I had an unfortunate Popeyes habit several years ago. I’d get the five-piece tenders combo four or five times a month at the drive-through and sit in the parking lot and snarf it like an addict.
“Gee, Dr. Sommerset, no idea why I can’t lose any weight…”
I saw my friend Amanda last week, and I don’t remember how we started talking about Popeyes, but she mentioned they had blackened (and skinless) tenders now. I was intrigued. So, I went to back to Popeyes today.
Guess what? They’re not as good as the fried tenders. But guess what else? They’re still plenty tasty. I found them freshly prepared (see below on that) and appealingly peppery, though I’d say with thoroughly “safe” levels of blackening spices. (Hey, it’s fast food. There isn’t a chef back there.)
The big benefit, of course, is that they save you a whopping 460 calories for a five-piece order. That took my lunch from 1200 calories to 740. (I did nudge it back up a little bit with sauce.)
It doesn’t magically turn into health food, of course. But go with a zero-calorie beverage and take it easy on the sauce, and it’s not terribly difficult to defend.
I’ll add that your local Popeyes is not likely to have any of these ready to go—these aren’t as popular as fried; go figure!—so I’d recommend ordering ahead online.
And do go get some. I’d like these to hang around.