Douglas - Americas Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt!: Cut the Calories, Keep the Taste of Your Favorite Restaurant Dishes

Also by Ron Douglas

Americas Most Wanted Recipes

More of Americas Most Wanted Recipes

This book features a compilation of recipes and cooking tips based on personal interpretation of the foods listed. Through trial and error, each recipe was re-created to taste the same as, or similar to, its restaurant/brand counterpart, but it is not the actual recipe used by the creator or manufacturer.

Several products displayed and mentioned in this book are trademarked. The companies that own these trademarks have not participated in, nor do they endorse, this book.

The brand or restaurant names for the recipes have been included only as an aid in cataloging the recipes and do not imply authenticity or endorsement by the creator or manufacturer. All restaurant and company names are trademarks of their respective owners. Please see the Trademarks section at the end of this book for detailed trademark credits.

Each of the recipes in this cookbook is adapted from or inspired by its restaurant/brand counterpart. For the actual and authentic versions of the food products listed in this compilation, please see the Restaurant Web Sites section at the back of this book and patronize the individual restaurants or manufacturers.

ATRIA PAPERBACK

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2011 by Verity Associates LLC

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Atria Paperback edition October 2011

ATRIA PAPERBACK and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com .

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Douglas, Ron.

Americas most wanted recipes without the guilt : cut the calories, keep the taste of your favorite restaurant dishes / Ron Douglas.

p. cm.

1. Low-calorie dietRecipes. 2. Cooking, American.

3. RestaurantsUnited States. 4. Cookbooks. I. Title.

RM237.73.D68 2011

641.5635dc23 2011012512

ISBN 978-1-4516-2331-4
ISBN 978-1-4516-2335-2 (ebook)

Troy Escalade Jackson
January 11, 1976February 20, 2011

The Americas Most Wanted Recipes cookbook series has become well known for providing accurate copycat recipes of your favorite restaurant dishes. People really love having the option of saving money by re-creating restaurant-quality meals at home whenever they wantso much so that weve developed a huge following, with more than 1 million books in print and over 1.9 million monthly views of our Web site, RecipeSecrets.net.

Now, in Americas Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt, weve focused on providing reduced-calorie versions with the same great taste that youll find at the most popular restaurants in the country. Yes, you can enjoy your favorite foods without the guilt!

Americas Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt was inspired by my childhood friend and neighbor Troy Escalade Jackson, who passed away in his sleep in February 2011 at age thirty-five. Troy was a legendary athlete from Queens, New York, and had thousands of adoring fans and friends. He was a class act and will truly be missed.

In the wake of my friends sudden passing, I decided to make Americas Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt more than just a cookbook. I felt an obligation to use the success of my cookbooks as a platform for educating readers on how to eat more healthfully as a better way of life instead of as just a temporary diet.

Weve enlisted the help of licensed, registered dietitian Mary M. Franz to provide nutritional details and healthy tips throughout this cookbook. Weve also worked with Mary to provide you with a comprehensive health and nutrition guide, located at the back of this book.

For each recipe in Americas Most Wanted RecipesWithout the Guilt, weve included simple ways to make your favorite restaurant meals healthier, along with the number of calories saved by doing so. We hope that our examples help readers learn how to choose healthier options in their everyday meal planning.

It is no secret that Americans are getting heavier. Chances are good that you know someone who is struggling to lose weight, or maybe you are battling your own weight problem. If so, you know how incredibly difficult it can be to lose even a few pounds. And maybe, like many others, you have just given up and resigned yourself to living with your excess weight.

The facts are stunning. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 34 percent of American adults are either overweight or obese, and 6 percent are classified as extremely obese. In addition, nearly 20 percent of American kids aged two to seventeen are now obese. Childhood obesity is of special concern because it often leads to poor health very early in life. For example, over half of obese kids have at least one risk factor for heart disease, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. In addition, children who are obese tend to be obese as adults.

People who are obese experience many negative effects on their health and well-being. In addition to having less energy and a poor self-image, obese individuals have higher rates of serious health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and some kinds of cancers, and experience physical ailments such as arthritis and back pain.

Reasons for Obesity

Why are we so heavy? There are many reasons for the explosion in the rate of obesity, but two of the main ones are an inactive lifestyle and poor eating habits. The past century saw a dramatic drop in the amount of exercise we get. Many jobs are now sedentary, in contrast to the active physical work such as farming that once employed most people. In addition, driving has replaced walking for nearly all of our errands and activities, so far fewer of the calories we consume are being burned. As for kids, cuts in school athletic programs, less outdoor play, and increased television-watching and video game use are to blame.

Our poor eating habits are just as troubling.

Skipping meals: Busy schedules and long commutes cause about 40 percent of Americans to skip breakfast; in addition, about one-third of people trying to lose weight skip meals regularly. However, missing meals, particularly breakfast, has been shown to lead to overeating later in the day, especially of high-calorie foods such as sweets and salty snacks.

Bigger portion sizes: If you eat out in restaurants, you have probably noticed that the amount of food on your plate is increasing. Your eyes are not deceiving you! Over the past twenty years, restaurant portions have doubled and tripled in size, resulting in hundreds, if not thousands, of extra calories. This so-called portion distortion (discussed later on) is thought to be one of the main drivers behind the obesity epidemic.