Help, quick! Chicken is taking over my life!
Replies
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fivethreeone wrote: »Unfortunately, I feel like chicken is taking over my life, too. I regularly eat a pound of chicken breast a day.
Best ideas I have are to eat it with various grains and sauces. I like couscous, wild rice, brown rice, and "cream of" soups, skillet sauces (target has some great ones, including a green Thai curry, a spicy sesame, and a really good tikka masala).
I like brown rice a lot and I'll make up like a rice pilaf or healthy Spanish rice to go with chicken taco salad. I don't usually use that much of the cream soups because I know it's not too healthy unless I make my own. I try to make what I can from scratch. But the Thai curry spicy sesame sauces sound really good! Thanks so much for the suggestion!0 -
healthygreek wrote: »I marinate my skinless/boneless chicken thighs (5-6) and bake with the marinade for 60 minutes at 325'.
Marinade:
Small chopped onion
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons country Dijon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Sriacha sauce
Juice of one lime or lemon
1/4 cup water
Salt/pepper
Mix it all in a large Baggie, add thighs, squish together and marinate all day or at least 2-3 hours.
Spread it all in a baking pan and bake in 325' oven for 60 minutes!
Yummo!!!!!
I promise.
That sounds really good! I'm not sure about the sriacha sauce, I didn't care for the taste of it, could I substitute with Franks hot sauce?
Thank you for the suggestion! I'm definitely going to try this one.0 -
HappyPhantom4 wrote: »I bake chicken breasts with salsa covering them for an added kick. We also do "chinese chicken" which is a raw chicken breast cut into small pieces. I sautee it in chicken stock and once nearly cooked through I add a bag of frozen broccoli. Once completed we serve over a little bit of rice with chinese sauce sold by our local grocery chain (wegmans). One chicken breast makes enough for two people...and its a whole meal in one for about 400cals
That sounds really good! Recently I did try adding salsa, black beans and corn to chicken breasts first I seasoned chicken with like a taco seasoning, salt and pepper I covered it with foil and baked it for half of the cooking time then poured over salsa and the corn and beans and added a little garlic and put it back into the oven uncovered until it cooked the rest of the way. I made 2 chicken breasts, one I ate as is with a small potato, the salsa bean mix was good on top and then I ate the other slices on warmed corn tortillas.
If you add 16oz of salsa and about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of rice to the mix (along with some extra water), you can make that into a casserole!0 -
Pork, Beef, fish, Duck, Kangaroo
Each have about 10+ Cuts you can use for dishes all in many ways
Learn too cook.
I eat chicken once a week....... To many other tasty meats and dishes
All just as healthy
I thought beef wasn't healthy since it's loaded with so much fat/grease? I don't think I can find Kangaroo at my local Walmart, it would be interesting to try it. I heard Bison is good. Have you tried that before? I don't care for duck so much, but I do really like fish!
I have been trying to learn how to cook healthily and I've been finding new recipes online.
Thank you for the suggestions!0 -
HappyPhantom4 wrote: »Pork, Beef, fish, Duck, Kangaroo
Each have about 10+ Cuts you can use for dishes all in many ways
Learn too cook.
I eat chicken once a week....... To many other tasty meats and dishes
All just as healthy
I thought beef wasn't healthy since it's loaded with so much fat/grease? I don't think I can find Kangaroo at my local Walmart, it would be interesting to try it. I heard Bison is good. Have you tried that before? I don't care for duck so much, but I do really like fish!
I have been trying to learn how to cook healthily and I've been finding new recipes online.
Thank you for the suggestions!
Beef is fine, and fat isn't bad; it's necessary in a diet (by diet, I mean normal intake.)
I have wanted to try bison; it's always intrigued me!
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HappyPhantom4 wrote: »I have looked all over the internet and found only a few meals that seem healthy. It's difficult too because I don't eat beef, rarely eat pork and I don't eat and the only processed foods I eat are bread and an occasional multigrain cracker. I don't eat pasta either because I know it isn't good for you. So I'm kind of feeling stuck at the moment in that I can't figure out what's healthy to eat. But any meal suggestion would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks you guys!!
I missed the comments before about processed food and pasta isn't good for you. Why isn't pasta good for you?
Sorry, haha, I guess I didn't finish that thought. But I was trying to say I've heard pasta isn't a healthy carb and is really processed and so since I've done away with the majority of the boxed processed foods (except I have whole grain bread once or twice a week and a few whole grain crackers) didn't seem like a good choice to me. But how do you feel about eating pasta?0 -
I love bison burgers as something to swap out beef with--I just wish the meat was not so expensive. Never have had Kangaroo, but I am not sure that would go over well in my household.
I also found black bean burgers by morning star at my Costco that I love as a quick easy meal.
I second the recommendations for Skinnytaste and BudgetBytes. Excellent and easy meal ideas.
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HappyPhantom4 wrote: »Hi, everyone!
I have really been struggling lately to come up with meal ideas that doesn't consist of boring chicken breasts. I mean, I like chicken, but I only know of one way to cook it that's healthy. I always bake it in the oven with some sort of seasoning on it and then I roast veggies for a side dish. I don't know how else to cook chicken or what is considered to be a healthy meal if I cook it in another way or with other ingredients. It stresses me out and I know that sounds stupid but it really does because if I do try to change it up I worry that I won't know how to count the calories for it (like if I add a spicy tomato sauce over top which I did once and it was really good, but how do you figure out how much sauce is baked onto the chicken?) or that it's going to really add up in calories and not be my usual healthy chicken anymore. Also, I would love it if you guys could give me other healthy meal ideas. I have looked all over the internet and found only a few meals that seem healthy. It's difficult too because I don't eat beef, rarely eat pork and I don't eat and the only processed foods I eat are bread and an occasional multigrain cracker. I don't eat pasta either because I know it isn't good for you. So I'm kind of feeling stuck at the moment in that I can't figure out what's healthy to eat. But any meal suggestion would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks you guys!!
Split pea soup is good. Try googling recipes for that. Or do a search for chili or any soup. Soups and chili are good because you can add tons of veggies. You can cook them with or without meat of your choice.
Recently, I made a black bean soup and a corn chowder I found on allrecipes.com. See links below.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vegan-Black-Bean-Soup/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=vegan black bean soup&e8=Quick Search&event10=1&e7=Home Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Vegan-Corn-Chowder/Detail.aspx?prop24=hn_slide1_Creamy-Vegan-Corn-Chowder&evt19=1
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OP - I guess it would help if you told us what you perceived to be healthy... are you trying to keep your meals under a certain number of calories? Are you doing low carb, low sodium, using any other parameters? Do you want only chicken entree ideas or are you looking for complete meals using chicken? What's the aversion to other proteins?
There are so many ways to cook chicken, and other proteins. Baking it and serving it with vegetables would get old very quickly. You also asked about how to calculate calories if you add tomato sauce....
1. Determine calories in tomato sauce per unit of measure
2. Measure/weigh tomato sauce
3. Pour that amount on chicken
4. Cook according to directions.
5. Eat and enjoy
Pinterest and AllRecipes have lots of suggestions. I third the SkinnyTaste suggestion.
Also second the comment that people lose weight eating all sorts of foods, even those you may not think are "healthy". There are plenty of people on here (myself included) who lose weight eating pizza, burgers, ice cream, drinking wine, etc.
Good luck!
I guess what I see as unhealthy and from the articles/blogs, etc, I've read on the subject, it would be boxed/processed foods, junk food of course, and the meals I make are from scratch, mostly, I mean, I still use things like canned beans, veggies, I like a slice of whole grain toast once in a while with a poached egg on top or an open-faced sandwich, that sort of thing is ok, I think, as long as in the ingredients list it doesn't have words I can't pronounce or that I don't know what it is. Except bread, bread doesn't count, I can't give it up completely, lol. So I guess I'm trying to follow a Clean Eating, Whole Foods type of diet and I'm trying to watch my calories, too. I realized I have to keep track of calories and log the food I'm eating otherwise I tend to get out of control on portion sizes so I make sure to measure foods I eat.
I'm not trying to be contrary, but how can you loose weight and still eat pizza and burgers? I don't think I could go back to eating those things, well, at least I would try to make healthier versions of those things, but for me to sit down and grab a slice of pizza, I think it would do me in. I'm not sure what to call it, a food addiction? Eating disorder? All i know is that I was so obsessed with food. It was bad. So the idea of eating at like a restaurant makes me feel really anxious. But thank you so much for your comments/suggestions, sorry this turned out so long. I didn't mean to write a book. Lol.0 -
I eat a lot of stuff that you probably wouldn't think was healthy... and I am still losing weight.
A few things I do with chicken- baked with garlic, seasoned salt, pepper and rosemary, grilled chicken, tandoori style chicken, chicken stir fry with vegetables and rice, chicken with pasta on the side, shredded chicken mixed with bbq sauce for a sandwich.
Try making soups.
Try turkey occasionally.
Check out bean and lentil recipes.
Eat eggs or oatmeal sometimes.
Eat a giant salad- add some chicken to it if you like.
I enter in a recipe and then log the portion I ate.
Some good recipes. budgetbytes.com
Thank you so much for the suggestions! I'll definitely have to try those. Do you make anything with ground turkey? I would like to do more with it, but it always tastes so bland to me and I try to add enough seasonings so it w0 -
HappyPhantom4 wrote: »I eat a lot of stuff that you probably wouldn't think was healthy... and I am still losing weight.
A few things I do with chicken- baked with garlic, seasoned salt, pepper and rosemary, grilled chicken, tandoori style chicken, chicken stir fry with vegetables and rice, chicken with pasta on the side, shredded chicken mixed with bbq sauce for a sandwich.
Try making soups.
Try turkey occasionally.
Check out bean and lentil recipes.
Eat eggs or oatmeal sometimes.
Eat a giant salad- add some chicken to it if you like.
I enter in a recipe and then log the portion I ate.
Some good recipes. budgetbytes.com
Thank you so much for the suggestions! I'll definitely have to try those. Do you make anything with ground turkey? I would like to do more with it, but it always tastes so bland to me and I try to add enough seasonings so it won't be. But still I just don't care for it all that much.
((I accidentally posted my reply before I meant to. Lol)0 -
Yeah, I would definitely try bison if I knew where to find it.missiontofitness wrote: »HappyPhantom4 wrote: »Pork, Beef, fish, Duck, Kangaroo
Each have about 10+ Cuts you can use for dishes all in many ways
Learn too cook.
I eat chicken once a week....... To many other tasty meats and dishes
All just as healthy
I thought beef wasn't healthy since it's loaded with so much fat/grease? I don't think I can find Kangaroo at my local Walmart, it would be interesting to try it. I heard Bison is good. Have you tried that before? I don't care for duck so much, but I do really like fish!
I have been trying to learn how to cook healthily and I've been finding new recipes online.
Thank you for the suggestions!
Beef is fine, and fat isn't bad; it's necessary in a diet (by diet, I mean normal intake.)
I have wanted to try bison; it's always intrigued me!
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andycool22 wrote: »something we do a lot is cook with lean ground turkey. similar to ground beef but less fat.
What sort of recipes do you use ground turkey in? Anything I've tried has come out not tasting so good and was really bland.0 -
HappyPhantom4 wrote: »
Yeah, I would definitely try bison if I knew where to find it.missiontofitness wrote: »HappyPhantom4 wrote: »Pork, Beef, fish, Duck, Kangaroo
Each have about 10+ Cuts you can use for dishes all in many ways
Learn too cook.
I eat chicken once a week....... To many other tasty meats and dishes
All just as healthy
I thought beef wasn't healthy since it's loaded with so much fat/grease? I don't think I can find Kangaroo at my local Walmart, it would be interesting to try it. I heard Bison is good. Have you tried that before? I don't care for duck so much, but I do really like fish!
I have been trying to learn how to cook healthily and I've been finding new recipes online.
Thank you for the suggestions!
Beef is fine, and fat isn't bad; it's necessary in a diet (by diet, I mean normal intake.)
I have wanted to try bison; it's always intrigued me!
Costco.0 -
missiontofitness wrote: »
The pork I buy from the 4h kids is very lean.HappyPhantom4 wrote: »Is there a reason why you don't eat pork (religious?)? Because if there is nothing prohibiting you from eating it, pork tenderloin is a great protein.
No, it's not because of religious reasons. I just had someone tell me pork is fatty that I should stay away from it. And because I'm still learning how to make healthier food choices, I listened to them. But I love pork so maybe I'll try a pork tenderloin sometime. Is there any special way you cook it? Oh, thanks so much for your help!!
I read this out of order/quickly, and for a moment I thought it read that you buy 4H kids.
On another note...they sell stuff like that?! I had no clue.
They do, auction usually.
I would not mind eating a 4h kid though, they're generally raised well. If it weren't for some of the cannibalism specific laws and diseases, I would try it.0 -
HappyPhantom4 wrote: »HappyPhantom4 wrote: »I have looked all over the internet and found only a few meals that seem healthy. It's difficult too because I don't eat beef, rarely eat pork and I don't eat and the only processed foods I eat are bread and an occasional multigrain cracker. I don't eat pasta either because I know it isn't good for you. So I'm kind of feeling stuck at the moment in that I can't figure out what's healthy to eat. But any meal suggestion would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks you guys!!
I missed the comments before about processed food and pasta isn't good for you. Why isn't pasta good for you?
Sorry, haha, I guess I didn't finish that thought. But I was trying to say I've heard pasta isn't a healthy carb and is really processed and so since I've done away with the majority of the boxed processed foods (except I have whole grain bread once or twice a week and a few whole grain crackers) didn't seem like a good choice to me. But how do you feel about eating pasta?
I married into an Italian family, live in the Little Italy section of my city, and spent a month in Florence over the summer. Suffice it to say I'm ok with eating pasta... and gelato... and drinking wine...
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HappyPhantom4 wrote: »OP - I guess it would help if you told us what you perceived to be healthy... are you trying to keep your meals under a certain number of calories? Are you doing low carb, low sodium, using any other parameters? Do you want only chicken entree ideas or are you looking for complete meals using chicken? What's the aversion to other proteins?
There are so many ways to cook chicken, and other proteins. Baking it and serving it with vegetables would get old very quickly. You also asked about how to calculate calories if you add tomato sauce....
1. Determine calories in tomato sauce per unit of measure
2. Measure/weigh tomato sauce
3. Pour that amount on chicken
4. Cook according to directions.
5. Eat and enjoy
Pinterest and AllRecipes have lots of suggestions. I third the SkinnyTaste suggestion.
Also second the comment that people lose weight eating all sorts of foods, even those you may not think are "healthy". There are plenty of people on here (myself included) who lose weight eating pizza, burgers, ice cream, drinking wine, etc.
Good luck!
I guess what I see as unhealthy and from the articles/blogs, etc, I've read on the subject, it would be boxed/processed foods, junk food of course, and the meals I make are from scratch, mostly, I mean, I still use things like canned beans, veggies, I like a slice of whole grain toast once in a while with a poached egg on top or an open-faced sandwich, that sort of thing is ok, I think, as long as in the ingredients list it doesn't have words I can't pronounce or that I don't know what it is. Except bread, bread doesn't count, I can't give it up completely, lol. So I guess I'm trying to follow a Clean Eating, Whole Foods type of diet and I'm trying to watch my calories, too. I realized I have to keep track of calories and log the food I'm eating otherwise I tend to get out of control on portion sizes so I make sure to measure foods I eat.
I'm not trying to be contrary, but how can you loose weight and still eat pizza and burgers? I don't think I could go back to eating those things, well, at least I would try to make healthier versions of those things, but for me to sit down and grab a slice of pizza, I think it would do me in. I'm not sure what to call it, a food addiction? Eating disorder? All i know is that I was so obsessed with food. It was bad. So the idea of eating at like a restaurant makes me feel really anxious. But thank you so much for your comments/suggestions, sorry this turned out so long. I didn't mean to write a book. Lol.
I think you should spend a little more time reading... depending on what your goals are, there is nothing wrong with eating processed foods. That's not to say you should ONLY eat processed foods, but there is nothing inherently unhealthy about "processing" and in fact, it is almost impossible to come up with a consensus opinion about what constitutes "clean eating" because the vague definitions are interpreted differently by different folks.
If you are strictly trying to lose weight, then all that matters is calories in being less than calories out. Moderation is key for developing a long term sustainable lifestyle.
I was able to lose weight eating pizza and burgers because I used moderation, made sensible choices, exercised portion control, and burned more calories than I consumed. I lost about 30 lbs this way, but there are other MFP members who have lost significantly more than I did eating ice cream every day.
You shouldn't have anxiety about eating in a restaurant. This is meant to be a lifestyle change, and dinners out, social events, etc are going to happen. You need to find a way to still enjoy those events while meeting your calorie goals.
Good luck.
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I weight alfredo sauce and add it to my chicken. it gives me a bump in my fat for the day, and it really is more satisfying that way. the alfredo I get is only 70 cal and 8 g of fat, but since I pay close attention to my macros and am usually low on fat it works for me0
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Oh and yes, I find ground turkey to be sort of bland on its own, so I use it when a recipe calls for ground beef but is in a sauce or something that has lots of other ingredients. Like spaghetti sauce, chili, tacos, etc. I actually usually do a half and half blend of turkey and lean ground beef.0
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Maybe consider other meats- turkey meatballs are great! Also fish. Also, red meat is not totally the enemy. I wouldn't eat it all day every day, but it is a great source of protein and iron so why not cook up a burger patty with a side salad or a nice thin skirt steak pan fried super quickly with some veggies? Don't wed yourself to chicken alone or you may get board!
My personal favorite healthy chicken recipe is thin chicken breasts topped with real pesto (not the calorie-laden sauce, but the kind that is pure basil and olive oil and clocks in at under 50 cal per serving) drizzle of olive oil, lots of garlic and pepper. Slice two tomatoes and place on top of the pesto, and then top with low fat mozarella. Bakes in about 20 minutes and is really tasty and moist. You can put it over some whole wheat pasta (I like Barilla plus with protein) or have it on its own with a simple salad with balsamic and olive oil....yummmm0 -
I think for one thing, maybe you need to re-evaluate your definition of "healthy"....
Secondly, There are a lot of lean cuts of pork and beef, not to mention fish.
I would also add that dietary fat is also essential to a "healthy" diet...trying to cut out all of the fat isn't at all healthy.0 -
HappyPhantom4 wrote: »Is there a reason why you don't eat pork (religious?)? Because if there is nothing prohibiting you from eating it, pork tenderloin is a great protein.
No, it's not because of religious reasons. I just had someone tell me pork is fatty that I should stay away from it. And because I'm still learning how to make healthier food choices, I listened to them. But I love pork so maybe I'll try a pork tenderloin sometime. Is there any special way you cook it? Oh, thanks so much for your help!!
Sorry for taking a while to get back to you.
Pork tenderloin is one of the leanest cuts of meat you can eat. Whoever told you that pork is fatty has no idea what they are talking about.
I marinate my tenderloin in dijon mustard, garlic, rosemary, apple juice concentrate, salt and pepper. In the winter, I'll bake it at 350 until it hits 145 degrees and then let it rest for a while. In the summer, I grill it.0 -
Shallow frying doesn't need to be unhealthy. You can even just dry fry chicken.
People are odd.0 -
missiontofitness wrote: »
The pork I buy from the 4h kids is very lean.HappyPhantom4 wrote: »Is there a reason why you don't eat pork (religious?)? Because if there is nothing prohibiting you from eating it, pork tenderloin is a great protein.
No, it's not because of religious reasons. I just had someone tell me pork is fatty that I should stay away from it. And because I'm still learning how to make healthier food choices, I listened to them. But I love pork so maybe I'll try a pork tenderloin sometime. Is there any special way you cook it? Oh, thanks so much for your help!!
I read this out of order/quickly, and for a moment I thought it read that you buy 4H kids.
On another note...they sell stuff like that?! I had no clue.
Lean pork steaks are definitely a thing. I personally prefer to leave the fat on because I at least find it filling and less likely to binge eat after a nice pork steak and loads of veggies.0 -
I bought this Kindle cookbook a couple years ago and it has some great recipes. I particularly like the Penne, Broccoli and Cherry Tomatoes dish-- it's definitely been a standard recipe for me. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OD73X0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=10
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prawns stir fried (using one cal spray ) with various quick cook veg, e.g peppers, carrots, broccoli (whatever veg is in the fridge and safe to eat pretty raw and then add or make a flavouring, e.g. fresh garlic, with tomato sauce and soy (pretty low cal and not over on the sugar due to small amounts). I also eat it with rice or rice noodles. all very tasty and good stuff. Don't be afraid to use a little flavouring just go easy on shop bought stuff in large jars.0
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How are you determining if a food is healthy??
Pasta is healthy, Pork is healthy, Beef again is healthy.. all foods can be part of a well balanced healthy diet even ice cream. What do you like eating? What did you eat before? I would be miserable if all I ate was chicken.0 -
Some bad language and rude jokes for those sensitive folk...0 -
HappyPhantom4 wrote: »I mean, I like chicken, but I only know of one way to cook it that's healthy.
You need a more accurate definition of "healthy".
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL_-1d9OSdk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px7Uc2GrnhE
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