Football Sunday can take it’s toll on your waistline. If you have trouble over indulging in “football food,” enjoy this yummy-yet-healthy recipe for oven-fried chicken. It's one of many crowd pleasers from the new 5th edition of my SportsNutrition Guidebook.
For best results, bake the chicken on a wire rack; this allows air to circulate on all sides and you’ll get crisper chicken. Plus, you won’t have to turn it during cooking. Meanwhile, the foil pan lining speeds your clean-up time.
1 box (5 ounces) Melba toast
2 to 4 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 egg whites or 1 egg
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Optional: 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; salt and pepper as desired
1. Heat oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
2. Place a wire rack in a shallow baking pan lined with foil.
3. Add the Melba toast to a heavy-duty plastic bag, seal, and crush with a rolling pin (or other hard object) into crumbs, leaving some crumbs as large as small corn kernels.
4. Pour the crumbs into a shallow dish and drizzle the oil over them. Toss well to distribute the oil evenly.
5. Beat the egg in a medium bowl. Add mustard, salt, and pepper if desired.
6. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, allow excess to drip off, and then place each coated breast in the crumbs. Sprinkle the crumbs over the chicken and press them in. Shake off excess crumbs and place the chicken on the rack.
7. Bake for 40 minutes. The coating should be deep brown and the juices should run clear when the meat is cut.
Yield: 4 servings for a main course
Nutrition Information?1,200 total calories; 300 calories per serving; 12 g carbohydrate; 40 g protein; 10 g fat
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated magazine, May/June 1999.
For more family-friendly sports recipes: Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, 5th Edition (2013)
