Chicken Parmesan (almost).

…and a side of Whole Wheat Linguine in garlic butter sauce.

Chicken Parmesan doesn’t have to be ridiculously unhealthy.  And isn’t that what we are all seeking during the beginning of every year? To incorporate healthy changes into our eating habits? Small omissions can make a big difference over the course of the week. For instance… Chicken Parmesan minus the Parmesan? What!? I know.

Give it a chance…you might not even notice the extra fat and calories are absent. Baby steps.

Here is what you’ll need:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

1/2 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup skim shredded mozzarella

Marinara Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

Let’s make some Parmesan-less Chicken Parmesan!

-Preheat oven to 400*.

First, trim off the excess fat from the chicken. (Who needs that anyway?)

Next, put the chicken inside a big zip lock bag and roll over the chicken breast with a rolling pin until it is in between 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick. I’m a big weirdo when it comes to chicken and I can’t stand the thought of uncooked chicken touching my rolling pin, hence, the big piece of plastic in between.

Beat the egg and then dip the chicken into the egg… fully covering the chicken.

Then dip the egg covered chicken into a bowl of bread crumbs, covering both sides.

Next, prepare a skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.

Transfer the bread crumb covered chicken to the skillet.

Cook the chicken on the skillet for 3 minutes on each side.

While chicken is in the skillet, prepare an oven safe baking dish by lightly greasing with cooking spray.

Next, fill the bottom of the dish with Marinara Sauce. You can use any store bought spaghetti sauce or make your own… this can be as quick or customized as you would like to make it.

When the chicken is done cooking (3 minutes on each side) transfer it into the marinara sauce.

If you choose, use the left over crumbs and create another layer on top of the chicken (as demonstrated on the chicken on the right). Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Scoop extra Marinara sauce on top of the chicken and top with shredded skim mozzarella cheese.

Put back in oven for an additional 5 minutes or until all of the cheese is melted.

Transfer onto a plate and scoop extra warm marinara sauce onto the chicken.

While all of this is going on… you can simultaneously boil whole wheat linguine.

To make the garlic butter sauce, here is what you will need:

1/4 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp parsley

2 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

Simply combine olive oil butter and butter in a saucepan.

Sautee the garlic,  stirring often.

After boiling linguine per package instructions drain and return to pan.

Stir in garlic butter sauce. Mix well. Add in parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Easy peasy! And a great side for Chicken Parmesan!

Yummy!! Now tell me if you can even notice the missing Parmesan cheese! That is an instant 40+ calories and 3 grams of fat taken off your plate. It may not sound like much, but it adds up over the course of a week. Like I said before… BABY STEPS.

Buon Appetito!