Breaking away from consuming tons of greasy, fried foods at the beginning of a diet can be hard, mostly because they’re just so delicious and a lot of us are pretty used to consuming fried foods on a regular basis. It’s not really a secret that fried foods are horrible for you and no one can successfully maintain a diet while continuing to eat fried goodies to the same degree that they have been.

Since cutting out fried foods completely can be so difficult, there are some ways to get a similar taste and texture of the foods you love without consuming all the horrible fats and calories that you’re trying to avoid with your new diet.

Alternative to Fried Chicken, Baked Panko Crusted Chicken

Nothing beats a nice, juicy leg of fried chicken. That being said, there are some ways you can get a similar taste with significantly less calories. With a few simple ingredients, you can enjoy the next best thing to fried chicken; and if you didn’t tell people, they might not even know the difference.

Ingredients:

- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

- ½ Cup Flour

- 2-4 Egg Whites

- 4 Cups Panko Crumbs

- Salt and Pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil, to cut down on the mess of clean up later. Lay out your ingredients with the flour on one plate (add salt and pepper to the flour), the egg whites in a bowl (add a tablespoon of cold water and mix quickly to get the right consistency), and the panko breading on a separate plate. Coat the chicken in the flour then dunk into the egg whites before rolling in the panko crumbs to completely coat the strips. Place on the foil lined baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (cut a piece in half and make sure it is no longer pink in the middle and the juices run clear).

This quick and simple recipe is a great alternative to fried chicken and seriously cuts down on the calories of the original. Using the panko instead of bread crumbs also helps to cut down on how many calories you are consuming. You can spice up this simple recipe by adding other spices besides just salt and pepper to the flour, additionally, mixing some shredded parmesan cheese into the panko crumbs is an interesting way to add some more flavor to this easy dinner or snack option.