Are baked chicken wings unhealthy?

ashleyeatsbetter
ashleyeatsbetter Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Are baked chicken wings (bought mine at Harris teeter) unhealthy? I baked them in the oven and didn't add anything I just cooked in tin foil.

Replies

  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    What do you think would make them unhealthy?
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    To me, wings are a waste of money, considering the tiny bit of meat you get. I only use the thighs. ☺
  • ashleyeatsbetter
    ashleyeatsbetter Posts: 34 Member
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    What do you think would make them unhealthy?

    I think maybe the fact they're easy to over eat! I guess baked they aren't very bad for you!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    ashleyeatsbetter wrote: »
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    What do you think would make them unhealthy?

    I think maybe the fact they're easy to over eat! I guess baked they aren't very bad for you!

    Being easy to over eat...or tasting good isn't a measure of whether something is healthy or not. It's some protein and fat...that's it.

    Beyond that, "healthy" needs to be looked at on the whole...the cookies I had last night for desert aren't a "health food"...but they certainly don't make me unhealthy and undo the rest of my nutrition for the day.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,128 Member
    Nope pretty good source of protein and fat, I often make them myself. As others have said it's how they factor into your overall diet.

    I find them quite satisfying because they take me forever to eat. I'll normally split 1kg into 2-3 portions and freeze the spare portions. I love them with Cajun Spice/a little butter or Salt/Pepper/Chilli
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    To me, wings are a waste of money, considering the tiny bit of meat you get. I only use the thighs. ☺

    I love wings! I cut the little tip off to make soup. One of my favorite ways to cook them is to squeeze half a lemon over them and sprinkle them with Italian seasoning, serve with green salad! Also on the grill with grilled fruit! Yum! And they don’t have many calories, so have a few!

    I’m glad they sell parts now, cause in the past I had such a hard time figuring out how to hide the thighs in a casserole to get my family to eat them. Lol. Different strokes for different folks!

  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    Baked wings are fantastic - reasonable calories, take a long time to eat, very satisfying in a primal, messy, hands-on kind of way. Good source of protein and fat, nothing unhealthy about them at all. Best to add a side vegetable, though.

    I have them every Monday night, and usually start thinking wistfully about them again by Tuesday afternoon.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,271 Member
    I dont like chicken wings because I find the meat fiddly and I dont really like meat on the bone.

    Would prefer de boned chicken fillets.

    However ,as to healthy - like most foods, eat a sensible amount as part of a balanced diet - and sure, they can be healthy.

    Eat huge portion size and nothing much else day after day - not so healthy.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Wings have a lot of skin, and thus fat, which may or may not suit your goals. Almost any food can be healthy if you eat the right amount of it for your needs. I prefer thighs, which have a larger portion of meat to skin.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    All foods in moderation and portion control. Staying in a calorie deficit for weight loss. I find it easier to stick to plan, allowing all foods that I like. I personally don’t care for wings, so it’s not my choice, but nothing wrong with your eating them, any way you would choose to prepare them. Log and enjoy 😊
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    Per USDA database (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/172390/nutrients) for raw chicken wings with skin & meat (107 g per wing is their estimate)
    4 oz (113 g) has 216 calories, with 19.8 g of protein and 14.5 g of fat You be the judge of whether it is healthful for you, given your particular health status and your goals, and the quantity eaten.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    edited August 2019
    Wings are my favorite, but I gave them up for leaner skinless boneless chicken breasts. My problem with wings, I could eat 20-30 and not bat an eye. 20 wings would be around 1850 calories. That would be a whole day for me.... Moderation goes out the window, so I just stay away from them for the foreseeable future.
  • lx1x
    lx1x Posts: 38,330 Member
    It's food.. nothing unhealthy about it. Baked is better than deep frying in oil.

    I typically/recently been cooking with chicken rub and cook em on the smoker.. yummy.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    edited August 2019
    OP, I just noticed you shop at Harris Teeter. If you live in or around Northern Virginia and want a real treat, consider Gochujang rubbed chicken wings (kind of a Korean spice), with ... peanut butter dipping sauce!!! LOL Yeah, chicken wings with peanut butter dip, it's as insanely decadent as it sounds:

    https://eatmightymeals.com/product/gochujang-baked-chicken-wings/

    It's only 380 calories for 6 - and you only get 6, so the portion control issue comes right off the table. Mine are arriving in the next hour, for delivery to my belly tomorrow night :smiley:

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    To me, wings are a waste of money, considering the tiny bit of meat you get. I only use the thighs. ☺

    Yes, I rarely eat wings and get thighs way more often.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    corinasue1143 wrote: »
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    To me, wings are a waste of money, considering the tiny bit of meat you get. I only use the thighs. ☺

    I love wings! I cut the little tip off to make soup. One of my favorite ways to cook them is to squeeze half a lemon over them and sprinkle them with Italian seasoning, serve with green salad! Also on the grill with grilled fruit! Yum! And they don’t have many calories, so have a few!

    I’m glad they sell parts now, cause in the past I had such a hard time figuring out how to hide the thighs in a casserole to get my family to eat them. Lol. Different strokes for different folks!

    When we do get wings, I definitely save what's left for stock. I save bones in a zip lock bag in the freezer. I place the bones in the crock pot, cover with water, cook for an hour on high, and then at least 8 hours on low. Way superior to store-bought stock.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    Personally for me, wings have too much fat, too many bones and not enough protein to make them worth eating. But I wouldn’t call them unhealthy unless you are loading them up with too much saturated fat, which you aren’t.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    To me, wings are a waste of money, considering the tiny bit of meat you get. I only use the thighs. ☺

    I'm the same, except I'm a fan of breasts (ideally with the bones and skin) as well as thighs. I will roast a whole chicken, but the wings are my least favorite because they are a pain to eat.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    CardinalComb wrote: »
    Maybe not unhealthy but just wrong. Baked wings taste like *kitten*. They actually taste greasier than deep fried. Its deep fried or nothing imo.

    Air Fried wings are excellent. not greasy at all ...and if you broil them in the oven, they come out really good that way too
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
    nighthawk584 wrote: »
    CardinalComb wrote: »
    Maybe not unhealthy but just wrong. Baked wings taste like *kitten*. They actually taste greasier than deep fried. Its deep fried or nothing imo.

    Air Fried wings are excellent. not greasy at all ...and if you broil them in the oven, they come out really good that way too

    Air frying them is the best! Almost the exact same as deep frying without the extra calories.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
    I season chicken wings and put them in a BBQ to cook. When done, douse them with hot wing sauce and minced garlic and let them cook a few more minutes. Comes out delicious. I don't make it too often because of skin and fat content, i can have a bigger cut of skinless breast for less calories. I prefer to get my fats elsewhere. But once in awhile, no harm...
  • endermako
    endermako Posts: 785 Member
    something being defined as healthy or unhealthy is subjective. Just eat what fits your macros/lifestyle
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    firecat1987 wrote: »
    something being defined as healthy or unhealthy is subjective. Just eat what fits your macros/lifestyle

    Exactly. For people of a certain weight (aka "fat"), weight itself and the reduction of it is by orders of magnitude the most important factor in healthy vs unhealthy. If you can eat a pile of skin-on chicken wings and lose weight doing it, that is healthy. If you gain weight doing it: that's unhealthy. So much of it has to do with what happens the rest of the day. Any meal can be healthy if it can be made to fit into the calorie quota.

    As to fat vs carbs vs proteins, maybe that matters on some minuscule level, but as long as you're losing weight you're doin' it right. And it's much easier to lose weight when you eat the things you love, in calorie-controlled portions. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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