Category — Chicken

This tasty and nutritious casserole dish can be assembled ahead to save time on the day you choose to bake and serve. Keep the assembled dish refrigerated for up to two days before baking or freeze for as long as one month. Prepare this dish with leftover or otherwise already cooked chicken and you’ve saved yourself more time.

By choosing to use reduced fat cheese and keeping the servings small (portion size), you can keep the calorie count down and still get a healthy dose of protein, dietary fiber, and calcium along with other vitamins and minerals.

Black Bean Chicken Casserole

6 servings (1/2 cup per serving)

4 servings (3/4 cup per serving)

Ingredients

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

1/4 cup Onions

1/2 Garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp. Chili Powder

1/4 tsp. Cumin

1/2 tsp. Oregano, dried

1 1/4 cups Chicken Broth

3/4 cup Tomato Sauce (8 oz. can)

1 1/2 cups Chicken, cooked and shredded

1 cup Sweet Corn, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup Black Beans, canned (drained)

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

22 Tortilla Chips (approximately), crushed

1 cup Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese - (4 Cheese Mexican)

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot.
2. Add onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano.
3. Saute for 2-3 minutes till onion begins to brown.
4. Add broth and tomato sauce, bring mixture to a boil, simmer for a few minutes then turn off heat.
5. Add chicken, corn, beans, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
6. Coat an 8 x 8-inch square baking dish with the tortilla chips
7. Spoon the meat and bean mixture over the chips and sprinkle cheese on top.
8. Bake covered in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes till the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling.

(To prepare ahead of time. Assemble the casserole dish through step 7 then cover and refrigerate up to two days or freeze for up to one month. Set refrigerated or frozen casserole dish out at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.)

1/2 cup serving has approximately 263 calories

3/4 cup serving has approximately 395 calories

There are dozens if not hundreds of different ways to make quick and easy pizza at home. What you need is a spirit of adventure and a willingness to be creative. Combine that with a selection of healthy ingredients and you have well…healthy pizza.

Here’s a recipe for making pizza for one. A serving that consists of two small pizzas made with two Whole Wheat Arnold Thins sandwich halves, tomato sauce, sweet peppers, sweet corn, diced cooked chicken, and reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese blend is only 300 calories.

If you are making pizza for more than one person increase the ingredient amounts by the total number of people, unless you have a hungry crowd who can afford more calories. This recipe keeps the calorie count low by limiting the amount of cheese. For anyone who can afford the extra calories and a little more saturated fat go ahead and add more cheese. Or make more little pizzas for each person.

This recipe is good for using up leftover cooked chicken as well as whatever fresh or frozen veggies you might have on hand. And it’s nutritious. Two small pizza halves serve up 28.5 grams of protein, 7.8 grams of dietary fiber, 424 mg of calcium, 24 mg of vitamin C, and only 11.8 grams of fat (5.1 grams of sat. fat). (37.3 grams of carbs).

I did not include seasonings here so you can season to taste. Go easy on any salt but do add oregano or other no calorie herbs to your hearts content.

Roasted Chicken Pizza

(serving for one person on a low calorie diet)

Ingredients

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1 roll (2 halves) Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins (Arnold)

1/4 cup chopped or thinly sliced green peppers

1/4 cup whole kernel sweet corn (fresh or frozen, thawed)

1.5 oz. diced cooked chicken breast

3/8 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese (1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. or 3 tbsp. per pizza)

Season as you might like (a little salt, oregano, etc.)

Spread each sandwich thin with half the tomato sauce. (You may want to very lightly toast the bread first.) Add seasonings. Top with green peppers and sweet corn (pre-cook lightly in a microwave oven if necessary). Add diced chicken breast meat. Top with 1/4 cup cheese + 1 tbsp. of cheese on each sandwich thin half. Bake on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or till cheese is melted.

NOTE: If you cannot find Arnold Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins (100 calories per roll) where you live and shop, you may want to try Thomas Whole Wheat Muffins (130 calories per muffin) or a 6-inch whole wheat pita (about 80 calories per pita).