Do you love chicken wings? I bet you do! The fact you’ve arrived here and talking to me is enough proof. You’ve been wondering about more creative ways to cook your favorite and want to know other chicken wing sides and foods that will come with it nicely.
A regular fried chicken wing may fill you in with 100 calories and 7 grams of fat – 2 grams of which are saturated fat. So it’s not recommended to feast on an all chicken wings bowl.
After hearing that, do you feel guilty about eating chicken wing. Do you feel like cheating when grabbing a bite?
The key is moderation.
On a controlled basis, it can be part of a balanced diet and help you to lose weight. It’s a lean meat. Beside supplying you with protein, it also gives loads of calcium and phosphorus.
I’ll be teaching you some of the most common recipes that go well with chicken wings. Enjoy these chicken wing sides while keeping your healthy diet.
Choosing the Best Quality Chicken Wings
This goes without saying, if you want an all wings chicken cuts, you’ll have to buy it from vendor who slaughter chickens in great quantity. If you’re not differentiating between organic produce and commercial product, then anything you can find will do, as long as it’s the best quality chicken wings.
If you want and can find organic chicken, then go for it. It’ll sure require you to shell out more cash, but a least you don’t have the guilt of eating too much of unhealthy stuff.
Every time you buy a chicken, save the wings for later. Toss them inside freezer so they can last longer.
How long The Fresh and Frozen Chicken Wings Last?
Chicken meat are rich in proteins, fats, and moisture. Needless to say, they’re excellent breeding ground for bacterial pathogens. Fresh chicken wings will only last for 1-2 days inside the fridge. Conversely, it would last for a year in the freezer compartment.
You love to get chicken wings from wet section of the public market. How can you spot fresh and good wings?
Good question! In the public market, they normally slaughter chickens late at night or before the break of dawn. So the patrons can see and buy them fresh.
The chickens are on display under ambient temperature the whole day. Perfect for fast microbial reproduction. Then the leftovers are frozen and thawed the next day. They might be packed with pathogens before reaching your hands.
Lookout for chicken wings with foul odors and slimy texture. Discoloration also suggest spoilage. Change of color from white to grayish, greenish, and brownish. If in doubt, don’t think twice. Look away to find other options.
Also watch out for stalls with colored lights. They intentionally do it to hide the true quality of their goods.
Now that you’ve familiarized yourself on how to spot decent quality chicken wings. It’s time to choose some of the great dish that come nicely with it.
Best Chicken Wing Sides
1. Boiled Sweet Potatoes
Fried chicken wings and boiled sweet potatoes are great. The combination may sound awful but think again. Eat them together and you’ll sure agree with me.
Sweet potato is dubbed as one of the healthiest foods. It has tons of fibers, vitamins, minerals and antioxidant. The plethora of good substances support healthy vision, support brain function and boost immune system.
2. Baked Jalapeno Peppers
Get some raw jalapenos, break in halves, dip in spicy batter, and bake. This baked jalapeno peppers are not too hot. In fact, their quite enjoyable. This grease free sensation goes perfectly well with fried chicken wings.
3. Chicken Wing and Fruit Barbecue
If you love nothing but wings, then including fruits in a barbecue is a great way to get yourself into loving fruits too.
Dice fruits such as cucumber, mango, and apple. Skewer them after the chicken wings. Then grill. This is exciting because you have to eat all the fruits first before you can fully enjoy the chicken wing barbeque and fruit barbecue.
4. Tomato Sauce and Banana Catsup
Do you know how they made the gravy? In case not, I’ll tell you. They’re drippings collected from processing of other meat products such as bacon, ham, and sausage. They’re not that bad to eat but should be taken in moderation. Instead, choose tomato sauce or banana ketchup as dipping sauce.
You’ll be surprised to know that you can make the two sauces easily at home. For example, blend ripe banana with enough water then add vinegar, sugar and other spices of choice.
5. Vegetable Salad with Chicken Wings
Lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes and kale are healthy. However, they won’t give everything your body needs. Remember to balance your diet. The chicken wings are here to the rescue.
To make vegetable salad with chicken wings, toss your favorite vegetables in a salad bowl. Drizzle with nuts. Cover with salad dressing and top with grilled wings.
6. Large Onion Rings
Hate onions? You’ll change your mind and going to love onions after tasting these large onion rings.
Get large white onions. Slice into rings. Dip in prepared batter and fry briefly. Similarly, get the chicken wings, dip in butter and fry.
Can’t get enough? Get more onions, chop finely, and mix well with batter. Even if you cheat by leaving out the onion rings, you’ll sure get onions by enjoying the wings.
7. Chicken Wings and Fried Rice
Got a few leftover wings from the last nights party? Let’s put them into good use.
Shred the meat off the bones, set aside. Chop some onions, garlic, snap beans, and bell pepper. Then melt butter in a heavy pan over a medium heat. Lastly, add in and stir all the ingredients for about 5 minutes.
Serve the wings and fried rice as a tasty chicken wing side.
8. Chicken Wings and Macaroni Soup
You have two ways to do this.
Firstly, boil the wings until tender. Save the broth for later. Scrape off the meat from the bones. Discard the bones and use the meat and broth for cooking macaroni soup.
Secondly, separately prepare macaroni soup and fried chicken wings. Then, enjoy them side by side.
Conclusion
Chicken wings are healthy foods, but the term healthy sometimes could be subjective. Your body needs it, but you can’t take too much.
I’ll spoil your fun a bit. Chicken wings are mostly bones and skin. Meaning, they’re fat bombs that’s going to blow furiously inside your body. So, moderate!
It doesn’t matter how you enjoy chicken wings. Fried or grilled. What you need to keep in mind is you need to balance it out with other foods. If you feel you overeat proteins and fats, then go get some vegetables.
Get sweet potato, one of the superfoods. Boiled sweet potato is the best. And to make it more exciting, you can convert it easily into chips and French fries.
Get leafy vegetable. You can’t go wrong feasting on kale and lettuce. Mix the wings in fried rice. Then toss in a lot of vegetables. Even if you eat too much, you’re barely getting the bad stuff.