Surprise Calorie Monsters such as Buffalo Wings

Aegelis

My blog post got me wondering, are there any other surprise calorie monsters I should be aware of?

Here's an excerpt:

'Buffalo Chicken Wing = Calorie Monster

Over the weekend I was floored to see "Buffalo Chicken Wing, 7 wings, 672 calories". Excusez-moi?! Nearly 100 calories per wing, that can't be right, is it? Ladies and gentlemen, it seems to verify:

"126 calories in chicken wing, 237 with skin

A lot of the calories in chicken actually come from the skin. Since the skin has a lot of fat in it, it also has a lot of calories, not to mention other health issues related to consuming fat. Fat makes over 30% of the chicken skin and is responsible for over 80% of the calories in chicken skin! If you are looking to cut down on the calories in chicken, skin is defintely the first thing you should take off your menu." - http://tombeni.hubpages.com/hub/Calories-in-Chicken

I know I've had a KFC fried chicken breast with less calories than that, right? Indeed, My Fitness Pal says, "Kfc - Original Recipe Chicken - Breast W/ Skin, 1 breast, 360 calories" which verifies fairly well with the other internet source stating, "110 calories in chicken breast, 170 calories with skin" (not KFC frying specified).

"So as you can see there is quite a difference between the calories in chicken parts. Without the skin - up to 27 calories per 3.5 oz, and with the skin - up to 149 calories per 3.5 oz!!! That's a big difference!" (previously cited source)

I don't care how good the sauce is, there is just not enough meat to justify the high cost of calories for me. Beware the wing!'

brucedelaney

Wing sauce is typically made with Frank's Red hot and Butter.

Butter is the culprit not the wing.

sblair77

I grill my own chicken and I found a buffalo hot sauce that has 0 cals and 0 sugar. I just cut my chicken up and put in the buffalo sauce.

Now of course sometimes i still just bite the bullet and go to buffalo wild wings because I simply love them so much!

UnderCoverShyGirl

I don't know of any other calorie monsters off the top of my head (well, olives have a lot of fat/cals and that surprised me) but i also learned about chicken wings this weekend. I thought they wouldn't be bad because there is barely any meat and i did not bread nor fry them (grilled). But yep, that skin is a killer - who knew! Really mind-blowing!

bslic

Many places deep fry the wings first in addition to the butter-filled sauce.

lakersfan4life

but the spicy garlic wings at Buffallo Wild Wings are so freakin good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

d2footballJRC

Hungry-Girl has a good buffalo wing recipe that is 1/5th the calories of what you normally get.

suavequeen

Yup I found out the hard way yesterday... worse off since I enjoyed them with a few beers watching Monday night football.... argh!!

Avalonis

I make my own homemade buffalo wings with Boneless skinless thigh meat, bake em in the oven @ 500 degrees for 30-45 minutes, then toss them in Franks Buffalo sauce. 0 extra cals, for the win.

Oh, and they taste WAY better than most places wings, plus have way less fat and more protein, cuz they aren't deepfried, and have no skin!

Genem30

This is why I can't go to Hooters anymore.

And that only reason I went to Hooters.

Well, okay, that was a reason.

Fairysoul

Working at a wing place is why I am here in the first place, just and fyi, all wing places cook it with skin in a deep fryer.

Aegelis

Homemade is a really great idea! I could use breast meat and control the calories in the sauce. This should satisfy the football craving as well as give me another dish to work on perfecting. Much appreciated all

Relicgoddess

Pho is 450 calories for a small bowl

Aegelis

Pho is 450 calories for a small bowl

Another good point, I've been very wary of noodles these days too. Also on my warning list are french fries and breads (especially buns because it's easy to forget I've eaten them since I'm focused on the meat).

d2footballJRC

Here is the hungry girl article, 175 calories for boneless wings rock.

http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/921

Aegelis

I've been keeping an eye on rice too. It sounded healthy, but...surprise!

wolfchild59

Buffalo wings are deep fried and covered in oil based hot sauces, nothing about that says low cal, so I'm surprised that it was surprising to find out they were high in calories.

ChristineMarie89

This is why I can't go to Hooters anymore.

And that only reason I went to Hooters.

Well, okay, that was a reason.

oh me too lmfao

Grokette

Wing sauce is typically made with Frank's Red hot and Butter.

Butter is the culprit not the wing.

Butter nor the chicken is bad for you. Butter and chicken skin are natural occurring and there is nothing wrong with consuming the fat from either one of these said foods.

personally, I don't count calories and I often take chicken wings, mix with butter and hot sauce and bake in the oven until sticky, crispy.............I eat these often for snacks and meals and the pounds keep falling off me while having stellar blood work.

I adhere to a hight fat eating plan 60-70% fat, 20-25% protein and 5-10% carbs per day.

I am glad I don't count calories............

Grokette

Working at a wing place is why I am here in the first place, just and fyi, all wing places cook it with skin in a deep fryer.

This is great for people that are low carbing as we need the fat anyway...............

As long as there is no breading on the wings and not full of sugary sauces.

Aegelis

Buffalo wings are deep fried and covered in oil based hot sauces, nothing about that says low cal, so I'm surprised that it was surprising to find out they were high in calories.

I didn't expect them to be 0 calorie, but was figuring about 300 for 7, not twice that amount.

RainbootsToBikinis

My calorie monster was Arizona tea, I was drinking so much of that every day. 90 calories in 8 fl oz, and 22 grams of sugar! That's almost as much sugar that's in a can of pop, and here I thought I had found a healthy alternative.

Erica_theRedhead

I am originally from Buffalo. In 24 years of my life I probably added roughly 50 pounds to my physique via chicken wing/fingers. Fine if it's every once and awhile. Factor in that we add them to pizza, subs, and can get an all-you-can eat plate for about $5 during sabres games, it's bad. But when there is an annual party weekend dedicated to eating wings and drinking beer (Buffalo Wingfest YUM!!!) there is a major problem.

I found the solution is to move away from Buffalo where I feel no need to stuff my face with sub par wings. But once a year, I partake in a hot wing plate from Duffs, just to remember what heaven tastes like

Aegelis

My calorie monster was Arizona tea, I was drinking so much of that every day. 90 calories in 8 fl oz, and 22 grams of sugar! That's almost as much sugar that's in a can of pop, and here I thought I had found a healthy alternative.

Very true, soda (and other high fructose drinks like off-the-shelf tea) was a real calorie bomb for me. I've decided not to drink calories, except in a half cup of coffee or tea with teaspoons of sugar I can control by adding myself.

Aegelis

But when there is an annual party weekend dedicated to eating wings and drinking beer (Buffalo Wingfest YUM!!!) there is a major problem.

Well said and would like to highlight, brew is pretty high as well. In my case I'd paired it with a gyro which was a combo nightmare. If I had either the gyro OR the 7 wings, I would've been fine, but together it put me way over my daily calorie limit.

Aegelis

Pasta at Italian restaurants...they give you like 6 cups! I wasn't fooled this time, I have enough for the next few days.