Semi-Healthy Chicken Fingers and French Fries....or As Healthy As They Can Get

Everyone has a favorite food, right? Mine happens to be a tried and true combination that every four year old in the world loves, chicken fingers and french fries. I would say I have a rather refined palette, but there is something about deep fried chicken parts with a side of potatoes that just does it for me. Though I've recently realized that my aging metabolism no longer wants to cooperate with my massive consumption of fried goodness so I have decided to make a change. I have started a quest to find healthy solutions to all my favorite unhealthy foods. This mission may seem impossible but I choose to accept the challenge.

Taking on a healthy cooking challenge is something that I know is going to be rather difficult for me. I am not a person who has an abundance of free time and I often work long hours and my commute, though completely reasonable, still gets me home after most people have already finished their dinner. So when I started scouring the Internet for recipes to accomplish my lofty goal of healthy junk food, one of my main qualifications for a good recipe is short preparation time. I have the attention span of a four year old and time-consuming recipes just aren't practical for me. The recipe that seemed easiest and healthiest was one I found at Eating Well's website. I wanted my chicken fingers to be as close to the real thing as possible without all of the guilt. After looking through about twenty recipes,Eating Well's Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers seemed like the tastiest, easiest, and least time consuming recipe. So off I went to try it out.

I have complete faith in my cooking skills, but trying new recipes is always a little nerve racking. I went full speed ahead into this recipe and was pleasantly surprise with the results.

Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Makes 4 servings
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

* Canola oil cooking spray
* 1/2 cup sliced almonds
* 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 4 large egg whites
* 1 pound chicken tenders,(I used chopped up chicken breast)


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.
2. Place almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a food processor; process until the almonds are finely chopped and the paprika is mixed throughout, about 1 minute. With the motor running, drizzle in oil; process until combined. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish.
3. Whisk egg whites in a second shallow dish. Add chicken tenders and turn to coat. Transfer each tender to the almond mixture; turn to coat evenly. (Discard any remaining egg white and almond mixture.) Place the tenders on the prepared rack and coat with cooking spray; turn and spray the other side.
4. Bake the chicken fingers until golden brown; crispy and no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.


You can't have chicken fingers with out french fries, so I asked myself what is a healthy alternative to good old-fashioned yukon gold potatoes? Sweet potatoes of course! Now, let me say sweet potatoes and I have always had a tense relationship. It started in childhood where I used to refer to them as "nuclear potatoes" and has followed me into adulthood. Even the name always turned me off. Why in the heck would I want to eat a potato that was sweet, yuck! I decided that for the sake of a healthy meal I would prepare sweet potato fries. Sweet potatoes fries seem to be all the rage in restaurants, but until today I was not hopping on that orange bandwagon. Again, I looked for an easy and timely recipe. The easiest that I found was as follows.

Sweet Potato French Fries:

Cut 2 large peeled potatoes into ¼-inch strips and spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with oil spray. Season fries with salt, black pepper, or any other seasonings (ground cinnamon, curry powder, and chili powder are all nifty options). Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, flipping the fries halfway through. You can finish your fries under the broiler for 5 minutes to get them extra crispy!


After all was said and done I had prepared my healthy chicken fingers and french fries, it now was time for me to try them out. Healthy isn't always tasty, but I had hope for this experiment. After looking at what I had prepared skeptically, I took my first bite. Yum! Success! Now, let me say nothing quite beats deep friend chicken parts and crispy shoestring potatoes, but this comes in a close second! Enjoy and if you try it let me know how it turns out.

The Finished Product:

Denim the Bane of My Existence!

Curvaceous- (of a woman) having a well-shaped figure with voluptuous curves.

I feel the word curvaceous has always gotten a bad wrap. Too many  the word is synonymous with something unappealing or dare I say misshapen or fat. For me the word has always been a word of empowerment, a word that depicts the women in my family, a word that describes my friends, and a word that represents me. My measurements are not necessarily ordinary, but not that extraordinary either. I have a 25-inch waist and a 40-inch hip, which runs in my the family. To say that I have a pear shape is a bit of an understatement. Truthfully, I am proud of my shape, but finding attractive ways to clothe it can seem impossible. Finding figure flattering clothing that isn't matronly is not only challenging but also at times costly. The fashion industry does not make clothing for women with curves.

I have spent all of my adolescence and adult life trying to find clothing that fits my proportions. Which has not been an easy feat. I would say the most challenging aspect of shopping is finding jeans that fit properly. When Gap debuted their first pair of curvy jeans I jumped for joy. Before Gap's curvy line, there were not many other designers that made jeans for girls with more substantial proportions. At least none that had a classic wash and detailing.  As a woman in my late twenties, I cannot walk around with apple shaped pockets on my behind. It's just plain silly. I am proud of my shape, but there is no reason to have fruit shaped bedazzlement on my derriere. This left me with very few options.

It has been suggested to me on many occasions that I should tailor my jeans to fit my proportions. As someone on a budget, it does not make financial sense for me to buy a nice pair of jeans then spend more money tailoring them. I have always wanted to be able to go into a store and purchase a pair of jeans that I knew would fit over my hips and not gap in the waist. I had some reservations about Gap's line of curvy jeans. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but as I grabbed my first pair and walked toward the fitting room I dreamed of a world where I could go into a store and buy a pair of jeans that I knew would fit me. As I slid the not too stretchy denim up my legs and to my hips, my hopes and dreams shattered. These jeans were like every other pair of jeans with a little more room in the thighs. They had the dreaded waist gap and posterior smushing attributes of 98% of jeans I put my hopes, dreams, and butt into. This was beyond disheartening.

I have spent majority of my life in ill-fitting denim, but everywhere I looked different retailers were advertising jeans for curvy girls and every time I tried them on I walked away dissatisfied. I have tried Anne Taylor Loft's Curvy Jeans (mom jeans), Express's Eva Jeans (waist gap), and I've learned my lesson with Applebottom. I still did not give up hope on the Gap. Every season Gap would come out with a different style of curvy jeans and every time I would leave the fitting room disappointed. Finally, after 5 years I hit pay dirt! I was strolling by the Gap on my way to the subway after work and figured I would give their curvy jeans another try. I needed a cute pair of jeans to go with the amazing pair of red leather boots I purchased at Anthropologie. I walked tentatively to the display of jeans grabbed my size and went into the fitting room.

This time I had learned my lesson. I expected the worst but secretly hoped for the best. I slid the jeans up my legs, past my hips, and holy mother of cows they fit like a glove. I looked into the mirror and my tush looked amazing and there was no waist gap. Hallelujah, I finally found the holy grail of curvy jeans. I purchased these jeans immediately and I ran home and tried them on with everything I owned and they looked great. Now I officially own one pair of jeans that look great. Hopefully, Gap won't disappoint me and change the style of jean for the upcoming season, but knowing them they won't know when to leave well enough alone. 

I have been searching my whole life for that one amazing pair of jeans, and now that I have finally found them I hope that I can find more. This one pair of jeans made me feel like the fashion industry finally understood that women come in many shapes and sizes. I know that it is ridiculous to think that one pair of jeans is evidence that the world is changing and finally embracing us curvy girls, but one can dare to hope that this is a sign of change for the better.

Some of these curvy jeans didn't work for me but they might work for you:
Gap
Ann Taylor Loft
PZI Jeans (haven't tried them but I have high hopes)
Express
The Limited