Chicken dishes have a high protein content, therefore, eating fried chicken may not be the healthiest option. Buck up your diet with these healthy yet tasty chicken recipes.
In my opinion any food that supplies the correct amount of nutrients to the body, without any unhealthy additives is healthy. It also depends a lot on the way you cook it. You can make healthy foods unhealthy by frying them, and then you can make easy healthy recipes by sticking to roasting and boiling. Chicken by itself is pretty healthy food, but if you’re going to fry it, or add sodium to it, you’re going to ruin it. So here are some easy healthy recipes to get the best out of your chicken!
Moroccan Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- Rice, cooked, 2 cups
- Chicken, cooked and shredded, 2 cups
- Carrots, shredded, 2 cups
- Fresh cilantro, chopped, 2 tbsp.
- Scallions, sliced, ¼ cup
- Reduced-sodium chicken broth, ¼ cup
- Kalamata olives, chopped, ¼ cup
- Fresh mint, chopped, 2 tbsp.
- Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp.
- Orange juice,⅓ cup
- Lemon juice,2 tbsp.
- Ground cinnamon, ½ tsp.
- Cayenne pepper,⅛ tsp.
- Salt & pepper to taste
If you have left over some rice and chicken from last night, this is the best thing to do. The long list of ingredients should not put you off. Making salads in general is very simple and so is this one. Mix the chicken broth, lemon juice, orange juice, oil, cayenne, mint, cinnamon, cilantro, salt, and pepper in one bowl. Take another large bowl and combine the cooked chicken, carrots, scallions, and olives. Combine the two and add a rice topping and toss it in the bowl. And your Moroccan salad is ready!
Barbecued Chicken Burritos
Ingredients
- Chicken, 2 lb.
- Barbecue sauce, ½ cup
- Canned black beans, rinsed, 1 cup
- Frozen corn, thawed, or canned corn, drained, ½ cup
- Reduced-fat sour cream, ¼ cup
- Whole-wheat tortillas,4 (size – 10 inch)
- Romaine lettuce, 4 leaves
- Lime, cut in wedges, 2
First, cook the chicken, BBQ sauce, corn, beans, and sour cream on a heated skillet. Heat on medium-high flame for about 4-5 minutes. Place the lettuce leaves on the tortilla along with the chicken mixture. Roll it up and your burrito is ready!
Baked Chicken and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- Chicken breast, thinly-sliced, 1 lb.
- Button mushrooms, sliced, 8 oz.
- Parmesan cheese, grated, ¼ cup
- French fried onions, 2 tbsp.
- Olive oil, divided, 3 tbsp.
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Add olive oil to the oven cooking pan. Place chicken breasts on top of oil and season both the sides with salt and pepper. Place the button mushrooms evenly over chicken breasts. Add the remaining oil to the chicken and mushrooms. Top with the Parmesan cheese. French fried onions are optional but you can add those. Now bake the mix for 15 minutes with the cover on. Remove cover and bake for another 5 – 10 minutes. Once the top of the chicken turns brown, you know that it is ready!
Grilled Chicken with Chipotle Chillies-Orange Glaze
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, trimmed of fat (8 ounces), 2
- Orange juice concentrate, thawed, 1 tbsp.
- Chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce, finely chopped, 1½ tsp.
- Balsamic vinegar, 1½ tsp.
- Molasses, 1 tsp.
- Dijon mustard, ½ tsp.
- Salt to taste
Preheat the grill. In the meantime you can lightly oil the chicken. Sprinkle salt in the chicken. Mix the orange juice concentrate, Chipotle chillies, vinegar, mustard, and molasses in a bowl. Once the salt and oil have permeated the chicken, grill the chicken for 2 minutes. Then turn the chicken, and brush on the Chipotle-orange glaze, and cook, brushing again and again with more of the glaze. Turn the chicken again, and repeat the glaze-brushing procedure. When the chicken is no longer pink, it is ready.
Again, I will re-emphasize the importance of cooking procedure. Making chicken recipes or coming up with them is no big deal. These were just pointers. You can add your own creative spark and use some of the healthier cooking ingredients you know and make your own dishes.