Unchained Recipes

This is my absolute favorite dish from Ruby Tuesday so I had to find a way to make it over. Its called the smokehouse chicken and it is a favorite by many! This delicious dish is high in fat and calories if ordered from the restaurant so I came up with a healthier, guilt free version that has become a favorite in my household!

When I think of dinner out, I think of T.G.I. Fridays Cobb Salad. Even though it is full of healthy vegetables it is one of the most unhealthy salads on the menu becuase of it's fattening ingredients. I have created a lighter version that tastes just as great without the guilt!

My family loves going to Red Robin for burgers. I love the Bacon Cheeseburger - but I can't imagine what the calories/fat are in it. My husband and I came up with these burgers, and our son's named them the "Ultimate Goodness Burger" I can't figure out why the sodium in so high. I don't think there is that much sodium in this.

I bought a Papa Murphy Mediterrean Pizza and decided to make it myself with less fat and calories! We LOVE pizza and become very fond of the Alfredo kind, it is the BEST! It makes eating spinach a wonderful treat!

This is one of my favorite dishes to make and I have enjoyed making it even healthier by substituting some ingredients for flavor packed healthier ones.

This a remade grilled cheese and french fry meal from any typical restaurant. I love grilled cheese but it typically has no nutritional value as it's just bread and cheese! The beans in this re-made grilled cheese add fiber and protein. The brown mustard adds a glue to cheese and gives the sandwich an unexpected tang! The sweet potatoes are much better than normal white potatoes and they are roasted in the oven instead of deep fried. The nutritional information will change based on the brands you use - I am entering the brands I used obviously!

FYI - I've also made this with plain beans that I spiced up myself with a little salsa and mexican spices and then mashed. Feel free to do that if you don't have or like refried beans!

I love eating at Chipotle and even if I get the burrito without the tortilla all of the extras and the serving sizes of everything packs on a lot of calories. While I love the taste of their rice it is not brown rice, which I prefer to use. I also find it much cheaper to make this at home, rather than buying it. I prefer to make my own salsa rather than buying it in a jar. But of course you can substitute if you prefer. But this one tastes great! It is always a hit at cookouts and with my family. My secret ingredients to the beans are thyme and sage. They add so much flavor. I attended a vegetarian cooking class and the instructor talked about adding those two herbs to everything to give a richer and more satisfying taste. This was the first thing that I tried them in and it is delicious. This recipe is not very difficult to make nor is it time consuming. What will take the most time is the rice, which can be made ahead. I am very much an “add a little of this and that” person, so I did find it hard to pin down measurements! Fast Food Category

I'm making over Burger Kings Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissanwich which contains 460 calories, 31g fat, 215mg cholesterol and 1000mg sodium. This make over will help manage your calories (300), fat(10g), sodium (845mg) and also your cholesterol (20mg). Now that's Healthy!!!

I love Subway's Veggie Delight, but sometimes I want a more meaty sandwich, sans the meat. I used to love Philly Cheese Steaks before going veg, and thought a thinly sliced portabella would substitute nicely. It did not disappoint!

Also, the nutritional information includes the marinade, most of which is drained off prior to cooking, so the sodium level is probably much lower.

I remade Chili's Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad because I really like chicken salads and I like hot wings. This recipe cuts the original's calories by about half. Most of the savings comes in baking the chicken in panko instead of frying the chicken in a batter.

NOTE: After thinking about it and reading some comments, I changed the wing sauce amount in the nutrition calculator to be 1 serving (1 Tbsp.) instead of the 8 that I had originally to match the ingredients list (the amount of sauce used is not equal to the amount you consume). It's still higher in sodium than I'd like, but I think the recipe is a good first cut. I'll keep tinkering with it.

I'm really proud of myself for this one. I used to love getting Mexican Pizzas at Taco Bell. I haven't had one in years. So, I spent a few days concocting this recipe.

Tempeh is a fermented soybean cake, originating from Indonesia. You can find it at your health food store, if you can't find it at your regular grocery store. We aren't vegetarians, but sometimes it's nice to have a vegetarian meal. Helps save on the calories. Tempeh is a great meat substitute. If you chop it up right, it can have a similar consistency to ground meat.

Also, I'm pretty sure the tortillas Taco Bell uses for this are deep fried to make them crispy. I baked mine.

Spicy and wholesome

Dairy Queen was closed for the night when I went to try to buy a Peanut Buster Parfait, so I made my own adult version with what happened to be available in the house. It was good! (Not for minors)

I love the sesame chicken you can find at any fast food Americanized Chinese restaurant. (Such as the Mr. Chau's chain in the Bay Area. Most areas have some place where you can get sesame chicken.) Sadly, it doesn't love me. So, I decided I would make a version that isn't battered and deep fried. This version is baked, so it isn't exactly like the kind from the restaurants. But, I think it's a good substitute for when you're really craving some sesame chicken!