Good news: You can have fried catfish and hush puppies, too.

Keep in mind that we’re not giving fast-food fried chicken dinners with French fries a passing grade. Such a meal contains an entire day’s worth of calories and sodium, thanks to large portion sizes, excessive breading, and globs of sauces.

But as an occasional treat, home-fried foods have a place in a healthy diet. Use in moderation by pairing with a sensible side or salad. Always choose a healthy oil that’s low in saturated fat—such as peanut, soybean, and canola oils—and follow our step-by-step techniques to frying basics to keep calories and fat as low as possible. In the hands of a careful home cook, a delicately breaded and fried catfish fillet with a few hush puppies can be a perfectly reasonable—and delicious—dinner.

View myth-busting recipes: Fried Catfish with Hush Puppies and Tartar Sauce