I receive a daily email from cooking light with a recipe of the day for dinner. One was oatmeal crusted chicken, which seemed interesting to me ( although I prefer chicken without breading or skin).
I am struck by one little detail they mention in the description of the recipe:
“Oatmeal in the breading adds crunch to these chicken tenders, which are sure to be a hit with adults and children alike. Serve with commercial honey mustard or light ranch dressing for dipping.”
Why the heck would you go to the trouble of making an already healthy lean meat, “healthier” by crusting it with oatmeal and then suggest “commercial” honey mustard? Are they not aware that it takes two seconds to mix honey into mustard and make your own without all the extra sugar/chemicals/HFCS often found in commerical honey mustard?
I’m not feeling that suggestion, especially when light ranch dressing really isn’t any healthier either-Light Ranch usually has more sugar to make up for the lack of fat and added in unhealthy saturated fat.
I think I would have appreciated an easy dip you can make yourself much more than their suggestion, something with yogurt or maybe a hummus-style bean dip.
Here is an article on honey mustard I found interesting:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/eating-help/calories/honey-mustard-diet-friendly/
Question: “I love getting honey mustard on my sandwich. But even though it has ‘mustard’ in the name, is it closer to mayo? I don’t want to wreck my diet.”
Answer: “There’s a huge range of options, from fat-free to high fat,” says Cynthia Sass, RD, of honey mustard. “But in either case, it’s far from plain or spicy mustard nutritionally.”
Full-fat honey mustard is even more detrimental to your diet than fat-free, and not just because of the fat content. “The full-fat honey mustards have about 120 calories, 11 grams of fat (in two tablespoons) and contain high fructose corn syrup, which is usually higher in the ingredient list than honey,” says Sass.
Sass further cautions that by substituting honey mustard for regular mustard, you might be missing out on added health benefits: “Actual mustard contains cancer-fighting phytochemicals similar to those in broccoli and cabbage.”
Sass points out that even fat-free honey mustard, at about 50 calories per two-tablespoon serving, is significantly higher in calories than spicy and yellow mustards, many of which are calorie-free. Some spicy and Dijon mustards do have up to 30 calories in two tablespoons, but Sass notes that you’d be unlikely to use that much on a sandwich: “A little bit goes a long way, flavor-wise.”
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