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Adopting A more healthful diet isn't always especially when there youngsters in the family. However, you can make the transition more gradual if you prepare some...

by Helen Brassel

Although recent studies have attempted to prove that "fast foods" can occasionally provide nutritious substitutes for home-cooked meals, it's a fact that—regardless of the synthetic vitamins that are sometimes packed into the commercial products the "convenience" meals are likely injected with any number of not-so-healthful chemical additives and preservatives. Unfortunately, a good many folks (especially young'uns) have been literally brought up on such fare and have an acquired taste for it (even if their families have since "converted" to unprocessed food diets).

However, you can wean your children (or yourself) from such "junk foods" as readymade burgers, fries, and tacos by simply preparing some nutritious "fast food" . . . right in your own kitchen. The homemade goodies will be crammed with nutrition, they'll cost less than the storebought varieties, and—best of all—you'll know exactly what goes into them.

I started experimenting with "alternative" fast food when I decided to put our hyperactive son on a diet that allowed no white sugar, no preservatives, and no food coloring. To vary the boy's meals and satisfy his longings for the "standards" he loves (but which contain the very chemicals that seem to trigger spells of bad behavior), I devised several recipes, based on nutritious whole foods, that wouldn't aggravate his condition. Now he can down one of my homemade "Big Macs" (and all the trimmings) without suffering any ill effects . . . and, as a bonus, our whole family is able to resist "the lure of the Golden Arches".

NON-HAMBURGERS

You may be surprised to know that burgers don't have to be made of good old U.S. Grade A char-broiled beef to satisfy a hearty appetite. In fact, you can whip up delicious patties from soybeans. The protein-packed beans can be used either cooked or sprouted to make a burger filling that should appeal to the most confirmed fast-food fanatic.

Soybeans do take a long time to cook, but they don't need much tending to. Simply soak 1 cup of the legumes, overnight, in enough water to cover them. On the following morning, cover the pan and boil the beans (in the same water) for about three hours. After they're cooked and thoroughly tender, let the "beef to be" cool down a bit . . . then drain off whatever water is left (save it for your soup pot), mash the beans, and mix in about 1/2 cup of uncooked oats. Flatten the mixture into thick patties (the recipe will produce four to six, depending on size) and the burgers will be ready to fry in a tablespoon or two of hot oil.

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