Making chicken nice without adding calories(too much)

duteshredded

Posted something similar before about how I could make chicken taste nice and got a lot of sort of complex recipes which I wasn’t really up for as I’m not that much of a cook and am pretty basic with cooking...

I’m having around 600g of chicken breast a day and have just been baking it, I’ve tried numerous seasonings and can never really be content with it so I’d end up using sauce like sweet chilli or a bbq but I feel I overdo it with it and add too much unnecessary calories, what’s your favourite ways to cook or is there any nice sauces that are low in calories(U.K.)

brittanystebbins95

I like salsa or taco sauce with chicken. Both are only 10 calories for a serving. Salsa is awesome because its not overwhelming and you can kinda feel like you're eating a taco, minus everything else. Add some lettuce or spinach and you've got yourself more volume with barely any extra calories.

rheddmobile

Wicker’s Bbq marinade, pour over chicken thighs in a shallow pan so that it covers the bottom of the chicken but not the skin, roast as usual. Perfectly tender crisp skinned chicken every time, basically no added calories. Although it does add sodium. If you can’t get Wicker’s in the U.K. you could look up the ingredients and duplicate it. It’s basically a vinegar marinade.

I consider the difference in calories between a thigh and a breast to be well worth it - thighs are delicious and breasts have less flavor and easily dry out. Cooking them like this half covered in marinade (the technical term for this cooking method is seething), the fat under the skin renders and runs into the pan, so you don’t consume most of the fat.

Citrus chicken is also good and low in calories - start with orange zest, or lime or lemon juice.

nooboots

I dont think chicken breast is nice at all. I only like thighs.

But then Im not overly keen on chicken anyway.

However we do a chicken breast recipe which is to make a side split in it, stuff in some goats cheese and wrap in parma ham.

However, you could wrap it in a savoy cabbage leaf (this is it keep it moist while cooking) and instead of goats cheese as the stuffing use lemon slices, tons of garlic slices, a hot chilli paste or something like that. Be much lower in calories then but lots of flavour.

Its not complicated, get the breast, cut into it, stuff in your paste with a spoon, wrap in cabbage or foil and bake in the oven.

deannalfisher

I put a layer of hummus on and then bake - the hummus gets a nice crust and it’s really juicy

Also consider other proteins - pork tenderloin is similar to chicken in macro profile

jcjones96

If you have a slow cooker, you can make salsa chicken. Put your chicken fillet in the bottom, cover with a jar of salsa (the shelf stable one not the one that is fresh and refrigerated), and cook on high for four hours. Then shred it with a couple of forks. Salsa is usually prepared without any oil so it’s a great, low calorie way to make chicken fillet taste nice.

acpgee

Try a cast iron griddle pan. You will need to spray or brush a little olive oil onto your chicken. I like chicken poached in brine with a lot of garlic too.

My go to low calorie sauce is Maesri Seafood dipping sauce which is about 20 kcal per tablespoon. I buy it at the Asian grocer. Bottle looks like this. Be warned that it is quite spicy.
https://www.theasiancookshop.co.uk/maesri-seafood-dipping-sauce-12709-p.asp?gclid=Cj0KCQjwxMjnBRCtARIsAGwWnBMs05ZX-RUNqpJ4XE5jX8ntNdgiHREuXseT6EAiC63goMMZY4hNrfIaAgr-EALw_wcB

Another extremely tasty but low calorie sauce is this.
https://maknao.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/cambodian black pepper dip/

aokoye

duteshredded wrote: »

Posted something similar before about how I could make chicken taste nice and got a lot of sort of complex recipes which I wasn’t really up for as I’m not that much of a cook and am pretty basic with cooking...

I’m having around 600g of chicken breast a day and have just been baking it, I’ve tried numerous seasonings and can never really be content with it so I’d end up using sauce like sweet chilli or a bbq but I feel I overdo it with it and add too much unnecessary calories, what’s your favourite ways to cook or is there any nice sauces that are low in calories(U.K.)

I mean I rarely find chicken breast especially good. It's kind of mind boggling to me how many people think that they should be eating it over chicken thighs. Ways that I can think of off the top of my head to cook chicken in such a way that it tastes nice and is low calorie:
Roasted chicken thighs (I prefer bone-in skin-on but you don't have to eat the skin)
Poached chicken (make sure the liquid you cook it in is seasoned well)
Using ground chicken meat in chili instead of beef (there are a bajillion turkey chili recipes that you could also sub chicken for)
Stir fry (this is one of the few things I'll use chicken breasts for)
Grilled chicken (and there's one of the other applications of chicken breast that I like)
Braised boneless skinless chicken thighs
Tagine
Various curries from around the world (though I'd suspect a lot of the ones with fewer calories would be centered around the Indian subcontinent)

grinning_chick

Being in the UK, you've tried the seasoning papers readily available to you like below and didn't like them?

grinning_chick

And Coleman's meal sachets, again far easier to find in the UK than the US? I adore their lamb hotpot one and pay for the overseas $hipping because it is totally worth it to me; I sub elk for lamb to make it when there's some in the freezer.

duteshredded

Really really great feedback, I might give thighs a try instead and maybe just use less yolks in my omelette to make up for the extra fat I’ll be having lol or try and find somewhere that does pork tender loin as Tesco’s don’t seem to..

vkearson

Found a recipe for remoulade sauce using plain greek yogurt instead of mayo. us in on baked chicken fingers and salmon so far. Really good. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/270560/cajun-salmon-with-greek-yogurt-remoulade/

HereToLose50

Mix a couple tablespoons either plain yellow or a grainy mustard of your choice with a teaspoon of honey or a little more if you like it sweeter. Use as dipping sauce. Calories will depend on the type of mustard and how much honey you decide to use. Flavor is amazing and a lot less calories than commercial brands. Sometimes I cut chicken breasts into bite or nugget sized pieces and coat it with this mixture and maybe a little crushed, salted plain oats then bake. Remember smaller pieces will bake much faster so check a piece for doneness after 6-7 minutes.

I mix a little plain Greek yogurt with many flavors to make "sauce." Can add salsa to it. Or use hot sauce or cayenne pepper and salt. Or mix a quarter to half cup of plain yogurt with a little 5 spice, ginger, soy sauce, a sweetener (could use your sweet chili sauce here), a touch of cayenne pepper for a tasty sauce. With these spices, start with a sprinkle and mix then taste. Add more a little at a time if needed.

Whip up tzatziki - super easy with peeled, seeded, diced cucumber, one minced clove garlic, a little salt (some dried dill is optional) - into a cup of plain Greek yogurt. Tzatziki is better if it can sit a few hours to a day in the fridge to let the raw garlic mellow and the flavor melts in.

Can use yogurt to make other sweeter tasting sauces too like for fruit. Plain yogurt mixed with only honey is really good. Start with a little honey and add more if needed.

I prefer chicken thighs baked at about 390F with skin on bone in and seasoned only with generous salt, a little garlic powder and cayenne pepper sprinkled on the skin and same on other side but less salt. Roast on a rack in a pan at least a couple inches deep skin side up until the skin is getting nicely brown and so crispy that it will crunch when you bite it. Most of the fat melts off as it cooks. There will be a lot of melted fat in the bottom of the pan so you may need the stove fan running and be careful as you pull the pan out of the oven. Incredibly good chicken.

nooboots

A quick raita is yoghurt mixed with mint sauce. Yummy

ultra_violets

I found this great sauce called House of Tsang's Classic Stir Fry Sauce. It's a rich dark sauce and has one of the lowest carb counts/sugar content of any Asian sauce I've ever seen. I brush it on chicken thighs before I bake them and it's really delicious.

sarabushby

If you like it, you could also switch out some chicken for cod loin. It’s high protein low fat.
Delicious rolled in chopped rosemary & lemon zest, baked, then served with a sauce made from low fat mayo stirred with lemon juice, zest, salt & black pepper.
Or tray bake it with vine tomatoes.
Or add a Puttanesca sauce on top.
Or bake ‘en papillote’, - basically wrapped like a parcel or a cracker - in parchment with some lemon juice, salt, pepper & a knob of butter or drizzle of oil. Or use a spoon of low fat pesto, or sundries tomato paste in the parcel instead.

cwolfman13

Rubs and marinades. Neither is going to add many calories.

Also, you can eat more than just chicken...that much chicken everyday is just plain boring.