Most popular Q & A from radio interviews from Elaine Magee's recent book tour for FRY LIGHT, FRY RIGHT!

5. Why are deep-fried and greasy pan-fried foods so bad for us?
Excess calories and fat grams…that's basically what it comes down to.
Deep fried foods tend to be higher in fat grams and therefore higher in calories than the same foods prepared another way.
When you fry foods, you add calories and fat grams.
EXAMPLE - roasted skinless chicken breast has approximately 142 calories and 3 grams of fat.
A breaded and fried chicken breast with skin on, has about 364 calories and 19 grams of fat.
EXAMPLE - let's see what happens to our favorite vegetable. A large baked potato contains about 220 calories and .2 grams fat.
That same potato turned into french fries contains 697 calories and 34 grams of fat..

6. What are some of the medical reasons why people would want or need to avoid greasy, deep fried food?
• 2/3 of Am. adults are considered overweight, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. And almost half of them are obese (double the rate 40 years ago).
• More than 25 million people suffer from some degree of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, IBS.
• More than 15 million Americans suffer from heartburn daily (A major symptom of acid reflux)
• Fried food is on the "don't go there" list for some people with type 2 diabetes. There's a type 2 diabetes epidemic going on right now in this country.
• 16-18 million people suffer from migraine headaches and there is now thought to be a connection between a fatty diet and migraines.

7. Can we really have our favorite fried foods and eat light too?
Absolutely!… After 20 years of lightening recipes I've found with a few exceptions that anything that deep-frying can do, the oven or nonstick frying pan can do too!

If you can eat a lighter version of a favorite fried food that tastes just as good, why wouldn't you eat it instead?

Many of the desirable characteristics of deep fried foods can be duplicated in your oven or in your nonstick frying pan with a little bit of oil (you still need to coat the food with some fat ableit a much smaller amount--in order to get some browning and crisping on the surface). And depending on the food being oven or pan fried you might also need to add a cooking technique or two to the recipe to pull it off (like thickening the batter with some extra flour or broiling the food for a minute at the end to create a crunchy brown exterior)

4. Why do fried foods taste so good?
When you deep fry foods, you get quick cooking times but also an appetizing golden brown color with a rich flavor and a crispy exterior with a moist interior.

*Texture contrast is a big part of what makes fried foods so much fun to eat.
*The other major reason deep-fried foods are so irresistible is that the hot-fat bath causes the browning and caramelization of natural sugars and starches in the food.

BROWNING brings out amazing flavors. Have you ever tried tasting those "browned bits" that are in the bottom of the pan after you roasted a turkey or a roast? They're full of intense yummy flavors.
Examples of the browning benefit:
-Browned butter tastes much more intense and rich
-Roasted marshmallows have a deeper, more addictive taste than regular marshmallows
-Toasted or roasted nuts taste and smell better than raw nuts.

Think for a moment about the foods we Americans adore - my guess is about half are deep-fried in a vat of fat.
French fries
Potato chips
Donuts
Fried chicken
Corn dogs
Even our favorite ethnic foods are deep fried: egg rolls, tempura, flautas etc.

* If we can have the look, taste and crunch of deep fried food without all the calories and fat, it's the best of both worlds!

5. What is the difference in calories and fat grams between Frying Right and Frying Wrong?
Depending on the recipe of course you generally cut the fat at least in half and sometimes by 2/3…and the calories can decrease anywhere from 50 calories to almost 500 calories!

6. Tell us about a couple of your favorite recipes from the book and how you cut their calories and fat in half?
Mini Crab Cakes went from 323 calories per crab cake to 188 and
21 grams of fat to 6 grams
Savory Stuffed Mushrooms went from 166 calories per serving to 91 and
13.5 grams of fat to 3.5 grams
Light Eggplant Parmesan went from 479 calories per serving to 320 and
33 grams of fat to 15 grams
Chiles Rellenos went from 365 calories per serving to 260 and
30 grams of fat to 13 grams
Oven-Baked Coconut Shrimp went from 377 calories per serving to 257 and
20.6 grams of fat to 7 grams
Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy went from 650 calories per serving to 433 and
37 grams of fat to 12 grams
Pork Chimichangas went from 768 calories per chimichanga to 333 and
43 grams of fat to 11 grams