un-frying

To cut the fat in some of my favorite fried foods, I bake them instead.  I find that tossing or brushing potato wedges with a very little olive oil (to aid in browning) and roasting them, makes a tasty treat.  I do this with breaded eggplant slices too - eggplant absorbs oil, and this way I have control over how much

Anybody else have favorite frying substitutes?

That sounds really good!  I love fried potatoes wedges, especially the ones I had at Red Robin,  I will try making my own,  thanks!!

I know someone who adds low-fat vinegrettes to their stirfrys to add flavour and cut on fat instead of using olive oil, but i have yet to try it myself.

But yeah, brushing things with oil instead of drizzling it on them is a good way to cut back on calories in all sorts of dishes!

I enjoy roasting small red potatoes, cut in quarters, after tossing in olive oil, sea salt & fresh ground pepper.

Instead of tossing, you can also spray olive oil or cooking oil onto veggies before roasting them, for even less fat.

Nuking (microwaving) fish, sausage links, fresh asparagus with a dash of water, broth, or light vinegar, such as rice wine vinegar is a good alternative to baking or frying them.

For a chicken salad, I poached the breasts, after pounding them a little to even out the thickness. While it doesn't brown them attractively, they were done through, tender and not dried out or tough, even along the edges. Took maybe 10 minutes.

i actually nuke my potatoes to partially cook them before putting them in the oven, usually under the broiler and then i use almost no oil on this. This way, the outside crisps up really nicely and the inside gets cooked through. It was a tip that I once heard on The View and read again in a fritatta recipe on Mark Bittman's Blog "Bitten" on the New York Times Website. You should search him. He does great things with food. His weekly column is called the Minimalist. Obviously, the general thrust of most of his stuff is to keep it simple. Great Stuff! Man, I love potatoes! Too bad  they really aren't that good for you!

Original Post by paperbackrider:

i actually nuke my potatoes to partially cook them before putting them in the oven, usually under the broiler and then i use almost no oil on this. This way, the outside crisps up really nicely and the inside gets cooked through. It was a tip that I once heard on The View and read again in a fritatta recipe on Mark Bittman's Blog "Bitten" on the New York Times Website. You should search him. He does great things with food. His weekly column is called the Minimalist. Obviously, the general thrust of most of his stuff is to keep it simple. Great Stuff! Man, I love potatoes! Too bad  they really aren't that good for you!

 

That is a great idea, thanks! my bf loves potatoes in the oven but he likes them crispy and mine are never crispy enough so I'll def do this for him next time and surprise him lol. 

Original Post by clairelaine:

To cut the fat in some of my favorite fried foods, I bake them instead.  I find that tossing or brushing potato wedges with a very little olive oil (to aid in browning) and roasting them, makes a tasty treat.  I do this with breaded eggplant slices too - eggplant absorbs oil, and this way I have control over how much

 Wow, the eggplant sounds amazing!  What is the trick?  Do you dip them in oil and then bread them?  What oven temp and for how long? 

I look forward to trying this!  I love eggplant but it sure can get gross when it soaks up the oil. 

Original Post by andesite:

Original Post by clairelaine:

To cut the fat in some of my favorite fried foods, I bake them instead.  I find that tossing or brushing potato wedges with a very little olive oil (to aid in browning) and roasting them, makes a tasty treat.  I do this with breaded eggplant slices too - eggplant absorbs oil, and this way I have control over how much

 Wow, the eggplant sounds amazing!  What is the trick?  Do you dip them in oil and then bread them?  What oven temp and for how long? 

I look forward to trying this!  I love eggplant but it sure can get gross when it soaks up the oil. 

 I peel and slice the eggplant about 1/2" thick or a little less.  Then I dust them in seasoned flour, then dip in beaten egg, then into the bread crumbs.  This is called "bound breading" and it won't fall off.  I use an olive oil sprayer, not the Pam, but real olive oil, and spray the pan and the slices lightly.  Then I bake in a single layer at 350f for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until completely cooked and golden.  I don't like undercooked eggplant, so I test a piece to make sure.

Most of the calories in this are from the breading.  You can also bake "naked" eggplant slices the same way without the breading - just season, spray and bake.

Another way to be sure of the amount of oil in foods you are sauteing or roasting is to measure it into a bowl.  Put in the measured amount of oil, then the cut up food.  Toss well until there is a light sheen of oil on all sides.  Then roast or saute in a dry, non stick pan.  The well distributed oil aids in browning.

I also bake red potato "strips" for "fries", but my favorite and they are in the oven as I type is baked sweet potato "fries' - same method, peal, slice, drizzle with olive oil, pepper, sea salt - 400 degrees.  I get the pan hot before I put the slices on it - check and turn at 20 minutes - start checking for "done" at another 10-12 minutes.  Both my reds and sweet potato get crispy without pre-cooking.  High heat and pan hot first I think is the key.

I recently started making my own corn tortillas and tortilla chips.  For the chips, take the corn tortillas and cut into wedges.  Spritz a cookie sheet with Olive oil (i have a spritzer bottle with OO) - lay the wedges out and spritz them.  Sprinkle with a little sea or kosher salt.  I sometimes add granulated garlic also.  350 for 5-7 minutes - keep an eye on them.  They go from crisp to burned quickly

SUBSITUTE for Bread Crumbs?

My husband is big on flavor and he insists that a lite coating of bread crumbs keeps the chicken moist and flavorful.

I very, very lightly cover the chicken with olive oil (just a few drops, enuff to allow the bread crumbs to adhere) then use Progresso, Dry bread crumbs. About 1/2 cup for 2 large breasts of chicken.

The bread crumbs are a killer? Any suggestions?

Panko breadcrumbs are 70 cal per 1/4 cup to "regular" at 120 cal per 1/4 cup.

I get Ian's Panko at my natural food store but often you can find "Panko" in the regular section as they have become popular.

Panko is a Japanese "light" bread crumb.

I've heard of Panko and never can find it in the supermarket!I'll try the health food store. I'm going to look today and try subsituting without telling my husband....we'll see if he notices.

Thank you!

Ciao!

Better make your own bread crumbs from one or two slices of bread.

I picked up a neat trick for that crunchy component, like onion rings. A high fiber cereal, like Fiber One, whizzed in the blender (dry) with some seasonings of your choice (I like red pepper flakes and/or granulated garlic) makes a crunchy coating for baking.

I dip thick sliced onion rings in whipped egg white, then toss them with the high-fiber crumbs. Spread on a baking sheet and bake (400º or so) 'til tender—the outside stays crispy! It should work for zucchini, eggplant, and other such veggies, too.

We also love the potato wedges spritzed with olive oil (try some of the zesty Mrs. Dash sprinkles, like Southwestern Chipotle) shaken over your spritzed tater wedges. Yum.

Oh, wow -- I am so going to try the Fiber One-nion rings.  Onion rings would be my achille's heel if I frequented places that made good ones, LOL.

I'm another member of the oven-'fried' potatoes camp: I'll cut up 2-4 Idaho Russets, then toss them in about 2 tbsp of olive oil mixed with a little ranch seasoning (less than a teaspoon, usually) and pop them in the oven at 425F.  The time varies by the cut -- I've done anywhere from 20 mins to 45 mins, though an hour was definitely too long for the last batch (oops)!

My favorite breading for fish, chicken, onion rings baked are a combination of three. I use Progresso Italian 1/3- Panko bread crumbs 1/3, and crushed up corn flakes-any brand but I like Kellogs. Dip into eggbeaters then coat with the mixture, spray your glass baking dish and oven bake after a light spray on top of the food. Flip half way through and light spray that top. Excellent way to do it. important to cook at a higher temp and flip halfway through to get the coating crisp and prevent the bottom from burning if not flipped. For example skinless boneless thighs or drumsticks I cook at 410/420 degrees for 20 minutes on each side, with the rack 3/4 of the way up from the bottom.

Difference for chicken: I soak the skinless pieces in low fat buttermilk for about an hour before breading,--go right from the buttermilk to the crumbs-no eggbeaters used on the chicken.

Using the Fiber One cereal for breading is a great idea! There are many recipes using this on the www.hungrygirl.com web site. Ive tried the onion rings and an eggplant parmesan recipe with Fiber One that was really good. Just 1/4 cup of Fiber One cereal will add 7 grams of fiber and only 30 cals. Just stick it in the food processor to turn it into crumbs. Also a great way to add fiber to baked goods, muffins, pie crusts, cookies.

One thing I love doing that you can pretty much try with anything is parmesan crusting. I do it with chicken a lot instead of frying it. I dip the chicken breast in egg whites and then in parmesan and cook it in a skillet. It's delicious!

i heard when making ur own french fries if u boil them first then bake it makes them more crispier. never tried it, but i will next time i make my own ff

My husband occasionally likes to have fried chicken.  I used a pastry brush and lightly painted skinless chicken breast with fat free mayo (to retain the moistness). Cruched some bran flakes,(that was what I happened to have on hand) rolled the chicken it the ground flakes and drizzled a little honey on the chicken and then baked.  He loved it.