Quest for a Clean Eating Chicken Meal
You decided today is the day you are going to get back on track with the food that you eat. You say to yourself, “I am going to eat clean.”
Eating clean, after all, is the buzz phrase you have heard of late as a way for you to eat healthier and to possibly lose weight.
Not having a clear idea of a recipe that could be deemed “eating clean” worthy, you set out on a search using The Google (that's how my mom says it – she cracks me up in her elder years).
In your search you come across an image of something that looks really tasty. Perhaps too tasty.
You click on the link to get more information.
It takes you to a Pinterest page with the title at the top that reads Clean Eating–Chicken.
You glance at the image again. It sure does look good.
You see chicken topped with cheese and is that…
bacon?!
Bacon is clean?
You start to doubt the little bit of clean eating knowledge that you have.
Scanning down the ingredients you see vegetable oil listed.
Again, you are asking yourself questions. This time you are wondering the purpose for the oil.
That is when you do the natural next thing: you review the cooking instructions.
Heat oil over high heat
Dip each chicken breast first in egg mixture then in cheese
Fry in hot oil until crust is golden brown
Ok, now you know something is not right. The bacon was one thing, but you know without a doubt that frying cannot possibly be considered clean eating. Even if you still were not sure, you do know that frying food is no where in the healthy eating category.
That chicken sure looked good though. So, what do you do?
Since I am sure you guessed this is something that happened to me, you do what I did. You do a recipe makeover!!
Before we get to the makeover particulars, I did some digging on what it means to eat clean.
What Makes A Recipe Not Clean?
Good question.
I figure the best way to answer that question is to focus on what it means to eat clean. But then when you do a search for “What Does Eating Clean Mean?” you may end up confused because no response is exactly the same.
In addition, as with most things, there is the occasional detractors. There's always “that one” who disagrees with terminology. In some cases, that position is warranted, in other cases I believe some people live their lives being oppositional.
My take is that eating clean means, as much as you possibly can, eat natural wholesome foods such as vegetable and fruits, cook for yourself so you know what exactly is going in your food, be mindful of your sugar, salt, and fat intake, and lastly, if you cannot pronounce an ingredient, for as much as you possibly can, find a more natural alternative.
Here is a very short list of links that I found on the topic. I encourage you to do your own research to learn what you can on your own.
Eating Clean For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Seven Principles of Clean Eating
Don't Drive Yourself Crazy
Here is my last bit on this before moving on to the makeover.
My philosophy is to do what is reasonably sustainable and plausible. I am not about driving myself crazy trying to stick to something that is super strict and nearly impossible to implement and follow on a consistent basis, if at all. That is a sure way to fail at weight loss and weight maintenance.
I also believe that not one size fits all. Over time you learn what your body can and cannot handle. It is from that information that your body is telling you that you construct your healthy eating habits.
To me, the best way to have success in the weight loss and weight maintenance journey is to be informed, allow for moderate indulges, and do not over complicate things.
Now on to that recipe makeover.
Recipe Makeover: No More Bacon – From Not So Clean (and Fattening) to Clean
Below I list the ingredients for a dish called Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Bacon that somehow made it to a Clean Eating Chicken Board on Pinterest.
I love bacon, but bacon is fattening and processed to get to its state. That knocks it out of the clean category.
Also in the recipe, as previously stated, the recipe called for frying the chicken in oil. That is the key instruction that I skipped. Instead, I baked the chicken in the oven at 450 degrees.
Below are the ingredients for the recipe. I did a strikethrough to the ingredients I omitted. In bold italics I share the ingredients that I added as either an alternative.
Ingredients
Oil for frying – about 1/2 – 3/4 cup
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts – about 4-5 oz each
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese 3/4 almond flour (I should have used more)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash Original Blend Salt-Free
1-1 1/2 cups shredded Asiago cheese
3-4 slices bacon – cooked and crumbed (can leave slightly under-done, it will finish cooking under broiler) Kikkoman Panko Japanese Style Bread Crumbs (gave the chicken a nice crunch; has sugar, but very little)
1 egg beaten 2 egg whites and 1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon water
Turn Not So Healthy Dishes to Healthy Ones
This is not the first time that I have taken a not so healthy dish and made it over to make a healthier dish. I highly recommend giving it a try. Yes, it requires extra time and preparation to do the research, but in the long run that time and preparation is well worth it.
Besides, as you learn more, you will become faster at making the necessary adjustments. Enjoy the process.
Use the process to challenge yourself or even find a way to make it fun.
Start the Discussion: What type of meals do you wish you could create a healthy twist? Share in the post comments, on Facebook or Twitter.