Spring is here! Temperatures are rising, the snow is melting, and soon enough it will be warm enough to wear something other than long johns, a warm sweater, and those ridiculous but awesome faux fur hats.

It’s the time of the year where there's less clothing, and more sunshine. It’s time to break out our best swimsuits, our shortest shorts, and our favorite tank top from that crazy spring break circa a decade ago. Yeah, you know the one.

But there may be a problem.

It is not unusual for people to pack on a little, let’s call it, ‘natural insulation’ during the winter months. While we may be mentally ready to wear our favorite shorts and slip into our swimsuits, our bodies may not be ready—and that’s okay!

Good news for us, the weather has only just started to turn. We still have a couple months before we need to think about swimsuits and short shorts. That means we have time to get yourselves (and our bodies) prepared for the warm weather ahead.

And while this process may include some extra long walks and better eating habits — it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the food you eat! Don’t fall subject to the diet culture of rabbit food and detoxes. Instead, swap out your normal comfort food for a slightly healthier version!

NoCoast is here to help with a calorie conservative fried chicken recipe! So, sit back, crack open an ice-cold NoCoast beer and prepare some delicious beer battered yogurt fried chicken made with our Yoga Poser Pale Ale. (In the interest of honesty, we must tell you that the prep time for this dish is an estimated four hours and ten minutes, with 20 minutes cook time.)

Okay—so, prep time is a little long, but think of that time as a great excuse to enjoy a great NoCoast Brewery beer-- like a SmokeyRowCoast Coffee Porter or maybe a To Peach Their Own Berliner-Style Weisse Ale (or, of course, a Yoga Poser PA).

NoCoast’s Yoga Posa PA-Battered Yogurt Fried Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

•    For the Yogurt Mixture: 3 cups plain yogurt; salt, to taste; freshly ground peppercorns, to taste (add at least 1/2 tablespoon); 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper; 10 chicken drumsticks
•    For the Beer Batter: 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 3 teaspoons onion salt; 3 teaspoons garlic powder; 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper; 2 teaspoons freshly ground peppercorns; 1 bottle (12-ounces) Yoga Poser Pale Ale; Vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions:

•    In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, salt, ground peppercorns, and cayenne.
•    Add the chicken and let stand on counter for 4 hours.
•    In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, onion salt, garlic powder, cayenne, ground peppercorns.
•    Whisk in the beer until smooth and thoroughly combined.
•    Heat vegetable oil in a large and deep pot or skillet; you should have enough oil to cover the chicken half way up.
•    Cover a serving plate with paper towels and set aside.
•    Pull the chicken out of the yogurt mixture and pat dry with paper towels.
•    Place the chicken in beer-batter and coat; drain off any excess and add to hot oil.
•    Fry the chicken in batches, turning once, until golden; about 20 minutes.
•    Place the fried chicken on prepared serving plate; let stand for a few minutes.
•    Serve.

For the calorie counting folks, each serving contains only 426 calories! Oh—and the dish serves six.

For those less worried about the calories, enjoy the fact that you are eating unbelievably awesome, yet slightly healthier fried chicken that makes you smile as you enjoy every bite.

And for those of you that have the shirt from that decade ago spring break (and let’s be honest it might not fit like it used to), it may be time to retire it and get yourself a new one!

Food is life— just like an ice-cold NoCoast on a Spring Saturday. Moral of this story, enjoy food. Enjoy beer. Enjoy life. Drink a NoCoast.