Tank Top Recipe of the Week Returns! Coconut Crusted Bacon Tenders

I love chicken. I feel as if I could wax poetic about all of my favorite ways to eat chicken a la Bubba from Forrest Gump. One of my favorites, however is fried chicken. Everyone knows how delicious fried chicken is so I wanted to bring back the old recipe column with a bit lower carb and arguably healthier take on fried chicken that won’t have you missing Popeye’s, KFC, or any of those other fast food joints.

Falling more in line with the Paleo style of eating (which I enjoy because of the emphasis on healthier fats, lean meat, and high GI carbohydrates), These coconut crusted chicken tenders from FastPaleo.com will definitely hit the spot and are sure to feature well in any setting, whether it be a dinner party snack, entree, or high protein post workout meal.

What you’ll need:

• 6-8 Large Organic Chicken Tender
• 6-8 Bacon Slices
• 4 Tbsp. Coconut Oil
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• 2 Tbsp. coconut flour
• salt and pepper
• paprika
• garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp. parsley
• One large Ziploc freezer bag

Begin prepping your coconut “breading” by mixing together the shredded coconut and coconut flour. Add in your paprika, salt and pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Take the entire mixture and place it in your Ziploc bag. Nexzt, take a slice of bacon per tender and wrap it around the chicken (skewers or toothpicks come in handy here). Begin to heat up your coconut oil in a skillet large enough to accommodate all of your tenders (heat on low). As your skillet warms, you can take each tender individually and toss it in your breading mix bag, making sure to thoroughly coat the tender. Once all tenders are coated and your skillet is nice and hot, carefully place each tender in the pan to be fried. Once your bacon cooks to your liking and the chicken begins to whiten on the bottom, flip each tender and cook the other side until crispy.

Once all of your tenders are cooked thoroughly (chicken should be white inside and juices should run clear), transport them to a plate covered with a few paper towels to help absorb any excess grease or fat. Wait for the tenders to cool, and enjoy!

Recipe of the Week: Low Carb Boneless Buffalo Wings

If you’re anything like me, you love Buffalo sauce. I’m telling you people, I could shower in the stuff. Put that together with chicken wings and you’ve got a perfect recipe for deliciousness not to mention a staple of the American diet. If we know anything about the typical Western diet, it is that it’s unhealthy. Buffalo wings are no different in that regard, I’m afraid.

A few months ago, I found myself thinking about Buffalo Wild Wings and craving a healthier, lower calorie, lower carb alternative when I discovered a great recipe from Peace, Love and Low Carb that met all the criteria. For those of us dieting, we tend to want to keep our carbohydrates relatively low and our protein relatively high (we will get into the ins and outs of nutrition and macronutrient ratios in a future post).

Featured below is the post and let me tell you that the few times I’ve cooked these suckers up, they came out delicious. I had to stop myself from eating the whole batch. I would agree that the protein macros leave a bit to be desired but that aside, these work great in a pinch. Try them out for Sunday’s football game (Go Bears!), family party or just as a snack!

Note: I used regular Pam Olive Oil spray and good ol’ Frank’s Red Hot in my recipe. No need to break the bank on fancy Paleo ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

1 1/2 Cups Crushed Pork Rinds

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese – Grated

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

3/4 Cup Buffalo Wing Sauce

2 Tbs. Butter

Oil

(2 Tbs. Peace and Love)

DIRECTIONS

Trim excess fat off chicken breast and cut into large chunks.

In a food processor combine pork rinds, Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder and pulse until ingredients are well combined and moderately fine.  Pour mixture onto a plate, in a thin layer.

Heat an inch of oil over medium-high heat.  I use a non-stick wok for stove-top deep frying.  The high sides reduce splatter and make clean up a cinch.

Press the chicken chunks firmly into the breading mixture, coating both sides (Doing it this way will help the breading bind to the chicken much better than just shaking them in the breading mixture.)

Once oil is hot and begins to bubble, drop the breaded chicken into the oil.  Using tongs, flip the chicken pieces a few times until they are golden brown and crisp on both sides – About 3 minutes each side.

After removing chicken from oil, allow to cool on a paper towel to soak up excess grease.  This will also give the breading a chance to crisp up so that it stays on.

Melt the butter and mix with buffalo wing sauce.  Lightly toss the Chicken in the sauce.

Prep Time – 30 Minutes
Cook Time – 30 Minutes

Makes 4 Servings
Per Serving:
Calories – 350
Protein – 40 g
Carbs – 0.5 net g
Fat – 15 g