Derval O'Rourke: How to make a healthy version of Southern Fried Chicken 

And why you won't find a healthy weight in numbers

Crispy, crunchy delicious 'fried' chicken

If you were asked what your ideal health goals are, what would you say? And before you answer, read the question again. Not what would your ideal weight be, what would your ideal health be? I’m talking this week about defining your health for you and what that would look like. I also have a great dinner recipe that will have them coming back for seconds!

As an athlete, numbers are a big part of performance. Getting your speed right, timing, measuring distance, stride, pace, not to mention eating habits and sleep patterns! All this data helps to hone and improve your performance because that millisecond could be the difference between first and second place. Is all this number crunching and measuring important and necessary? Yes! It’s a job and just like any job, metrics help to let us know how we are doing, where we can improve and what we can do to stay ahead.

However, when it comes to our personal health, defining ourselves by a few numbers does not work. There’s the number we see on a weighing-scales, the number we see on a pair of jeans we like, the number we see on our step counter for the day. But what is the number for being a great parent? What number do we allocate to working really hard at our jobs? What number do we get for being a good friend, partner, carer, mentor? All the things that matter in our day-to-day life have no bearing on whether we wear size 10 or size 16 trousers.

The point I am trying to make is, often you cannot tell by looking at a person that they are healthy. Weight is only one area that makes up our health. We keep missing the bigger picture. So when you define your lifestyle’s health, you need to look at more than “the numbers”. Here are five areas to look at when asking yourself this question:

1. Weight – Instead of having a scale dictate whether you are happy with your weight, ask yourself are you comfortable at your weight? 11stone on one person can be their ideal weight, but on another person could be too much to carry. Are your joints suffering, do you have back problems, are you struggling to get up the stairs without being out of breath? You may want to drop some weight for these reasons.

2. Stress – You could be someone who runs four times a week, never eats a sweet and still has health problems. Stress has a huge impact on our health. Is your job very stressful, are you working long hours and close to burnout, do you need some help at home? If you’re struggling with stress an early indicator is the inability to sleep. Speaking to your partner/friend or a professional could help you reduce the stress in your life and help you achieve a healthier balance.

3. Exercise – Moving our body everyday is the ideal way to stay healthy. But here’s the kicker. It does not have to be a gruelling 4-hour hike or a 10k run. Doing a yoga class for some stretching or taking a 15-minute walk is great and keeping a habit of doing something everyday is so much better for our health. Small and often is better than one big walk once a week.

4. Mental Agility – Our mental health is becoming more and more a part of the conversation when we talk about our health. Our mind needs a health check just as much as our body and can creep up on us because there’s no “weight gain” to tell us our mind is unhealthy. Making sure you have someone to talk to is key to this and there are so many incredible organisations out there to reach out to. If our mind is healthy, we can address the other areas much easier.

5. Sleep – I know, I know, I talk a lot about sleep! But it really does matter. The saying we use when we talk about babies “sleep is nourishment”, applies to us adults too! Our bodies need sleep to rest, recover and recharge. Also, when we sleep, we tend to take inventory of the day and sort through the events. Ask yourself if you are waking up and feeling exhausted, did you struggle to drift off, are you overstimulating your mind before bed? Focus on some meditation before bed to help you get into a good pattern.

Your health is as individual to you as your fingerprint. What will work for you, may not work for the next person. Which is why it is so important to look at all the aspects above and figure out which areas you need to improve on to improve your lifestyle. And there is nobody who has it perfect, not even me! I would say stress management is my daily challenge and sleep is a big focus for me. Having a young family, sometimes means a full nights’ sleep is a big ask, but by making sure I work on all my other health areas, it helps me to get that much needed balance.

Wellness Tip: Before you go to bed each night this week, lie on your bed. Clear the mind and focus only on your breathing. Take a nice long breath in through the nose, hold for a count of three and release slowly through the mouth. Repeat this until you start to feel relaxed. This will really help with your sleep pattern.

Exercise Tip: Take a brisk 15-minute walk everyday this week. Tip? Try to do this earlier in the day if you can, i.e. before work or during lunch. The longer the day goes on, the more likely your brain will try to talk you out of it!

Healthy southern fried chicken

recipe by:Patricia O'Flaherty

A healthy version of fried chicken, this is absolutely delicious.

Servings

4

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 American

Ingredients

• About 12 chicken thighs, boneless and skin removed

• For the coating:

• 75g plain flour and 75g Cornmeal (polenta, gives a nice crunch)

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• 2 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• Low cal oil for spraying

• For the marinade:

• 200ml buttermilk

• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• ½ tsp onion granules

• ½ tsp dried Italian herbs

• For the coleslaw:

• 120g plain Greek yoghurt (fat-free)

• 60g light mayonnaise 

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

• 2 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp black pepper

• 200g finely shredded green cabbage

• 100g finely shredded red cabbage (optional)

• 200g shredded carrots

• 1 small red onion

• 1 tbsp granulated sugar (optional to cut through sharpness)

• To serve:

• Potato wedges

Method

1. For the marinade, this is so easy, just mix the ingredients together in a large bowl, add the chicken and coat well. Cover and chill overnight, or for at least four hours. This tenderises the chicken and gives it a nice bite from the buttermilk, adding an extra kick.

2. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a large baking tray with foil or baking paper, you’ll thank me later!

3. For the crispy coating, mix all the ingredients together in a shallow bowl.

4. Shake off the excess buttermilk from your chicken and dip into the dry mix, turn to coat well on all sides.

5. Place on the lined baking tray. Spray each thigh about 4 times with the oil. 6. Cook for 20–25 minutes, or until crispy, browned and cooked through.

6. While the chicken is cooking, make the coleslaw. 

7. Grate onion with a box grater, it’s less bitter and doesn’t overpower the coleslaw, Scrape grated onion into a large bowl.

8. Add Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper in a large bowl and whisk to combine. (Reserve a third of the mayo mix to a small container and add one clove of grated garlic, perfect for dipping wedges or chips!)

9. Finally add cabbage, carrots, toss to coat. This is a sharp tangy dressing which cuts through the sweetness of the chicken and just adds a yummy bite.

10. Serve with potato wedges.