Taste Test Tuesday: Aidells Chicken Burgers (Bacon & Cheddar Cheese)

These chicken burgers come in a 12-ounce box, are fully cooked and come in a couple different flavors. When I first saw this product I thought, "Well, that's a little different." They can be microwaved or grilled or pan-fried.

Next I inspected the nutrition facts label and thought the grams of fat and sodium were pretty high (12 grams of fat, 590 mg sodium), but the saturated fat seemed fairly reasonable for a "burger" (4.5 grams).

The ingredients list showed me the first five ingredients are:

• Chicken (no note on whether dark meat or white meat)
• Bacon
• Cheddar cheese
• Sautéed onion (with soy oil)
• Salt

Well that explained why the chicken burger was so high in fat and sodium.

How did it taste?
The burger had a lot of flavor so there is definitely no need to add a slice of cheese or some spread (which is great since we can't afford to add any more fat and sodium anyway). And as it is, the whole grain bun will add at least 250 mg sodium and 2 grams of total fat to the grand total along with 4+ grams of fiber. Even with the whole grain bun (which adds lots of smart carbs), this sandwich contains about 34% calories from fat. Just make sure and enjoy it with some fruits and vegetables on the side instead of chips or potato salad.

Each chicken burger contains:

170 calories
14 g protein
12 g fat
4.5 g saturated fat
85 mg cholesterol
590 mg sodium
2 g carbohydrates

Related Topics:

• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Recipe Makeover: Tyler Florence's Chicken Francese

Have you ever noticed how popular chicken is with all those Food Network television chefs? I often cruise through the Food Network website looking for some interesting recipes to lighten and I've got to say, poultry seems to reign supreme! So I wasn't that surprised when the recipe that appealed to me from Tyler Florence featured chicken.

The original recipe calls for dredging the chicken breasts in seasoned flour and then in beaten whole eggs. They are then fried in 1/4 cup of oil in a skillet. Instead, I used an egg substitute "with yolk" product that is lower in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol than beaten whole eggs (and it's really easy to use too). I still used olive oil to brown the chicken breast, but I used 2 1/2 tablespoons instead of 4. With a nonstick skillet, this was just the right amount of oil. The original recipe then calls for a lemon sauce to be made in the skillet using all sorts of flavorful ingredients like sliced lemon, white wine, chicken broth, parsley, and a couple tablespoons of butter. I took out the butter completely and switched to a sweeter white wine that wouldn't need the butter to help mellow the flavor.

These changes cut the calories by 28% and fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol by about 60%.

	Before	After
Calories	475	340
Fat(g)	26	11
Saturated Fat (g)	7.5	2.2
Cholesterol mg)	217	96
Fiber (g)	.6	.6

Light & Easy Chicken Francese

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper (depending on preference)
1 cup egg substitute "with yolk" (if that product is not available, use 3/4 cup of any type of egg substitute and blend with 1 large egg)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, with rind, cut in thin rounds
1/2 cup sweet white wine
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon unbleached white flour
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (regular parsley can be substituted)

Directions:

1. Lay one chicken breast in between two sheets of wax paper and pound with the flat side of meat mallet until about 1/4-inch thick. Put the flour in a medium bowl and combine with salt and pepper. Place egg substitute or egg mixture in a wide medium bowl.
2. Add a tablespoon of the oil to a nonstick skillet or large frying pan and begin to heat on medium-high. Begin to dredge both sides of each chicken breast in the flour mixture and then dip them in the egg mixture to coat completely. When the oil is hot, add two cutlets to the skillet and cook until underside is golden (about 2 minutes). Coat the top of the chicken cutlets with canola or olive oil cooking spray. Flip chicken over and cook until second side is golden. Remove chicken to a large platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Repeat step #2 with the remaining oil and chicken breasts.
4. When all 4 chicken breasts are keeping warm on the platter, add the lemon slices to the same skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, broth, and lemon juice and when the mixture comes to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to cook until the sauce is reduced a little (about 4 minutes total).
5. Blend about 3 tablespoons of the hot liquid with 1 tablespoon of white flour to form a loose paste. Add flour paste to the skillet and whisk into the hot liquid and continue to cook and stir until a nicely thickened smooth sauce forms.
6. Place the chicken back in the skillet with the sauce and place the lemon slices on top of the chicken as the chicken simmers for a couple of minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley right before serving!

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Information per serving: 340 calories, 41 g protein, 19 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat, 2.2 g saturated fat, 6.5 g monounsaturated fat, 1.7 g polyunsaturated fat, 96 mg cholesterol, .6 g fiber, 238 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 29 percent.

Related Topics:

• Easy Rotisserie Chicken Recipes
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Recipe Makeover: Paula Deen's Chicken & Rice Casserole

I love doing Paula Deen recipe makeovers because:

1. She rocks the kitchen.


2. She has a tendency toward my kind of cooking (comfort food).


3. There are always quite a few changes I can make for a big ticket nutritional pay off.

Today we are making over Paula’s popular Chicken & Rice Casserole. The original recipe calls for canned green beans. I don't do canned vegetables (not that there is anything wrong with that - except the added sodium); I just would rather use frozen or fresh vegetables. I think they taste better, although it seems that people prefer whatever they were raised with.

I also used skinless roasted chicken breast instead of any type of chicken meat with skin. And I used the 98% fat free condensed cream of chicken soup instead of regular and reduced fat sharp cheddar instead of regular. I made a blend of light mayonnaise and fat free sour cream instead of real mayonnaise, which creates a wonderful tasting mixture with 75% less grams of fat compared to the real thing.

Lastly the original recipe calls for a box of long grain white and wild rice. I used 4 cups of cooked brown rice and it seemed to work great. The pinch of salt (or any salt or that matter) simply isn't needed with the other ingredients that will contribute some sodium.

We cut the calories by 45% and the total fat and saturated fat were cut by about 70%! Cholesterol was cut in half and the fiber increased by 2 grams per serving.

Here’s the best part...it still tastes terrific - savory and satisfying!

	Before	After
Calories	646	354
Fat (g)	38	11
Saturated Fat (g)	9	3
Cholesterol (mg)	120	62
Fiber (g)	3.5	5.5

Light & Easy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken or celery soup
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
3 cups frozen green beans
3 cups diced, cooked chicken breast, without skin
1 medium sweet or yellow onion, chopped
8 ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
4 ounce jar or can pimentos, drained (optional)
4 cups cooked brown rice (or cooked brown rice and wild rice blend)
1 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish (or 3-quart casserole dish) with canola cooking spray.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine condensed soup, light mayonnaise and fat free sour cream.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine with mayonnaise mixture. Spread into prepared baking dish and bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: makes 8 servings

Nutritional Information per serving: 354 calories, 25 g protein, 38.5 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 4 g monounsaturated fat, 3 g polyunsaturated fat, 62 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 435 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 28 percent.

Related Topics:

• Quick, Easy Recipes: More 'Halfway Homemade' Dishes
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: KFC Takes the "Fried" Out of Chicken!

Photo: Elaine Magee

The other day I was driving down the street in my town and out of the corner of my eye spotted a big sign on the outside of the local KFC that said something about tasting the "unfried side of KFC". It didn't really click until I watched a commercial later that evening about the new Kentucky "grilled" chicken now being served at the KFC near you.

Well, my family has gotten into a grilled chicken groove lately - every Monday night I buy grilled chicken from a local deli/meat market (so much so that they call me "the chicken lady") and then I throw together Caesar Chicken Salad. Today, we tried out the new grilled chicken from KFC instead.

I had the nutrition information in tow, but I wondered as I ordered a bucket:

• Would there be skin on the chicken breast? (The answer is "YES")
• Would it have many of the same herbs and spices as their yummy signature fried chicken? (The answer is "YES")

Let's compare the nutrition info for the original recipe fried chicken breast and the new grilled chicken breast:

1 Grilled Chicken Breast	1 Original Recipe Chicken Breast
180 calories	370 calories
35 g protein	38 g protein
0 g carbohydrate	7 g carbohydrate
4 g fat	21 g fat
1 g saturated fat	5 g saturated fat
0 g trans fat	0 g trans fat
110 mg cholesterol	120 mg cholesterol
440 mg sodium	1050 mg sodium

Compared to fried, the grilled chicken breast has:

• Half of the calories
• 80% less total fat and saturated fat
• 60% less sodium too!

How did my family like it? Granted my teen girls aren't used to bone-in chicken because I almost always cook with boneless skinless chicken breast - so the bones threw them off a little...but we all definitely liked the chicken.

It's a step in the right direction for the Colonel, that's for sure. But if I had it my way, I would take it one step further and use skinless breast and thighs so you could enjoy the yummy seasoning without the skin. I can dream can't I?

Related Topics:

• 10 Healthy Ideas for a Lean Barbecue Season
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

The Fried Chicken Makeover

To lighten up the traditionally deep fried chicken, we marinated skinless chicken pieces in buttermilk and coated them with a seasoned flour mixture, then sprayed with canola cooking spray, and baked them in the oven. This chicken is great cold, too!

WHAT YOU SAVE
Making these changes cut from each serving (compared to a deep fried chicken breast):

• 147 calories
• 22 grams total fat
• 7 grams saturated fat
• 86 mg cholesterol

Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne red pepper- increase to 1 teaspoon if extra "heat" is desired)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Canola cooking spray

Preparation:

1. Combine chicken breasts and buttermilk in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Refrigerate sealed bag in a medium-size bowl for several hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Use a pastry brush to coat the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch baking dish with canola oil.
3. In a new gallon-sized zip-top bag or medium-sized shallow bowl, stir together the flour, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and white pepper to blend well.
4. Remove a chicken breast from buttermilk and gently shake off any excess. Immediately dip chicken into flour mixture; coat well. Holding chicken piece over a plate, spray both sides well with canola cooking spray. Dip chicken piece into flour mixture a second time and spray again with canola cooking spray. Place into prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining chicken.
5. Bake until chicken is cooked throughout and coating is golden brown (about 25-30 minutes). If needed, switch the oven to broil, and broil the chicken 6 inches from the heat for a minute or two (until outside of chicken is nicely browned), watching very carefully so as not to burn.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Information:
PER SERVING: 194 calories, 28 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 5.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 74 mg cholesterol, 0.5 g fiber, 225 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 26%

Journal as: 1 serving "lean meat with 1 tsp fat maximum"

The Series:

• Comfort Food Makeovers
• The Mashed Potato Makeover
• Macaroni and Cheese, Please!
• The Fried Chicken Makeover
• Top-Rated Gourmet Meatloaf
• Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Related Topics:

• 'No-Fry' Fried Foods
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Lighten Up, Chicken!

Food Network Chicken Recipe Gets a Visit From The WebMD Recipe Doctor

I get a lot of requests on my Recipe Doctor website to lighten up various dishes from The Food Network. People usually write that they want to try the particular recipe, but are put off by all of the rich and fatty ingredients. I actually got three requests for this same chicken dish, so I decided to lighten it up and share the simple and savory recipe with all of you!

Basically I dramatically reduced the cooking fat and switched to a smart oil, plus I doubled the vegetables and used a reduced fat cheese.

The original recipe calls for half a stick of butter; I used 4 teaspoons of canola or olive oil. I used 2 cups of mushrooms and 1/3 cup of shallots compared to 1 cup of mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of shallots in the original recipe. I eliminated the salt and used 1 cup of part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese instead of whole milk mozzarella. I also eliminated a preparation step to keep it all in one pot. Less to do and less to wash!

Here are the SAVINGS:

Calories decreased from 386 to 330
Fat grams decreased from 22.5 grams to 14 grams
Saturated fat decreased from 13 grams to 5 grams
Cholesterol decreased from 152 to 111 mg
Sodium decreased from 429 to 236 mg (mushrooms have a lot of natural flavor)
Fiber went up from .3 gram to almost 1 gram
Omega-3s went up from .2 gram to .6 gram (using canola oil)

Light & Easy Georgia Chicken

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons canola or olive oil, divided use
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (available pre-washed and pre-cut)
1/3 cup minced shallots (chopped onion can be substituted)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese (or cheese of choice)

Preparation:

1. In large, nonstick skillet begin heating 2 teaspoons of canola or olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the sliced mushrooms and shallots and saute until lightly brown (about 5 minutes). Spoon out mushroom mixture to medium bowl and set aside.
2. In same large, nonstick skillet, begin heating the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over medium-high heat. Coat both sides of chicken breasts with hot oil in pan and continue to brown both sides until cooked throughout (about 8 minutes on each side). Sprinkle pepper over the top.
3. Sprinkle cheese even over the top of chicken then top evenly with the mushroom mixture. Turn off heat, cover skillet, and let the chicken dish rest for 5 minutes to melt cheese and blend flavors.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

WebMD Weight Loss Clinic Members journal as: 1 serving lean meat with sauce + 2 ounces lowfat cheese OR 1 frozen dinner light + 2 ounces lowfat cheese OR 1 1/2 cups hearty stews

Nutrition Information per serving: 330 calories, 44 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 14 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 111 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 236 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 38 percent.

Related Topics:

• Tips for New Cooks - Chicken
• Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
• Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox

Taste Test Tuesday: Moist and Lean Grilled Chicken Strips at Fast Food!

If you have a craving for lean but moist grilled chicken and you happen to be cruising by a Jack in the Box, fear not! You can order grilled chicken strips (4 strips) from Jack in the Box and they actually taste terrific.

With this blog in mind, I bought an order of the grilled chicken strips, tasted one of the strips right away (YUM!), and then used the other 3 strips to make chicken Caesar pitas for my daughters' lunches the next day. Both daughters commented on how tasty and moist the chicken was.

Each order of 4 strips contains:

180 calories
37 grams protein
3 grams carbohydrate
2 grams fat (10% calories from fat)
.5 g saturated fat
125 mg cholesterol
700 mg sodium

It's nice to know there is now a healthier choice to items like crispy chicken strips or curly fries!

Related Topics:

• 21 Healthier Fast-Food Meals
• Top 11 Reasons for Fast Food's Popularity

Fall Favorites: Topless Chicken Pot Pie

THE FALL FAVORITES RECIPE SERIES!

Is Fall your favorite season? I must admit, I really love this time of year. In my neck of the woods, the days have noticeably become shorter and the temperature cooler. Each year when this happens I automatically start cooking some of our favorite fall foods. This includes several savory dinner entrées, yummy fall breads, and basically anything with pumpkin.

So, for the next 4 weeks, I am going to do a Recipe Doctor "makeover" on 4 Fall Food Favorites, starting with two favorite savory entrées (healthful variations on Chicken Pot Pie and Slow-Cooker Pot Roast) and working our way to a a favorite fall bread and dessert!

Week #1: TOPLESS CHICKEN POT PIE

Photo Credit: Elaine Magee

Break your addiction to frozen pot pies with this recipe for Topless Chicken Pot Pie.

Your typical chicken pot pie has fat, saturated fat and calories coming at you from three directions; the top crust, the creamy filling, and the bottom crust. We are making a lower fat, higher fiber crumb topping to replace the top pie crust and we are making a lighter filling using only a couple teaspoons of olive or canola oil to sauté lots of vegetables; plus a cream sauce made with 2 tablespoons of whipped butter or less fat margarine, fat free half and half and skinless chicken breast. If you want to keep the bottom crust, choose a whole-wheat pie crust if possible. Or, if you are really feeling like trimming calories and fat grams, the pot pie can be bottomless as well.

Time Saving Note: If you want to trim some prep time, substitute 1 2/3 cups Bertolli Mushroom Alfredo (bottled) for the homemade white sauce. You can also make this dish with or without the bottom crust.

Ingredients:

1 whole-wheat pie crust, uncooked (optional)

Filling:
2 teaspoons olive oil or canola oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped or sliced celery
3/4 cup chopped carrot (baby carrots can be used)
1 teaspoon minced or chopped garlic
3 cups diced roasted or grilled skinless and boneless chicken breast

Homemade White Sauce Option:
1/2 cup light cream cheese
1 cup fat free half and half
1 tablespoon unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper

Topping:
1/3 cup Panko crumbs
1/3 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
Olive oil or canola cooking spray

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Set pie crust, if desired, in a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan if not already in one or divide crust into 5 equal circles if using individual pot pie dishes. If making individual pot pies, place each of the crust circles into an individual dish or ramekin about 4- to 4.5-inches wide, set aide.
2. Pour 2 teaspoons oil into a medium nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, stir in the onion, celery and carrot and sauté for a few minutes. Stir in the garlic and continue to sauté for another minute. Scoop this mixture into a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Combine light cream cheese, half and half and flour in a small food processor (or electric mixer) pulsing until smooth. In same medium saucepan over medium-high heat, pour in the cream cheese mixture and continue to stir and gently boil until it thickens (about 2 minutes). Turn off the heat and stir in the pepper, sautéed vegetables and diced chicken. Spoon mixture into the crust lined pie plate or if making individual pot pies, divide the filling between the 5 individual dishes (about 1 1/4 cups).
4. For the topping, in medium sized bowl, combine the Panko, oats, and Parmesan cheese and parsley flakes. Spread topping over the top of the large pot pie or 5 small pot pies. Coat the top generously with canola or olive oil cooking spray. Place pot pie(s) on a cookie sheet and bake in oven for about 30 minutes (for one large pie) or 20 minutes (for individual pies) or until crust is nicely browned.

Yield: Makes 5 servings

With Bottom Crust
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic Members journal as: 2 cups "hearty stew" OR 1 portion frozen dinner regular + 1/2 cup vegetables with 1 tsp fat OR 1 serving of "lean meat with sauce" + 1 cup vegetables without added fat + 1 slice bread (1 serving of regular crackers can be substituted)

Per serving (with bottom crust): 440 calories, 36 g protein, 33 g carbohydrate, 18 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 93 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 564 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 36 percent.

Without Bottom Crust
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic Members journal as: 1 1/2 cups "hearty stews" OR 1 portion light frozen dinner + 1/2 cup vegetables with 1 tsp fat OR 1 serving of "lean meat with sauce" + 1 cup vegetables without added fat.

Per serving (without bottom crust): 320 calories, 35 g protein, 18 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 93 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 401 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 31 percent.


Week #1: Topless Chicken Pot Pie
Week #2: Super Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Week #3: Spiced Apple Cake
Week #4: Ginger Pumpkin Bread

Related Topics:

• Fall Foods to Be Thankful for
• Frighteningly Fattening Fall Foods Slideshow