Cutting Calories in
Fried Chicken
Article by Diet Bites
How to Tell Those Fat Calories to Fly the Coop
Roasted or baked chicken is a much healthier option than fried chicken, but there are times when nothing but fried chicken will do. And therein presents a challenging issue for the dieter.
It's very difficult to cut out caloric values in fried foods, particularly where fried chicken is the star of the meal plate, because frankly, a different method of cooking doesn't produce the same flavor.
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It can be rolled in everything from crushed corn flakes to Panko breading and baked in the oven, yet it just isn't going to taste like it has been fried in the iron skillet.
Therefore, if you find that nothing but fried chicken will do, here are tips that can assist in keeping the fat values as minimal as possible:
Grab a roll of paper towels and drain the chicken as thoroughly as possible after frying. This will wick-away a good deal of the fat. As a note, peanut oil tends to leave chicken less oily than other plant-based cooking oils.
The following preparation tips will help reduce calories in fried chicken: remove all skin and visible fat before dipping into other foods such as egg wash or bread crumbs - or flour or any other coating. In addition, lightly batter the chicken.
Enjoy chicken with a dinner roll or a slice of fresh bread and a small side salad. Omit mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, gravy and so forth.
Consider dining out and viewing a nutrition guide from the restaurant which contains the amount of fatty acid distribution as well as the caloric values of your menu selection.
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That way, you won't have to guess the amount of kcals contained within your homemade recipe.
Unless the oil is measured before hitting the fry pan, then allowed to cool and re-measured to calculate the amount used, it's very difficult to calculate the true caloric values.
Caloric Values of Homemade Fried Chicken
One half of a fried chicken prepared at home typically contains about 1350 kcals and 81 total fat grams, 22 of which are derived from saturated fat. Therefore, a whole chicken weighing about 1000 grams will typically contain about 2700 kcals when fried.
This data is based on the removal of visible fat and skin and battered in bread crumbs.
When all-purpose flour is used the kcals are reduced to 850 per 1/2 chicken weighing 315 grams; for a whole 630 gram bird that is fried with the skin and visible fat removed - battered in flour, the total comes to about 1700 kcals for the entire bird, 47 total fat grams and 25 saturated fat grams. The protein grams are substantial at 180 for one bird.
Keeping Fat Minimal Lowers Caloric Values
This is the hallmark, the cornerstone - the Big Kahuna of the restricted diet plan. Using this guidelines serves several useful purposes for the dieter:
When the eating plan is stuffed with a wide variety of low kcal choices, more food can be stuffed into the plan. When dieting - more is always better as long as it contributes towards fat loss.
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Food selections which are minimal in energy values are closest to their harvested state, thus contain more essential vitamin and nutrient content than their processed peers.
The individual is more likely to imprint all of the healthy food groups into their eating plan.
While foods that are high in excess dietary fat can contribute to weight gain when caloric intake exceeds the body's daily needs, fatty acids in foods can create other health issues.
At times they leave behind tracks that build over time, thus triggering circulatory and heart complications.
In addition, different types of fatty acids react in the body in various manners with some more prone to collect in the abdominal area - particularly the upper abdominal area.
Even in individuals who are of normal weight and who input too many fatty acids into their eating plan can end up with too much visceral fat.
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