Healthy Chicken Dinner Ideas
Chicken is a versatile food that can go with most recipes. It can be highly nutritious, too, especially when prepared well. There are many healthy chicken dinner ideas that can be rustled up in minutes using chicken.
The light meat of chicken, without the skin is leaner than trimmed cooked beef, though this depends on the cut and grade of the beef. You’ve probably heard about how chicken breast, the chicken’s leanest portion, can be really healthy.
Remember this tip: when you buy chicken breast, do so with the skin still intact, and remove only after the chicken is cooked. The flavor & aroma of the chicken is enhanced that way, and total fat content is not doubled.
Chicken breast is very low in fat, yielding only up to a couple of grams of fat for every serving. Overall, chicken is a good source of protein. It provides over 67 percent of the daily value for protein in four ounces.
Some healthy chicken dinner ideas to savor include sautéing chicken breast after chopping, then adding vegetables, sesame seed, garlic, ginger and other seasoning; adding chicken to a healthy rice dish like Spanish paella or to healthy pasta meals; dicing chicken breast and adding the pieces to a chili mix; and wrapping cooked chicken pieces in a whole wheat tortilla along with fresh tomatoes, onions, grated cheese.
When in a hurry, there are plenty of healthy chicken dinner ideas you can use to your advantage. One way is to add extra flavor and tenderize the chicken first in lemon juice, set it aside overnight or for less than half an hour if you have no extra time to spare, and grill it.
A baked chicken casserole is another enjoyable meal. When friends intend to pop in, simply heat a tablespoon of olive oil quickly in a large pan, put several chicken drumsticks and thighs and cook until they’re brown, and then trim off the fat from the chicken thighs.
Preheat the oven, add some vegetables cut in chunks midway in the cooking time, add halved tomatoes, black olives, basil and garlic, and sprinkle a few drops of olive oil. Baking time is about an hour.
