Restaurant Appetizer Do-Overs
Why waste hundreds (sometimes THOUSANDS) of calories on a meal STARTER? Get your restaurant appetizer fix at home with these guilt-free remakes, courtesy of Hungry Girl...
Sassy Wonton Tacos
1/4th of recipe (2 wonton tacos): 96 calories, 1g fat, 302mg sodium, 12.5g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 3g sugars, 8.5g protein
This swap for the Chicken Wonton Tacos at Applebee's is a dead ringer for the original, but with a fraction of the fat and calories...
Ingredients:
8 small square wonton wrappers (often found with the tofu and refrigerated Asian products)
1 cup bagged coleslaw mix
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. Newman's Own Lite Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing (or another low-fat sesame ginger dressing)
4 oz. cooked and shredded (or finely chopped) skinless chicken breast
2 tbsp. BBQ sauce with about 45 calories per 2-tbsp. serving
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray the inside and outside walls of a deep square or rectangular baking pan with nonstick spray. Evenly drape the wonton wrappers over the pan's walls on a diagonal, making triangle-shaped "shells." (Use two pans, if needed, to keep wontons from overlapping.) Bake until just crispy enough to hold their shape, about 3 minutes.
Remove pan, but leave the oven on. Carefully remove wontons and gently open to form "taco shells."
In a microwave-safe bowl, mix coleslaw mix, cilantro, and dressing. Cover and microwave for about 1 minute, until slightly softened.
In another bowl, coat chicken with BBQ sauce.
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute BBQ chicken among the shells, followed by the slaw, about 1 tbsp. of each per shell. Lay the filled shells gently on their sides on the baking sheet.
Spray the shells lightly with nonstick spray. Bake until warm and crunchy, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly and then serve!
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
More from Hungry Girl:Use the leftover wonton wrappers to make these recipes!
Best-Ever Super-Skinny Potato Skins
1/4th of recipe (2 loaded potato skins): 202 calories, 7.5g fat, 295mg sodium, 23.5g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 2g sugars, 10g protein
With a few simple swaps, you can gobble up fully loaded potato skins with super-impressive stats. YAY!
Ingredients:
4 medium-small baking potatoes (8 - 10 oz. each)
3 slices center-cut bacon or turkey bacon
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup reduced-fat/light sour cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
Pierce potatoes several times with a fork, and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave for 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften.
Flip potatoes and microwave for 5 - 8 minutes, until soft on all sides.
Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the inside flesh, leaving about 1/4 inch inside the skin. Place potato skins on the baking sheet.
Bake until crispy, 12 - 15 minutes. Remove sheet, but leave oven on.
Meanwhile, cook bacon until crispy, either in a skillet over medium heat or on a microwave-safe plate in the microwave. (See package for cook time.)
Chop or crumble bacon. Evenly distribute cheese and bacon among potato skins. Bake until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.
Sprinkle with scallions and serve with sour cream for dipping. YUM!
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
More from Hungry Girl:Another app with cheese and bacon -- stuffed mushrooms!
Bloomin' Blossom
1/2 of recipe: 192 calories, 1.75g fat, 700mg sodium, 54g carbs, 17g fiber, 13g sugars, 7g protein
While Chili's no longer serves its Awesome Blossom, Outback Steakhouse still has its Bloomin' Onion, which nearly tops the 2,000-calorie mark and has more than 150g fat. Eeeks! Our version is low in fat, thanks to a little trick we call faux-frying. Check it out!
Ingredients
Onion:
1 cup Fiber One Original bran cereal
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 jumbo sweet onion (not peeled)
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
Sauce:
3 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise
2 tsp. ketchup
1/8 tsp. seasoned salt
Dash chili powder
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray.
In a blender or food processor, grind cereal into crumbs. Transfer to a medium bowl and mix in seasoned salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
Slice off the top half-inch of the onion. Leaving the bottom root intact, carefully peel off the outside layer.
Cut down and across the middle, stopping a half-inch from the root. Repeat to make a criss-cross, cutting down the middle and stopping a half-inch from the bottom, yielding 4 sections attached at the bottom. Cut each section down the middle, stopping a half-inch before the root.
Place the onion in a large bowl, cut side down, and cover with ice water. Let stand for 10 minutes, until "petals" open up.
Remove onion from water and use your hands to gently pry the "petals" open.
Discard water. Dry onion and bowl, and return onion to the bowl. Cover and thoroughly coat onion with egg substitute, making sure to get in between the petals. Gently shake to remove excess egg substitute and transfer onion to another large bowl.
Sprinkle onion with crumb mixture and thoroughly coat entire surface and in between petals, repositioning onion as needed.
Place onion in the baking pan, cut side up. Bake until outside is crispy and inside is soft, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, thoroughly mix sauce ingredients.
If you like, carefully cut out the center of the onion so petals are easier to remove. Serve with sauce and enjoy!
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
More from Hungry Girl:Six helpful tips for making this recipe!
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