8 Classic Comfort Foods Revamped

Baking is an easy way to improve the health factor of the things that Mom used to fry. Baking switches the flavor focus from salt and grease to the seasonings used in the coating.

You can also add flavor by serving side sauces and condiments (e.g., chutneys, harissa thinned with yogurt, BBQ sauce, lemon tahini sauce).

Here are some ways to update classic fried foods:

• Fried chicken. Try oven-baked “fried” chicken with this method: flatten chicken breasts, coat them with eggs/milk, dip in breadcrumbs/corn flakes and bake.
• Chicken nuggets or fingers. Make the kids more interesting Chinese-five-spice chicken nuggets.
• Fish sticks. Skip the frozen filets and try oven "fried" fish sticks.