Monday, January 12, 2015

How to start the New Year right? Eat fried chicken


We all know we should start off a brand new year with a healthy mind, spirit and body. I couldn't agree more. There are literally thousands of suggestions and hints out there for people who want to 'cleanse' or 'barf', or whatever is needed to start the New Year on a healthy note.

No junk food, no alcohol for the next day, week, month, hour. Basically, it's punishment disguised as happy dietary advice for daring to enjoy food and drink over the holidays. Well, I broke with convention and started the New Year with this:



Tasty n'est-ce pas? Now here is where the irony begins. My friend, Cheryl Malik of http://40aprons.com, gave me a great recipe for fried chicken when I was in Memphis last year. You'll note that if you check out her site, you'll see lots of cleansing recipes, yet, she gave me a fabulous, tasty and yes, deep fried chicken recipe. Ah, my dear Cheryl, this is why I love thee.

Her recipe is classic, southern chicken, and if you'd like a copy, please send an email to me at ahungrymantravels@gmail.com, and I'll be happy to share it, with Cheryl's permission of course!

It was every bit as tasty as it looked. And to add a,'ahem', healthy element to the fried goodness, I made a greek salad with plenty of olives and high fat, goat milk feta cheese. Alright, alright, it wasn't entirely a healthy side dish, but it was just the right compliment to the chicken. Hey, I'm lucky I didn't go full healthy and make a Caesar salad!

In all seriousness, although I love eating this kind of food and enjoy blogging about it, this post is not designed to say "screw you health conscious world." I'm on your side, I really am. I'm not shunning all the health advice, I promise. It's just that I think you can eat what you want, when you want, as long as you are mindful of portions and balance.

I know that's hard to do - it took me years to figure that out! For me, it came down to this: do I want to continue to fit into my slim suits now that I'm in my 40s, or just give up, eat that third doughnut and slip into those pleated chinos that are so bafflingly popular with men of my age group.

Oh, and guys (and very few women), before you start writing to me that there is nothing wrong with pleated chinos, let me stop you there - there is plenty wrong with them. Period. So there you have it, portion control wins. But, on occasion, I'll choose that extra piece of fried chicken over kale any day.

And by the way, if you ever see me in those pre-mentioned chinos, you have permission to kill me because that meant that The Walking Dead zombies are real, I have been bitten and clearly lost my mind.

Happy New Year and welcome back readers to A hungry man blogging, 2015!!

5 comments:

  1. Happy New Year, Steve! I feel like I haven't been keeping up with your blog nearly often enough -- i.e. I had no idea you were in Memphis in the fall. I took a spontaneous solo post-breakup trip to Memphis back in 2010 and loved every minute of my time there. The people, the places, and the food... oh god, the food. Dying to go back one of these days.

    Oh. And I totally went to Graceland. I saw a lady crying over Elvis' grave. It was... surreal.

    Happy 2015. :)
    Kel xox

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    1. Aww Happy New Year to you too!!! So good to hear from you my friend!!
      Kel, are you on Facebook? Let me know so we can connect!

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  2. I am! Just looked for you but couldn't find you... so you find me. :)

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  3. Great post!! I saw almost all the recipes on your website and tried them at home. I must say dear you have shared ultimate online cooking recipes to follow. My family really loved the dishes that I tried from your website. Thanks for these yummy recipes!!

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