Keeping Soul in Kitchen

Now I know many of us love our deep fried Fried Chicken. But since we're trying to eat healthier but still enjoy the soul in our food, I found this healthy fried chicken recipe and wanted to share it with you. If you would like to get other recipes you can go to www.eatingwell.com

Please let me know how you like it... I think it's great...! - enjoy

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk, (see Tip)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 2 1/2-3 pounds whole chicken legs, skin removed, trimmed and cut into thighs and drumsticks
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Olive oil cooking spray

Preparation

1. Whisk buttermilk, mustard, garlic and hot sauce in a shallow glass dish until well blended. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or for up to 8 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.
3. Whisk flour, sesame seeds, paprika, thyme, baking powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the flour mixture in a paper bag or large sealable plastic bag. Shaking off excess marinade, place one or two pieces of chicken at a time in the bag and shake to coat. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. (Discard any leftover flour mixture and marinade.) Spray the chicken pieces with cooking spray.
4. Bake the chicken until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 40 to 50 minutes.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Marinate the chicken for up to 8 hours.

• Tip: No buttermilk? You can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make “sour milk”: mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.

Nutrition

Per serving: 224 calories; 7 g fat ( 2 g sat , 2 g mono ); 130 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 34 g protein; 1 g fiber; 237 mg sodium; 400 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Zinc (24% daily value)
Carbohydrate Servings: 0
Exchanges: 5 lean meat

Old Fashion Comfort - The Foods we Love but doesn't Love Us

Do you know how much body fat you are really carrying around? Are you tired of wearing stretch one size fit all pants? Do you have to size up a chair before sitting down? These can be pretty embarrassing situations in your life. The key is you have to be HONEST with yourself. Get real about how fat, overweight, obese (however you want to call it) is.

Many people know they need to lose weight and take better care of themselves, but do they really know how my body fat they are really carrying around and what contributes to all that fat. Here is a list of foods that contribute to your increasing body fat. This list is without exercise.. If one of the food items on your plate has 500 calories on its on, you're way over what you should be eating in one meal.

Soda
Kool-aid
Cake
Cookies
Hamburgers
Fries
Tacos  (loaded with cheese and sour cream)
Submarines (all subs are not created equal)
Fried Fish
Fried Chicken
Donuts
Potato Chips
Processed food (prepackaged foods)

I believe you get the picture. If you are consuming these types of foods you are adding FAT to your body. If you would like to know what % of your body is fat, you can go to EXCEL select NEW sheet, at the type of the sheet type in the word BODY FAT and select SEARCH- you will select the Fitness Chart for Women or the one for Men. This spreadsheet is already formulated to calculate your body fat. All you have to do is enter the measurements required. This cost you nothing and you can keep track of it weekly.

Here is a list of good body fat%.

                     Women             Men
Athletic         14-20%            6-13%
Fitness          21-24%            14-17%
Average        25-31%            18-24%
Obese           32% +               25%+

Be good to yourself, and know what you're carrying around.

Lisa D.