How to make junk food healthy

Vada pav, chaat, pizzas, burgers... the list of delicious but unhealthy foods for the palate is endless! How many times have you craved for your favourite fast food, but restricted yourself, because of its questionable nutritional value? Well, you don’t have to worry anymore. Instead, just learn to take the ‘junk’ out of your junk food by replacing all the unhealthy ingredients with healthy alternatives easily available at home. So whether it’s those tantalising appetisers or sinful desserts, say goodbye to guilty eating!

Burger

A mixed vegetables and tofu patty, topped with low-fat mayo and a spicy chutney

Ingredients: 5 large burger buns, ½ cup French beans (finely chopped), ½ cup carrots (finely chopped), ½ cup cauliflower (finely chopped), ½ cup green peas, 100 gm tofu (grated), 1 large potato (boiled and grated), 1½ slices white bread (for breadcrumbs), 3 green chillies(finely chopped), 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped), 1-inch piece of ginger(finely chopped), ½ tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp amchur powder (dried mango powder), 1 tsp chaat masala, 2 tsp oil, salt as per taste. For the serving: 5 lettuce leaves, 5 slices of onion, 5 slices of tomato, 5 slices of capsicum, ¼ cup low-fat mayo

Method: Cook the French beans, carrots, cauliflower and peas in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Drain and cool. To make breadcrumbs, toast the bread in a pop-up toaster until brown. Cool and grind to a fine powder in a mixer. Pre-heat the over at 160 degrees Celsius for 7-10 minutes. Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic, ginger and green chillies; sauté for half a minute. Add the boiled vegetables. Season with red chilli powder, chaat masala, amchur powder and salt; sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in tofu, potato and salt. Cook for another 2 minutes, then set aside to cool. Add the bread crumbs and combine. Divide into 5 equal burger patties. Roast these on a non-stick pan, using a small amount of oil. Slice the buns into half and warm them in the pre-heated oven for 2 minutes. On each of the lower halves, place 1 patty, 1 lettuce leaf, 1 tbsp of low-fat mayo and slices of onion, tomato and capsicum. Cover with the other half of the bun and serve with tomato ketchup.

Value per serving

(1 burger):

Calories: 295 kcal

Protein: 12 gm

Fat: 6 gm

Carbs: 49 gm

Calcium: 109 mg

Iron: 1 mg

Fibre: 2 gm

Sev Puri Detoxed:

A chaat-inspired salad you can pop in your mouth without fretting about calories!

Ingredients: 2 cups fresh curd (made from toned milk), 25 slices of cucumber, 1 cup moong sprouts or 1/3 cup uncooked green moong (soak for 6-8 hours, drain and keep covered for another 12 hours), 1 small onion (finely chopped), 1 green chilli (finely chopped), 2 tbsp fresh coriander (finely chopped), ½ tsp chaat masala, 1 tsp powdered sugar, ½ tsp cumin powder, ¼ tsp black pepper powder, salt as per taste

Method: Hang the curd in a muslin cloth for half an hour to drain excess water. Boil 300 ml of water with ½ tsp of salt. Add moong sprouts, remove from heat and cover. Drain after 20 minutes and let it cool. Remove the thick curd from the cloth and transfer to a bowl. Add sprouts, onion or tomato, fresh coriander, green chilli, sugar, pepper and salt. Spread the cucumber slices on a serving dish. Ladle spoonfuls of the mixture on the slices. Garnish with chaat masala, cumin powder and fresh coriander. Serve immediately.

Value per serving (5 pieces):

Calories: 115 kcal

Protein: 6.5 gm

Fat: 3.5 gm

Carbs: 14 gm

Calcium: 156 mg

Fibre: 1 gm

Iron: 1.2 mg