacing the meat but can’t live without real cheese, just take inspiration from another burger chain and have it your way. Get the recipe.

Instead of Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A Tofu Nuggets with Vegan “Honey” Mustard Sauce

40 Aprons

If you’re more of a McNuggets fan who simply cannot shake the memory of Pink Slime, try these baked, meatless, chickpea-based nuggets at home for a change, but if your heart belongs to Chick-Fil-A and you don’t eat meat (and/or simply can’t support their politics), this copycat recipe is totally vegan yet tastes deliciously close to the real thing. That’s thanks in part to a pickle juice brine and a little powdered sugar in the breading. (If you are an inveterate meat eater, you can try this copycat Chick-fil-A nuggets recipe, which happens to cut way down on the sodium and could always be baked instead of fried, at the risk of losing a little crunch.) Get the recipe.

Instead of Red Lobster: Gluten Free Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Gluten Free on a Shoestring

To be clear, these are not generally healthier simply due to being gluten-free (and they still contain cheese, buttermilk, and butter), but if you are allergic or sensitive to wheat and miss Cheddar Bay biscuits, no need to fret, since you can make them at home with gluten-free flour! Plus, that way, there’s no menu full of deep-fried seafood to tempt you, and you can make some ultra-easy salmon to go with your biscuits instead. Get the recipe.

Instead of Olive Garden: Healthy Cauliflower Fettuccine Alfredo

Pinch of Yum

Olive Garden may have a surprisingly good wine list and great deals on soup, salad, and breadsticks, but they’re also home to lots of highly caloric pasta options. You can make most of them significantly healthier at home—and fettuccine alfredo is no exception. Okay, so maybe this won’t taste just like regular pasta alfredo, but it’s super creamy without a ton of butter and, well, cream, plus you get an extra veggie boost from all the cauliflower blended into the sauce. Consider tossing it with vegetable noodles (or even just replace some of the pasta with veggies, as in this Chicken Alfredo with Zucchini Ribbons recipe). Add grilled shrimp or chicken breast and chopped parsley if you like, and you’ll be happy you stayed home. Get the recipe.

Instead of Wendy’s: Wendy’s Copycat Paleo Frosty (and Extra Crispy Oven-Baked French Fries)

My Natural Family

For a slightly simpler and still dairy-free version of your favorite chocolate milkshake-esque concoction, you can try a recipe with coconut milk ice cream, or go with this one that uses ice and ripe banana to lend thick, frosty texture, along with the natural sweetener of your choice and raw cacao powder. Either way, feel free to make some crisp, oven-baked “fries” alongside for dippin’ (if you’ve never tried it, rest assured, it’s a thing—and a glorious thing at that). Get the recipe.

Instead of Cheesecake Factory: Raw Vegan Snickers Cheesecake

The Good Food Goddess

There are lots of ways to make cheesecake, and pretty much infinite flavors to add to it; the bewildering array of choices at The Cheesecake Factory is testament enough to that. One of their best options has to be the Snickers cheesecake, which clocks in at—cover your eyes—over 1,000 calories per slice (at least according to some Google results). If you’re sharing a piece with other people, that’s maybe not so bad, but you can feel far better about devouring even a hefty chunk of this vegan version all by yourself. It gets its creaminess from cashews (the recipe instructions are missing a few relevant words, but the nuts should be soaked in water overnight), and sweetness from dates and dark chocolate. Get the recipe.

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The Puppy Bowl Has an Official Coffee for Humans

It’s almost that time of year. As February nears, there’s only one game that matters. That’s right, the Puppy Bowl is back! For the uninitiated, it’s the superior, canine version of the Super Bowl. Except instead of men in spandex scoring touchdowns, puppies prance around with chew toys and cuteness is always the winner.

And just like all cute and talented athletes, the dogs in this year’s event have nabbed some pretty lucrative sponsorship deals. In case you haven’t heard, Labradors are the new Lebron.

One of the biggest deals comes via Grounds & Hounds, a coffee company that has partnered with Animal Planet to become the bowl’s official beverage. We’re assuming it’s for the human handlers, of course. As much as he pleads, please don’t actually give fido any espresso!

But here’s the best part about the sponsorship. 20 to 30 percent of proceeds from the limited-release Puppy Bowl x Animal Planet blend will benefit rescue organizations. Plus it’s 100 percent fair trade certified and organic. So now you can get your morning caffeine fix (hey, you gotta wake up early to walk the pooch anyway!) and support pups in need at the same time.

According to Grounds & Hounds Founder Jordan Karcher, “At the core of Grounds & Hounds is a passion to create delicious coffee for our customers and to generate support for the amazing people and organizations who are providing a second chance for pups in need. Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl is the perfect platform to draw attention to the animal rescue movement, and we are thrilled to take part in supporting their efforts.”

While “Puppy Bowl XIV” (can you believe there has been 14 of these games? That’s 72 in dog years!) doesn’t air until Feb. 4, you can already order the coffee from Grounds & Hounds’ website to get a head start before game day!

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Homemade Japanese Curry Rice (Kare Raisu)

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Foods with the Most Probiotics and How to Make Them

I have a terrible digestive system. I’ve been cursed with an inability to digest lactose and I have problems digesting wheat. Anything too fatty or spicy also does a number on me, and I can’t tolerate very much caffeine or alcohol. Although I try to avoid most of these foods on a daily basis, I’m only human—sometimes I just can’t resist a food that falls into one or more of these categories, or I’m served these foods when traveling or eating in a restaurant or in someone else’s home. Even for those who have a pretty strong digestive system, it’s easy to overdo it. If you’ve eaten and/or drank too much over the past few weeks, foods that contain probiotics are going to be your new best friend.

Probiotics are great for helping to rebalance a digestive system that’s gone off-kilter. If you’re feeling bloated or having other GI issues, or having trouble digesting your food, adding probiotics to your diet can help get you back on the right track. Probiotics are also helpful for strengthening the immune system during cold and flu season. If you’ve been sick and taken antibiotics, which can upset the stomach, probiotics can also help restore a healthy balance to the gut.

The “friendly” or “good” live bacteria in probiotics are naturally found in many foods, particularly fermented foods. Common types of probiotics include Lactobacillus (often found in yogurt and other fermented foods) and Bifidobacterium (found in some dairy products).  Sandor Katz, author of the book “Wild Fermentation” and an expert on fermented foods, says “Probiotics is all about biodiversity, and different fermented foods contain different communities of organisms. So I’d say the greater diversity of fermented foods you can eat, the better.”

Here are some ideas for foods that are full of probiotics and are easy to find or make yourself.

Yogurt

Pexels

Yogurt is one of the most well-known sources of probiotics. Look for yogurt that contains lactobacillus acidophilus and doesn’t have a lot of added sugars, artificial colors, or artificial flavors. Most people who are lactose intolerant can usually digest yogurt fairly easily, but if you’re avoiding dairy due to allergies or food preferences, you can find non-dairy yogurts made from almond, soy, coconut, or cashew that are still fermented and contain probiotics. If you recently got an Instant Pot, you could try making your own yogurt in it; you can also make homemade yogurt with a heavy saucepan.

Kombucha

Bound by Food

If you haven’t already tried kombucha, it’s a slightly bubbly drink that can be an acquired taste (I find it pleasantly tart, but some people describe it as “vinegary.”). It’s possible to find a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast), a.k.a. “the mother”, and brew your own kombucha but now it’s also pretty easy to find bottled, commercially produced kombucha in health food stores and healthy grocery store chains. My regular, no-frills grocery store carries kombucha (near the yogurt); I’ve even seen kombucha in my local Target. Kombucha is full of probiotics and I find that when I have an unsettled stomach, drinking kombucha really helps calm it down. Kombucha comes in a variety of flavors, but the plain version doesn’t have added sugars.

Kimchi

Chowhound

Kimchi is Korean in origin and is usually made from fermented cabbage (radish kimchi is another popular type of kimchi). You can make your own kimchi or buy kimchi (Mother-in-Law’s is one brand that’s pretty widely available) at your local Asian market or healthy grocery store (my regular grocery store also now carries kimchi; it’s housed near the sauerkraut). Of course, Kimchi is particularly good with Asian-style dishes (including noodle or rice/grain bowls and stir-fries, like this Kimchi and Shrimp Fried Rice), tacos, eggs, and burgers. I’m also quite fond of this Korean condiment gochujang, a fermented paste which I basically put on everything (especially eggs). Most types of kimchi and gochujang can add flavor and kick to your dishes without being blow-your-face-off spicy.

Sauerkraut

Harvest to Table

Raw, unpasteurized sauerkraut is naturally probiotic. You can make your own, or look for brands (like the Superkraut brand) that contain live, active cultures and have been minimally processed. Farmer’s markets, health food stores, and gourmet grocery stores are great resources for fresh, fermented sauerkraut.

Tempeh

Shutterstock

Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans; unlike tofu, tempeh uses whole soybeans and has a denser texture and a stronger flavor. You can use tempeh in many recipes where you’d use tofu or even meat. Tempeh tacos, stir-fries, and sandwiches (like a tempeh reuben, which also involves sauerkraut) are some of the dishes where tempeh shines.

Pickles

Chowhound

Pickles can be made in a variety of ways, but pickles that have been fermented (using lactic acid bacteria) contain probiotics. Look for pickles that have words like “probiotic” or “fermented” on the label, or make your own. Fermented pickled vegetables (including, but not limited to, cucumbers) will take longer than “quick” pickles, but you’ll reap the probiotic benefits.

Miso

Shutterstock

Like tempeh, miso also comes from fermented soybeans. You’ve probably tried miso soup, but miso paste—which comes in mild (white) and stronger (red) versions—can also be used to add robust flavor and probiotic punch to other soups (like carrot ginger), dressings, sauces, and marinades, like the one used in this Miso-Ginger Glazed Salmon.

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