un-fried chicken...but still crispy and yummy!

A super late post for Fitness Friday - about eating 'fit'. Un-fried chicken??!!?? And it was yummy too!!

We made this crispy chicken recently and plan to make it part of our regular menu choices.... really yummy and low calorie too! Almost fried chicken, and pretty much guilt free!! Yum! We opt out of the 'tarter' and the coleslaw, but the recipe I found gave it as an option, so I thought I'd add it here for anyone interested.


Serves 4

Calories per serving, chicken with coleslaw: 519
Calories per serving, tartar sauce: 27 (optional - we didn't make this)
1 serving of chicken = 3 pieces of chicken

For the chicken:

2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 pound chicken tenders (about 12)
1 1/2 cups cornflakes, crushed to medium crumbs (I added 1/3 cup of bread crumbs with this)
1 tsp of Mrs. Dash original (added this myself, I have a thing for Mrs. Dash)
Nonstick cooking spray

For the tartar sauce

1/2 tablespoons low-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon drained nonpareil capers
1 tablespoon chopped sweet gherkin
1 tablespoon water

For the coleslaw

1 1/2 (10-ounce) bags cabbage slaw mix
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
2 tablespoons thin-sliced red onion
1 tablespoon low-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk
1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
2–3 dashes hot pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered, for garnish


1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. For the chicken: In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, spices and buttermilk. Add the chicken and turn in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

3. For the coleslaw: In a large bowl, combine the cabbage slaw mix, bell pepper, onion and shredded herbs. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, vinegar, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat.

4. For the tartar sauce: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a separate small bowl.

5. Place the cornflake crumbs on a plate (add the bread crumbs here, and the Mrs. Dash). Drain the chicken tenders. Pick up a chicken tender with one hand, and turn it in the cornflake coating, using the other hand to gently press additional coating onto the sides. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue on in this way to coat all of the chicken pieces, arranging them on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 400 degrees until firm, about 15 minutes.

6. To serve, divide the coleslaw among 4 bowls. Arrange 3 chicken tenders, standing up with wide ends at the bottom and overlapping slightly, at one side of each mound. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken. Garnish bowls with chopped cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.

random: Fitness Friday - Frugal Fitness

I often use the excuses "I don't have time or money to get a gym membership." OR "It's hard to stay fit when you're a mom on the go."

I've found a few simple, easy - and FREE ways to stay better fit. Julie over at WiiMommies is hosting a fitness Friday share all, so be sure to stop by and check out the many ways to keep yourself fit! Here's a few of my favorites:

1. Get your walk on.... don't park at the closest parking spot you can find.... burn a few extra calories and get extra cardio in by parking further away and walking! Take a walk in your neighborhood, or go to the mall and do a few laps with the kiddo's. My kid(s) both enjoy window shopping, while I get a lap or two in at a little faster then normal pace.
2. Get in the back yard with your kids.... playing soccer, or a fun game of dodgeball is sure to get your heartrate going. Sometimes we even put a cone in the back yard and do relay races with our boys. It's fun for the whole family, and you get a bit of cardio in while you're at it!! We generally like to do this for 20-30 minute intervals in order to get 'actual' cardio in. Leapfrog is another fun activity that gets the heart pounding.
3. Get off of your booty.... instead of sitting down to do laundry, stand up - it actually burns more calories to stand.... listen to music while you're doing housework, and step up the pace. No one is looking, so if you stop to cut a rug with some aerobics and dance a bit - there's even more fun fit time - for FREE.
4. Give your dog a break (if you have one)... take that puppy for a walk!! It's a good time for him, and great exercise for you!
5. Step up... If you have stairs in your house, then use the bottom few steps while you're listening to music to do some aerobic stepping..... occasionally I'll pull a Rocky and do my entire flight of steps several times over and get my heart pounding.