Recently, I had the honor to speak with Brooke Griffin, creator of SkinnyMom.com! I've been part of the SkinnyMom community for a while now, and it was truly a pleasure to get my hands on and review the new SkinnySuppers Cookbook that Brooke just released. It's full of 125 lightened healthier meals for your family.

She has some super yummy looking recipes, plenty of tips, tricks, and advice for the kitchen and surviving dinner time! It's a great read with plenty of home style and southern flavors. One of the first recipes that stood out to me was her Southwest 'Fried' Pickles. After all, who doesn't love a good fried pickle?

There's this dine-in movie theater here in Austin that has some of the best fried pickles I've ever tasted. And that's no joke. I had essentially come to the conclusion that perhaps I was too spoiled on their fried pickles to enjoy any other. You see, I've tried a few lightened up faux fried pickles before and none of them really seemed to give me what I was looking for.

I decided that I would go ahead and give SkinnySuppers Southwest 'Fried' Pickles a shot. I did make a few minor adjustments, mostly because there's a certain way that I'm used to getting my fried pickles at the local theater.

These pickles turned out fabulous! They were full of flavor and perfectly crisp without having to fry anything; which can be a tricky thing to accomplish. We all agreed that these faux fried pickles were actually more crispy than the ones we had come to know and love.

There are a ton of other amazing recipes in SkinnySuppers that I can't wait to try. I even had my mom give the cookbook a once over and it was all I could do to keep her from stealing it away from me before I had a chance to review it for myself. Hah!

To get the original SkinnySuppers Southwest 'Fried' Pickles recipe, check out the SkinnySuppers cookbook, which is available anywhere that books are sold. I would definitely recommend it to just about anyone.

Psst, it would make an amazing mother's day gift too!

Southwest 'Fried' Pickles
TheSkinnyFork.com (Adapted from the SkinnySuppers Cookbook)

The Skinny:
Servings: 6 • Size: 2 Pickles • Calories: 86.3 • Fat: 0.7 g • Carb: 16.3 g • Fiber: 1.4 g • Protein: 3.2 g • Sugar: 0.6 g • Sodium: 683.2 mg

Ingredients:
1/2 C. Yellow Cornmeal
1/2 C. Panko Bread Crumbs
2 Tbsp. Whole Wheat White Flour
1 Tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 Tsp. Ground Cumin
1/4 Tsp. Paprika
1/4 Tsp. Salt (I use Sea Salt)
1/4 Tsp. Black Pepper
2 Egg Whites
2 Tbsp. Reduced Fat 2% Milk
2 Tsp. Buffalo Hot Sauce
1 (16 Oz.) Jar Reduced Sodium Pickle Spears, Drained

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with foil; give it a light coat of non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1/2 C. Yellow Cornmeal, 1/2 C. Panko Bread Crumbs, 2 Tbsp. Whole Wheat White Flour, 1 Tsp. Chili Powder, 1/2 Tsp. Ground Cumin, 1/4 Tsp. Paprika, 1/4 Tsp. Salt, and 1/4 Tsp. Black Pepper; set aside.

In another bowl whisk together the 2 egg whites, 2 Tbsp. milk, and 2 Tsp. buffalo sauce.