Help me make this recipe healthy! Please!

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Trista87Marie
Trista87Marie Posts: 180 Member
in Recipes
OK, so this is one of my favorite meals ever. Its a casserole that my mom has made my whole life. Its called Chicken Devon. I want to be able to enjoy it but still have the same flavor profiles. Here's the recipe:

3- 4 large chicken breasts boiled
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 cup miracle whip
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 cups Shredded mild cheddar cheese
half a canister of Stove Top chicken stuffing.
curry powder... lots
lemon juice

the broccoli is in the bottom. chicken is shredded on top of that. then the sauce, miracle whip and soup mixed together with lots of curry powder and a squeeze of lemon juice. then it is topped with the cheese and the stuffing is on the very top, dry. it gets deliciously crunchy. This dish is amazing. I love it and still want to be able to eat it. just a healthier version.

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  • eating4balance
    eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
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    3-4 grilled chicken breasts, shredded
    1 bag of frozen broccoli
    1 cup lite mayo
    1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
    3 cups fat free cheddar cheese
    Low sodium stuffing or pieces of light, 35 calorie bread in pieces

    I hope I helped!
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
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    Low fat miracle whip, low sodium cream of chix, and 2% milk fat cheese. If you use the no fat cheese, it melts really yucky! ;)
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
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    They make non-fat Miracle Whip that tastes great.
  • alienblonde1
    alienblonde1 Posts: 749 Member
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    Or try the olive oil mayo.. Just watch labels sometimes you go low fat or fat free there is more sugar and/or sodium in them
  • ashandbensmom
    ashandbensmom Posts: 41
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    I would use light miracle whip and the fat free cream of chicken soup. Then cut the cheese back by half. It will still be high in sodium but with those ingredients I think it is unavoidable.
  • wannaloseit
    wannaloseit Posts: 31
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    Skip the miracle whip, maybe try lite sour cream? Cut down on the stuffing and use a low fat cheese? Sounds like it could be a bit healthier. Just experiment!
  • audjrey
    audjrey Posts: 360 Member
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    If I was making this recipe I would substitute clear chicken broth for cream of chicken soup, skim milk mozzarella, silken tofu or no-fat cottage cheese for the cheddar cheese (personally I'm not a big fan of the color agent in cheddar cheese), and silken tofu or low-fat miracle whip for regular miracle whip. I'd also substitute Stove Top chicken stuffing with whole wheat or multigrain bread torn into bite size pieces and tossed in sage, Herbamare and freshly ground black pepper. Of course once you start modifying recipes they never taste the same (kind of like trying to eat soy yogurt after you've had the real thing - all you taste is the beans), but at least it's a healthier alternative.
  • 6Janelle13
    6Janelle13 Posts: 353 Member
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    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/11/chicken-divan-lightened-up.html
  • Diannerv
    Diannerv Posts: 195
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    bump
  • Trista87Marie
    Trista87Marie Posts: 180 Member
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    Thanks for all the ideas guys. I think Ill have to try out a few of the ideas and figure out what I like. more then likely they'll taste diff but maybe ill find a new healthy casserole that I love just as much as the original.
  • gp79
    gp79 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    For one, substitute the Mayo with the Olive Oil Mayo. With this swap you'll loose the saturated fat, gain healthier fats and some carbs, not to mention half the calories.

    I'd swap out the Cream of Chicken with the Campbell's Healthy Request version of the Cream of Chicken. It will save you about 80 calories per can, and will cut your fat and sodium in half.

    For your chicken, be sure it's boneless / skinless chicken and then, trim the tiny bit of fat off before you cook it. I buy the tasty-bird frozen boneless skinless breasts and they come with small piece of tendon/fat on them. Who knows what calorie / fat values it has but it can't be good for anything but your taste buds.

    Broccoli - dare go fresh! Steam it until it's tender and still VERY bright green. It will take just a few extra minutes.

    For your stuffing, make your own. Stuffing is nothing more than bread, onions, celery (or whatever you want to throw in there) and some chicken stock. Look up a recipe and give it a try using some of the Sara Lee Delightful multigrain or whole wheat bread. 45 calories per slice. My wife turned me on to this bread and it's wonderful for low cal option. Get away from the processed food, lets do this thing right :) If making your own is totally out of the question, then read some labels and look for some low cal options.

    For your cheese, just look for a part skim version possibly (if mozzerella). Otherwise I wouldn't change this as I agree with others that fat free cheeses are just not right (taste wise) especially when melting.

    Let us know what you did and how it turned out.
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
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    Okay people, Miracle Whip is not mayo. Not even close in flavor. For die hard Miracle Whip fans (me included) mayo is awful! ;)
  • Trista87Marie
    Trista87Marie Posts: 180 Member
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    Okay people, Miracle Whip is not mayo. Not even close in flavor. For die hard Miracle Whip fans (me included) mayo is awful! ;)

    im actually a mayo fan but the tangyness of the miracle whip adds to the flavor of the sauce so ill probably go for a lower fat version. but your right. two very different things.
  • cmmull67
    cmmull67 Posts: 170 Member
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    Okay people, Miracle Whip is not mayo. Not even close in flavor. For die hard Miracle Whip fans (me included) mayo is awful! ;)

    AMEN to that! MW is vegetable oil based, no eggs, and has additional spices i it. Mayo is basically just eggs, vinegar, and salt. MW lovers, unite! hahaha
  • afteil
    afteil Posts: 162 Member
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    if you like the tangyness of the miracle whip, try using half greek yogurt and half low fat sour cream instead? That way you still get the creamyness and a little bite without as many calories
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
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    I would say just add water instead of the cream of chicken soup (or chicken broth) along with the other ideas posted.
  • tenessaa
    tenessaa Posts: 105 Member
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    i've used this recipe before and it's great!
    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/11/chicken-divan-lightened-up.html
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Another die hard MW lover here! Mayo is ok but I love my MW Lite!

    I'm also a champion recipe tweaker so hopefully I can help.

    3-4 large chicken breasts could yield 2-3 pounds of chicken so first of all, I'd cut that to 1-1.5 pounds and make sure you're using boneless/skinless.
    Use MW lite, 2 cups (not 3) of 2% Mexican blend cheese (great mix of cheeses and adds a nice zing) and 98% cream of chicken or mushroom soup.
    I'm not sure how big of a "bag" of broccoli you're using but you can't go wrong with upping your veggie intake so if you think you can stand it, put more in.

    Greek yogurt or low-fat sour cream would be more healthy than MW lite and you could make up for that lost zing with some spices.

    Good luck and have fun with your experimenting! :bigsmile:
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    P.S. Forgot about the stuffing... I'm not sure what the difference in nutritional info is (you can check the labels in the store) but Stove Top makes a Whole Wheat chicken flavor now - it's only in the box but I think one box would be about the same as 1/2 of a canister. They also have a low sodium version if you're watching that.

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