As You Wish

Posted Apr 10, 2006 by jriley

Updated Apr 10, 2006 at 03:24 PM

As the other Angels have already told you, we had a great walk on Saturday.  The men were nowhere to be found.  Men – you can’t live with ‘em…period.  To be honest, we were kind of bummed about that.  We were looking forward to hearing about how they’ve been doing.  You know, peek in on the ol’ competition.  Hey guys, here’s a tidbit for you…OUR guys (my husband and Tenisha’s fiancée) managed to roll out of bed in time to go to the walk with us to show support.  How cool are they?  Okay, okay, I’ll stop beating up on the guys.  They had legitimate excuses and they were missed.  Moving on…

While walking, we had some great conversations.  And the best ones were about…what else?  FOOD!  So, Kaye, as you requested, here is the chicken recipe we talked about.  It’s a super healthy chicken parmesan, and to be honest, some of the best chicken parm I’ve ever had!  Unfortunately, I can’t take credit for the recipe.  Truth be told, I can’t boil water without following explicit instructions, preferably with pictures.  The recipe comes from the book Eating for Life by Bill Phillips (Eating for Life).  The Eating for Life plan lays out a way of eating really healthy meals six times a day.  Did she say SIX?!?  Yes, I did.  Without going into too much detail, each meal consists of a quality protein and carb, with veggies added twice a day.  You can even use meal replacement shakes.  The book provides recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, midmeals, and shakes, as well as lots of info.  Anyway, onto the good stuff.

“Baked Chicken Parmesan
Spinach fettucine with breaded chicken breast, topped with pasta sauce and Parmesan cheese

Servings:  2
Preparation Time:  40 minutes

Ingredients
2 egg whites
â…“ cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
4 Tbsp reduced-fat Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
2 portions chicken breast (about ½ lb) [NOTE:  I use skinless, boneless chicken breast]
2 portions spinach pasta (about 4 oz uncooked) [ANOTHER NOTE:  I use durum wheat pasta…excellent for you and takes the same as “regular” pasta]
1 cup low-fat pasta sauce [ME AGAIN:  I use Healthy Choice]
2 cups baby spinach leaves

Tasteful Tip
This chicken dish is healthy and delicious!  Baking the chicken, rather than frying it in fat, improves the flavor while enhancing the nutritional content.

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 400° F.
2.  In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites with fork until slightly frothy.  Then, mix breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons of reduced-fat Parmesan cheese in a pie plate.
3.  Dip chicken breasts in egg whites and then into the breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides.
4.  Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray [LAST ONE:  Use a lite or fat-free spray].  Place chicken breasts on the baking sheet; bake for approximately 12 minutes, turn over and bake approximately 12 more minutes, until chicken is no longer pink in the center and coating is golden brown.
5.  While the chicken is baking, prepare spinach pasta according to its package directions.
6.  In a small saucepan, warm pasta sauce over medium heat.
7.  Divide spinach leaves between two separate plates.  Layer portions of warm spinach pasta and baked chicken breasts over spinach leaves.  Top with pasta sauce and remaining Parmesan cheese.  Serve and enjoy!”

So there you have it.  If you check out the website, there are 12 sample recipes.  Happy cooking!

Today’s quote is for Tenisha:  “I am not a glutton – I am an explorer of food.”  - Erma Bombeck