Getting your Junk Food Fix!

Since we are on the topic of giving in to our food cravings, I decided to dedicate this post to just that!

This is a slight twist on satisfying that craving that creeps in and just doesn't want to let go.

We gave up bad eating habits a long time ago. It goes against our very nature to get into the car and drive to a fast food joint to satisfy our craving.

It seems almost unnatural and wrong. In fact if you analyze the food you actually get when you indulge in such places, it is exactly that: wrong and unnatural.

My switch to Organic local farming happened when I started eating chicken again during my pregnancies. I practice it religiously, avoiding chicken that I know has not been raised in healthy happy homes. Patrick, has just recently made the switch and can't even eat in his food court anymore!

I promise, he will have that post out soon on industrial factory farming vs local organic farming soon, here and at

So this post is dedicated to satisfying our natural urges for "bad" food and turning them into pretty healthy options for lunches and/or dinners.

So here you have it:

The Hamburger

The Sub

The French Fry

For the Hamburger:

I make these hamburgers for my kids all the time. I make the mini versions for all of us. I don't need a huge hunk of meat sitting between two pieces of bread at lunch time.

A small mini burger like this one and a salad is more than enough.

For the Chicken Burger.

1 pound of organic lean ground chicken

2 corns cooked-kernels only

2 shallots finely diced

1 green pepper finely diced

1 red pepper finely diced

2-3 sprigs of parsley finely chopped

Salt & Pepper

1 egg

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Season.

Make small patties and grill about 5 minutes each side on the bbq.

(if you are cooking inside use a grill pan)

Toast the mini buns, dress your burger and enjoy!

Change ground meat to turkey or beef and use the same recipe.

The Homemade Sub

Incredibly sweet peppers. Soft sweet onion, tender juicy organic chicken, or organic steak, fresh crisp salad and melted mozzarella cheese make this sub a Friday night delight!

Easy, healthy and so tasty.

You can leave out the bread and just enjoy your sauted veggies, with chicken, or with beef for an even leaner alternative!

For the Vegie Sub

1 green pepper julienne

1 red pepper julienne

1 yellow pepper julienne

1 orange pepper julienne

1 vidalia onion sliced

Mushrooms sliced

Mozzarella cheese grated

1 bread roll

Slice up all your vegetables.

Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper

Grill on bbq or bake in an oven at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

Or lightly saute veggies in a wok over medium low heat for about 15-20 minutes.

Lightly toast bun.

Place veggies in bun.

Add shredded cheese.

Broil for about 2-5 minutes until cheese has melted and is golden brown.

For the Chicken Sub

I use chicken scaloppini.

I season with salt and pepper and grill or saute it.

I add it to my sub with the same veggies and cheese and voila! delicious.

For the Steak Sub

Marinate a flank steak over night.

For the marinade:

1/2 cup orange juice

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 tbsp chlli powder (Patrick likes to use chipotle chili)

2 tbsp dried oregano

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp kosher salt

1/2 tbsp ground pepper

Grill the steak for 4 minutes a side on direct high heat.

Cut the meat across the grain into thin slices.

Layer up your sub.

Heat under the broiler for 2-4 minutes or until cheese melts.

Enjoy.

So easy, so cheap and so much better for you than the alternative.

The French Fry.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel 6 potatoes.

Cut your potatoes to the desired thickness of choice.

Soak in milk, buttermilk or cold water about 30 minutes.

Rinse under cold water.

Dry well.

In a bowl coat with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt.

(if you want to add seasoning like sea salt, parsley, garlic, paprika, rosemary etc. do it at this moment).

Cook potatoes for about 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees.

Flip fries and cook another 10-15 minutes.

Add salt when warm!

A low fat recipe would be to mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 240ml of water. Pour into a spray bottle and simply spray the potatoes with the oil and water mixture. Cook for the ten minutes, spray them again and cook for another 10 minutes. Or until crispy and golden brown.