Junk Food Makeover: Chicken Wings

Yahoo Beauty Contributors
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Chicken wings are so much more fun than bone broth. (Photo: Getty Images)

You may want to gear up for a Sunday night football party with this week’s junk food makeover: chicken wings. Restaurant chicken wings are often coated with white flour and fried in vegetable oil. We like to bake our wings until they are super crispy and then toss them in our vegetable-based buffalo sauce. Chewing on chicken wings provides the body with a healthy amount of animal fat. Eating the meat of the bones helps support a healthy and flexible bone structure. You could bone broth for the same health benefits but wings are so more fun.

Buffalo Sauce

  • 1 medium onion (6 ounces) medium dice

  • 1 medium carrot (6 ounces) medium dice

  • 1 large or 2 small red bell pepper (7 ounces) medium dice

  • 2 stalks of celery (5 ounces) medium dice

  • 2 jalepeno peppers (seeds included) medium dice

  • ¾ tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

  • 1 ¼ cups apple cider vinegar

  • 2 teaspoon of maple syrup

  • 2 cups water

  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil

  • 2 teaspoons of sea salt

Yields: 1 quart of sauce

In medium sauce, pan heat olive oil. Add all vegetable and sauté until soft but not brown (about 15 minutes). Add tomato paste, chiles, pepper flakes and cayenne. Stir for 30 seconds. Add vinegar, maple, and water. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Pour cooled mixture into blender and purée on high until mixture is smooth.

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

  • 1 cup raw cashews (5oz.)

  • 1 ¼ cups water

  • 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

  • 5 teaspoons nutritional yeast

  • 2 teaspoons sea salt

  • ¼ t black pepper

  • 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Yields: 2 cups

Soak cashews in water for 30 minutes. Purée in a blender until smooth and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and blend until thoroughly incorporated. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

  • 3 pounds chicken wings, tips removed and wings split

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • 1 cup buffalo wing sauce

  • Blue cheese dipping sauce

Yields: 4 servings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss wings with salt and canola oil. Spread wings evenly on a parchment-covered sheet tray. Place wings in heated oven for 30 minutes. Turn wings and cook for an additional 20 minutes. While wings are cooking, heat one cup of buffalo sauce in a small sauce pan. Wings should be golden brown and crunchy. In a large bowl, toss wing with sauce and serve with blue cheese dipping sauce.

Recipe: LC Harrell

Tricia Williams is a chef and nutrition educator and founder of Food Matters NYC, a customized meal delivery service in Manhattan.

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Junk Food Makeover: Chicken Parm

Junk Food Makeover: Chicken Nuggets

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