A major purpose of this blog is to take common recipes and redo them to cut out salt, fat and sugar. Here’s a perfect example, a recipe for honey garlic crock pot chicken I found on diethood.com.
To start, substitute chicken breasts for the thighs listed to cut fat substantially. Next, instead of soy sauce use Mrs. Dash salt-free teriyaki, or a similar salt-free brand. I’ve tested several, click here to read about them.
The Pandemic has seen many salt-free products disappear from supermarket shlves, so you may ahve to shop online to find any of these right now.
I’m not sure how high the sugar content is from using honey, if you worry about sugar, use less honey.
I’d also substitute a low-salt, low-sugar ketchup for a regular brand.
Early on in this blog I wrote a post asking how many ways someone could prepare white-meat chicken. I was making the transition to how I had always eaten to eating only items my nutritionists had recommended after my first stent was put in, back in 2012.
Tomato & Mozz smothered grilled chicken cutlets
My Hawaiian chicken skewers.
The Times suggests serving this chicken over polenta, I’d do it with a side of green beans or asparagus.
Chicago recipes: Lemon-Herb Chicken Brochettes With BLueberry-Balsamic Salsa; Jason Varney: Photographer; Marian Cooper Cairns: Food Stylist; Claire Spollen: Prop Stylist
Basted chicken breasts ready to bake.
Rosemary, lemon and chicken are a natural, and tasty combination.
Clean eating crock pot chicken is a favorite of mine. My wiring is fine.
Then coat it all with sauce and bake for an hour at 350. Add fat-free cheese if you like but beware the salt in cheese.
Some of my chicken recipes, check the recipe page here for more.
I’ve since found and written about many options for making the driest part of chickens, the white meat, tastier and more palatable.
Check my recipe page for some of those past recipes. This post will look at a new, simple variation I recently came across, 10-minute chicken.
The ingredients, with my notes about them, are:
4 thin chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) (be sure they’re thin, the thicker the chicken, the longer you need to cook it)
4 tablespoons olive oil (one for rubbing and one for cooking)
2 teaspoons kosher salt (leave this out,m you don;t need it)
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 cloves garlic (pressed)
2 teaspoons parsley (dried)
1 teaspoon thyme (dried)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I’m not a fan of hot peppers, I’d substitute Mrs. Dash chicken spice mix instead)
Then,:
Rub the chicken breasts generously with oil. Season with all of the seasonings.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat another 2 tablespoons of oil and add the chicken breasts. Cover the pan with a lid, leaving a small gap for steam to escape. Cook for 3 minutes without touching the pan or the chicken. Once the tops of the chicken turn white, flip and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and serve immediately.
Remember to always cook chicken thoroughly. If you can cut it and see red meat or meat that looks more like jelly, it’s not done, the meat should be white all the way through the entire breast.
Summer grilling season is here and we can always use a new heart-healthy grilled chicken recipe. So try this, Grilled Caprese Chicken. The recipe comes from EatingWell.com.
While you can make this on an outdoor grill, it would probably work best on a grilling pan put on the grill to keep all the juices from dripping down into the fire source, be it gas jets or charcoal. Using a charcoal grill would add that charcoal-ly flavor as well.
Here’s the recipe and instructions. I’d leave out the salt and get the lowest-fat mozzarella you can find. Some stores may still have fat-free mozzarella. I was able to find it pre-Pandemic, but haven’t seen it since Covid hit and stores starting cutting the variety of items they carry.
Note that the recipe calls for chicken cutlets, which are very thin and cook quickly. If you use regular chicken breasts, either pound them down to a thin consistency or cut them into thinner pieces to avoid under-cooked chicken. A meat thermometer is a must here.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic glaze (you can make this yourself or buy it pre-made), divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic, grated
½ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ teaspoon salt (eliminate this)
1 pound chicken cutlets
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (get the lowest-fat mozzarella you can find)
1 small tomato, thinly sliced
Directions
Step 1 Preheat grill to medium-high or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
Step 2 Combine oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze, basil, garlic, pepper and salt in a small bowl. Brush the mixture on both sides of chicken.
Step 3 Oil the grill rack or pan. Grill the chicken until it easily releases from the grill or pan, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and top with mozzarella and tomato. Grill until the cheese is melted and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165°F, 3 to 4 minutes more. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze and sprinkle with more basil, if desired.
The No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal 