Chicken Tacos
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. Another great recipe submitted by Plan Z dieter, Amy.
Servings: Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 6 romaine lettuce hearts
- 2 chicken breasts (6-8 oz)
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 pkt Truvia
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup water
Instructions:
Cook your chicken breasts in whatever the easiest fashion is for you; poach them or bake them.
While the chicken breasts are cooking you can mix all the dry spices together.
When the chicken breasts cool, shred them – this is easiest done by using two forks and pulling in opposite directions.
Put shredded chicken into a sauté pan, pour the mixed spices over it and add the water. Turn up to medium high heat and bring to a boil – cook until it’s mixed well, heated through and almost all the water is gone.
Lay out 3 romaine lettuce hearts on each plate and fill each with chicken mixture. The romaine hearts will fold up just like a taco shell and they crunch like one too!
You can also add tomatoes and onions if you want since the lettuce leaves will only use up your 1 cup of salad greens – we chose to just add tomatoes to ours.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Chicken Hash
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.
Servings: Serves 6 – 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of ground chicken breast (you could make this with diced chicken, in this case the chicken burger makes a nice change and it feels like you get to eat more)
- 1 cup of Vidalia onion, chopped (any sweet, white onion or even hot onion will do)
- 1 – 2 tsp of seasoning. I used Cajun. You can use Italian if you want, or Mexican blend, even chili powder for a chicken taco feel, tarragon for French, or herbs d’ Provence will make a fun French version too. You can use curry powder for an Indian version. Even consider a meat rub for a barbecue/American version.
- 1 cup of chopped celery
- 1 cup of chopped bell pepper (I used red but you can use red, yellow, orange and/or green)
- 1 cup of chopped tomatoes
- 1/3 cup of organic chicken broth (optional)
- handful of greens per person (optional)
Instructions:
Lightly spray your pan with olive oil spray. Brown the chicken and onion on medium-high. Continually break up the mixture so you get a chunky hash/taco sort of texture to the meat. Add your seasoning of choice while the meat is cooking. Turn down to medium-low.
When almost cooked and no longer any pink in the chicken, add the celery, peppers and tomatoes. Heat those up. You still want your celery to be a bit crunchy. At the end I added a bit of broth and let that heat. That gave me a moisture level that was almost like gravy – a wet salad.
In a large bowl add as many greens as you want and then pile on your portion. Chow down.
If you want a taco feel, roll portions of the meat in romaine lettuce leaves.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Garden Stuffed Chicken
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. This dish was created by our very own ZTeam member, Damian.
Serving Size: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 large, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 tsp of chopped garlic (jar garlic will work)
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 1 Tbl of dried basil
- 16 cherry tomatoes, chopped
- salt & pepper to taste
- olive oil spray
- kitchen twine
Instructions:
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium sauté pan, spay with olive oil and add the onions. Sauté on a medium heat until they start to turn brown, add the spinach, tomatoes, salt & pepper until the spinach is wilted. Turn off heat and transfer to a container to allow too cool.
While the mixture is cooling, you are going to ‘butterfly’ your chicken breast. To do this turn the chicken breast on its front so the breast in lay on the counter. Slice down the back top to bottom, without slicing all the way through. Then lay your knife flat in the grove and in a circle motion keep slicing until the chicken breast lays flat. You want your chicken breast to be approximately ¼ inch thick.
Now split your mixture into 4 equal servings and place in the center of the chicken breast, fold one edge over until it is just past center, then repeat for the second side. Now tie like you would if you were tying a pork loin. Season with basil or any other spices you wish.
In a medium sauté pan on a medium heat spray with olive oil and add the chicken breast, brown each side and then transfer to an oven proof dish to finish cooking for another 15-20 minutes.
Allow to stand for a few minutes before removing the kitchen twine and slicing.
I served mine with pan roasted green beans.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Crispy Chicken
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. You have a hankerin’ for Fried Chicken? This will fit the bill.
Servings: Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 2, 6-8 oz skinless chicken breasts
- 6 Melba toast rounds ground to fine crumbs (I do this in my little food processor). I chose garlic-flavored rounds.
- 1 egg white
- onion powder (or your favorite chicken seasoning)
- salt and pepper
Instructions:
The first thing you want to do is pound down your chicken breasts. I do this to make my meal feel bigger and get more crispy surface to eat. I use a large plastic storage bag. I put a chicken piece inside and pound it with a meat mallet or tenderizer until it’s ¼” thick. Do the same with the other one.
Prepare a large sauté pan with a spritz of olive oil and begin to heat it on medium high.
Put the egg white on a large plate. Break it up with a whisk or fork.
Put the Melba crumbs on another plate. You are setting up an assembly line.
Dip the smooth side of the chicken in the egg white. Then dip it in the crumbs. Now take it over and put it crumb-side down in the sauté pan. You are not going to dip both sides. Dipping one side saves calories and carbohydrates.
Do the same with the other piece of chicken. Saute them both until the crumb side of the chicken is a light golden brown.
The get out a 9" x 13" pan and put both pieces of chicken in the pan, this time, crumb side UP. Now sprinkle with onion powder, or your favorite chicken seasoning. Or both. If you like lots of flavor, sprinkle some more.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until there’s no pink left in the chicken. About 5 minutes before you expect it to be done you can give it a teeny spritz more of the olive oil and that will make it even crispier. Put it back in the oven to finish baking.
It’s ready to serve.
For a complete meal, serve the chicken with a tomato & onion salad with balsamic pesto dressing.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Spicy Mandarin Orange Chicken
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. I had this for lunch today – was spicy and sweet and sort of made me forget I’m sitting in the middle of a snowstorm!
Servings: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 (6-8 oz) chicken breast halves
- olive oil spray
- 2 cans mandarin oranges
- 1 small onion, chopped
- ½ of a red/yellow or orange pepper or mixed if you prefer, chopped
- 1 cup pea pods (optional)
- 3 Tbl fruit pectin (will help thicken the sauce)
Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine salt, ginger and black pepper. Sprinkle over both sides of the chicken. In a non-stick skilled sprayed with a little olive oil spray sauté chicken about 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium low. Drain oranges, reserving juice. Stir juice, onion, red pepper, peapods, fruit pectin and red pepper flakes into skillet. Cook and stir for about 3 mins or until onion is tender. Bring to a boil, return chicken to the pan. Reduce heat, cover and cook about 10 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and is thoroughly cooked. Add mandarin oranges, heat through and serve.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Onion Chicken and Homemade Applesauce
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe, submitted by Plan Z dieter, Amy.
Amy says, "My mom wasn’t a cook which I think I’ve told you, so when she made pork chops she would put them in a dish, pour French onion soup (Campbell’s from a can) over them and bake them and serve it with applesauce. They were surprisingly good and simple. I was warmly reminded of it as I ate this."
This recipe will be your protein, ½ your vegetable and your fruit.
Servings: Serves 2. Can easily be doubled. Or tripled.
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, sliced fine
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 2 tbls fruit pectin (if you want a thicker onion sauce)
- 2 chicken breasts (6-8 oz each)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 apples, peeled and chopped
- ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put the onions in a small sauté pan with a little bit of olive oil spray and sauté until they get soft and start to turn golden. Add chicken broth, Worcestershire and fruit pectin. Bring to a boil and boil for about 1 minute. Remove from heat to thicken.
Spray a baking dish with olive oil spray and place chicken breasts in the pan. Pour the onion sauce over the chicken and bake for 45 minutes.
While it is baking you can make your applesauce. Put the chopped and peeled apple in a small saucepan with 1 cup water and the cinnamon if desired. Bring to a boil and then turn down to low boil and let cook, stirring occasionally. The apples will soften and as you stir them they will soften and turn into chunky applesauce.
Let cool while chicken finishes baking. I love the onion flavor mixed with the apple flavor so I eat a bit of the chicken with the onions with some of the applesauce too – I love the apple and onion flavors mixed.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Roasted Chicken with Spicy-HOT Chipotle Adobo Sauce
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.
Servings: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 bone-in chicken breasts, skin removed. You can also do boneless if you choose. I just used bone-in because I think they add more flavor.
- ½ small white or yellow onion
- 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce. You can find small cans of these chilies in the Mexican section of the grocery store. You only need one chili. Save or freeze the rest for later use.
- 8 oz of tomato sauce (no sugar in ingredient list)
- ½ tsp of cumin
- ¼ tsp of cinnamon
- ½ cup of beef broth (you can also use chicken or veggie broth)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Season your chicken breasts with sea salt and pepper. Pop in the oven to bake. Bone in will take about 45 minutes. Boneless chicken will cook faster. Plan on 30 minutes for boneless.
While the chicken is in the oven, you can make your sauce.
In a medium sauce pan add the onion, chili, tomato sauce, cumin, cinnamon and broth. Heat on medium high until it begins to bubble. Turn heat down and cook for 10 minutes to meld the flavors. Stir periodically.
Turn heat off and let the sauce site to cool down a bit. Take you the blender and carefully put the sauce in. Hold the top of the blender down with a towel. Turn on to puree sauce. Be careful not to burn yourself. Putting the towel over the top and holding it down will prevent the top from trying to pop off. The cooler the sauce the easier this is.
Just before serving the chicken pour the sauce back into a pan and heat it.
You can serve sauce in a ramekin and dip your chicken. You can drizzle it over the top or you can pour it over. This is a firey-hot sauce so be careful not to scorch your taste buds. If you like HOT food this one is for you. Don’t use more than ¼ cup of sauce or you’ll go over your vegetable allotment.
You’ll have plenty of leftover sauce to use later.
Serve with a cup of vegetables and an optional plain salad.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Raspberry-Chipotle "Wings"
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.
Servings: Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients:
For the wings
- 2 pounds of chicken tenders or chicken breasts sliced into strips
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- ½ cup of chopped onion
- ½ cup of chopped celery
- 4 teaspoon of minced garlic (jar garlic will work fine)
- 1 teaspoon of dried sage
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- water
For the sauce
- ½ of a sweet onion (Vidalia)
- 3 teaspoons of minced garlic (jar garlic will work fine)
- 2 teaspoons of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (find them in the International food aisle with other Mexican ingredients & seasonings). You can always add more for a hotter wing.
- ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
- 2 pints of fresh raspberries, mashed
- 4 teaspoons of Truvia
- sea salt
- celery sticks
Instructions:
For the wings
Put all ingredients in a pan or pot and bring to a boil. Turn to medium and boil for 10 minutes or until chicken pieces are no longer pink the middle. Drain.
For the sauce
In a sauce pan, lightly spray with olive oil. Add onion. Cook until onion is loose and translucent. Add the garlic and chilies. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the balsamic vinegar, raspberries and Truvia. Blend. Taste for sweetness level. Should be tart but sweet, too with a warm heat from the chilies. Add another tsp or 2 of Truvia if you need it.
To Bake the Wings:
Take out a cookie sheet (with sides) and cover the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil (to make clean up easier). Toss the chicken pieces with the raspberry sauce and place each piece on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with grated sea salt and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees or until ever so slightly brown.
Serve warm. I serve all of my "wings" with celery sticks and something cold to drink.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Chicken Mamou
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.
One of my favorite Cajun meals is chicken mamou. Mamou in Creole is basically grandma. So this is “grandma('s) chicken.” You can make this even more spicy if you want just by adding hot sauce at the table, but there’s plenty of flavor in this version. This dish is traditionally served with very thin spaghetti. In Z2 you can serve it on top of spinach or mustard greens. The hot meal with soften the greens and give you extra vitamins. You won’t need anything else for your dinner.
Under Z3 you can try serving this with a bit (maybe a cup, cooked) of low-carb pasta and see how your body reacts to the added carbohydrates.
Servings: 1-1/2 cups equals one serving.
Ingredients:
- a quick spray of olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1-1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 15 oz of diced tomatoes (no sugar)
- 1 cup organic beef broth
- 1 tsp of Truvia
- 1 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
- 2 Tbl sugarless Cajun seasoning
Instructions:
Spray a large sauce pan (or small soup pot) with olive oil. Put in your onion and cook until wilted. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes, and two peppers. Mix. Add the tomatoes and the beef broth along with the Truvia and Worchestershire sauce. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer. Cook 15 – 20 minutes to meld the flavors.
While this is cooking take out a sauté pan. Lightly spray your chicken breasts with olive oil spray and coat with Cajun seasoning. Saute on medium until the chicken is browned on both sides and cooked through. Should take about 10 – 12 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat. You can do this easily by using two dining forks. Use one fork to hold the chicken and the other one to pull the chicken apart. This way you can shred it. Leave some chunks if you’d like.
Put the meat into the sauce and cook for 5 minutes more to make sure the chicken is fully heated.
You can alternatively make this in a crock pot. If you are doing that, cut the raw chicken into 1-2” chunks. Put the ingredients into the pot up through tomatoes. Then add the chicken and the other ingredients. Stir. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-1/2 hours. Just make sure before you eat it that the chicken has no pink left. Check by cutting open one of the big bites to make sure.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Marinated Chicken with Chunky, Fresh Tomato Sauce
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. It’s colorful, it’s low cal and it’s very tasty.
Servings: Serves 2, can be multiplied.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar
- juice of one large lemon
- 2 chicken breast halves. Pound them down to a 1/3” thickness. The easy way to do this is to put them in a plastic bag and then pound with your meat mallot or in a pinch I pound them down with a can of something from the cupboard. Some grocery stores are offering scaloppini-style sliced chicken breast in the cooler. Check for them. That will work, too.
- ½ tsp of Italian spice blend (or to taste)
- olive oil spray
- 1 clove of garlic minced (I use my rasp to mince it)
- 2 small, or one large tomato chopped (you want at least one cup of chopped bits)
- 3-4 basil leaves cut to a fine shred
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
On a large plate with a rim or in a container, pour the apple cider vinegar and lemon over the sliced chicken. Toss the pieces around to make sure they are all coated. Let stand in marinade for 10 minutes. Don’t marinate longer or the chicken will begin to “cook” in the acid marinade – similar to how ceviche “cooks.”
Spray a large sauté pan or grill pan with just a bit of olive oil. Add chicken. Sprinkle on the Italian spices and grate a bit of salt and pepper on the chicken. Cook on medium high until one side is just slightly browned. Turn temp to medium and cook the other side the same way, and until there is no longer any pink in the chicken. For thin slices this won’t take more than 6 or 7 minutes. If you choose to leave your breasts full-size, you will need to cook them longer or you might choose to finish them in the oven so they stay moister.
While the chicken is cooking you can take your chopped tomato and put it in a bowl. Add the garlic and the basil shreds. Toss and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
To Serve Warm:
- Put the hot chicken on your plate and mound the cold, chunk tomato sauce on top.
For Cold Service:
- Store the chicken and sauce separately until packing for your picnic, pot luck, or until you are ready to serve. For packing, put the chicken in your travel container and then add the tomato mixture on top. If serving cold at home, just put the chicken on a platter or plate and display the chunky sauce on top. It’s colorful, it’s low cal and it’s very tasty.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Pulled Chicken
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. This also delicious after the holidays using leftover turkey.
Servings: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 small, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 medium onion cut into thin, half moon slices. This just means cut the onion in half and slice.
- 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup of sugar-free tomato sauce
- ½ tsp of cracked red pepper flakes (or more if you like yours spicy)
- 1 tsp of Italian spice blend
- 4 tsp of Truvia (stevia)
- ½ tsp of salt
- romaine lettuce leaves
Instructions:
First you need to poach your chicken. Take a medium sauté pan and put in the breasts. Cover with water. Turn on to boil and simmer them at a low boil for 15 minutes or until when you cut into them no more pink shows.
Take them out of the water. Hold one end of the meat down with a fork and with a fork in the other hand pull at the meat in small sections so it shreds. Do this with all 4 breast pieces.
In a large sauté pan add the onion and a bit of olive oil spray. Cook the onion on medium heat just to loosen it up. Then add the vinegar, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, Italian spice blend, Truvia and salt. Simmer on medium for a few minutes until the onion is soft and the rest is hot. Add the chicken and warm it through.
This is a quick and easy meal.
To serve: Instead of a bun you are going to use a leaf for two of romaine lettuce and make pulled chicken “boats.” You can eat with a knife and fork or if you like getting a bit messy you can roll the meat inside the leaves and chomp on them.
I served with some celery sticks, cherry tomatoes and a few grilled green beans.
A quick and easy dinner.
Special Note: If you are in ZReboot you can use cooked, shredded turkey. A great way to use up leftovers at the holidays when a crowd is around and you have a lot of mouths to feed or if you just need a change from cold, sliced turkey.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Thai Chicken Burgers with Asparagus Stir Fry and Wilted Greens
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. The photo submitted by Plan Z dieter Nancy.
There’s no need for noodles or rice with this kind of Asian cooking. I call them superfluous carbs. This is so fun to eat you’ll never know the rice is missing. And you can pretend your grissini are chop sticks! Edible ones!
This is a spicy meal. Not incredibly hot but you’ll want a large glass of ice water nearby. You can always leave off the cayenne and the Thai pepper if you want Asian flavor with no heat.
Servings: Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 2, 4 oz ground chicken patties
- a sprinkle of celery salt
- a sprinkle of ground ginger
- a list sprinkle of cayenne
- 2 cups of greens
- ½ cup of red onion sliced into thin rings and then cut the rings in half
- 2 cups of celery cut into 1” chunks (maybe a bit smaller but substantial)
- 1 cup of asparagus bits
- ½ cup of organic chicken broth
- ¼ cup of Bragg’s aminos
- 1 tsp of minced garlic (jar garlic is fine)
Optional:
- one teeny Thai pepper, minced
Instructions:
You are going to grill the burgers and stir fry the veggies.
Lightly spray your grill pan. On one side of the chicken burgers season them with a light dusting of the celery salt, ginger and cayenne. Set them on the grill pan. Sear the first side on medium high for 2 minutes or until you get nice grill marks. Then turn the heat down to medium to finish cooking the burgers. Cook until no longer pink the middle 4 – 5 minutes more. Keep an eye on them. You want to cook them until no pink remains but if you don’t over cook them they will stay moist and juicy.
While the burgers are cooking you can do your stir-fry. In a separate pan lightly spray with oil. Add the broth, Bragg’s aminos, celery and asparagus. Bring to a light boil and simmer them until crisp tender. Just a few minutes. You still want them slightly crunchy. Add the onions and the garlic. Cook for one more minute to loosen the onion. Then add the Thai pepper if you are going to use it. Stir.
Place the greens on the plate. Top with burger and scatter the stir fry veggies around.
This is a very satisfying, Asian meal.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Curried Chicken Salad
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. This salad is a cinch to whip up. It tastes a bit exotic and has all the elements of a gourmet chicken salad without the fat and the guilt.
Servings: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 pounds of chicken tenders
- 1 cup of chopped onion
- 1-1/2 cups of chopped celery
- 1 cup of blueberries
- Romaine lettuce or iceberg
For the dressing:
- 4 tsp of minced garlic (jar garlic will do)
- 1/4 cup of Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup of cider vinegar
- 2 tsp of curry powder
- 1 tsp of Truvia (stevia – sugar substitute)
Instructions:
Grill the chicken tenders until cooked through. I use my grill pan and do this on the stove, but you can also fire up the grill and cook them that way. Either way, it's quick and easy.
While the chicken tenders are cooking you can make your salad. This is a version of a chopped salad so everything is cut up pretty small. Put the chopped onion and celery in a large bowl. Add the blueberries. When you cut up your Romaine you'll shred it. I just cut the romaine hearts into long strips cutting across the lettuce. You can do this with iceberg lettuce too if you want. The amount of lettuce you use is up to you. I usually do at least 2 cups per person.
Put all ingredients for the dressing in a small blender and whiz.
Put the lettuce on top of the veggies and fruit. Toss thoroughly with the dressing and serve the warm chicken tenders on top.
If you are going to transport this salad I'd suggest you toss the dressing on the salad and keep the chicken tenders separate until serving. You can also transport the dressing separately and toss just before eating. I'd do this if there is going to be an hour or more before eating.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Chicken “Schnitzel” a la Zola
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.
Most schnitzel is pork. Most schnitzel sauce is made with beer and cream. Not on Z2. Here’s a pretty authentic tasting schnitzel you can eat on Plan Z.
Servings: Serves 4 with leftover sauce for other uses
Ingredients:
For the sauce:
- 2 lg Vidalia onions, sliced thinly
- 2 Tbl of no sugar mustard
- 1/3 tsp of Truvia (stevia)
- salt and pepper
For the chicken:
- 4 chicken breast halves
- 2 Tbl of crumbs. You can make these by grinding up Melba toast or grissini.
- 1 egg white
- pumpkin pie spice
- dried parsley
Instructions:
Start the sauce first. In a large oven proof pan roast the onion strings at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. This will give them a richer flavor than just sautéing them. Put the onions, mustard and stevia in small food processor. Blend to puree. Season with salt and pepper. This makes a thick, paste-style sauce. If you do not have a small food processor this sauce will still taste good if you just stir in the other ingredients and place a bit of it on your chicken.
If you are an organized cook you can start the chicken while the onions are roasting.
Take each chicken breast in succession and put it in a large zip-style plastic bag. Don’t zip it. Just put it in there. Then pound the meat with a meal mallet until it’s 1/4 “ thick. 1/3” will do too. If you do not have a meat mallet handy I have been known to use the bottom of a can of veggies as a substitute meat mallet. Pound each one in the bag and set them aside.
On a plate put your egg white. Toss the yoke, sorry.
On another plate put your crumbs. Lightly dust the crumbs with pumpkin pie spice and dried parsley.
Dip each piece of chicken (smooth side) into the egg white and then into the scattered crumbs. You are only lightly breading one side. You get the effect of breading without the heavy carbs.
Do each chicken piece. You can add more pumpkin pie spice and parsley as you need it.
When the chicken is coated you can spray a large sauté pan and put the chicken pieces in the pan breaded-side down. Sauté on medium high until the breading is golden brown. Then you have a decision to make. You can either flip the chicken in the pan and finish it on the stove or you can put the chicken in a heatproof pan and finish in the oven. Most times I finish in the oven because it stays moister but in this recipe it’s a toss up. If you put it in a 375 oven the chicken will take about 12 more minutes to finish cooking. Just make sure whichever one you choose that your chicken has no pink in the middle when you serve it.
Serve the chicken with a couple of tablespoons of sauce on top and you have a German-style meal.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Tuscan Chicken with Grilled Tomatoes and Onions
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.
Servings: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 skinless chicken breast pieces, 6-8 oz each
- sea salt and pepper
- olive oil spray
- 1 tsp of fennel seeds, divided
- 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes, divided
- 2 red onions cut into thick slices
- 4-6 plum tomatoes cut in half lengthwise
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed (jar garlic will work)
- grated zest of one lemon
- juice from two lemons
- basil leaves, shredded
Instructions:
Spray the chicken with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with grated sea salt and pepper to taste. In a small bowl mix half of the fennel seeds with half of the crushed pepper flakes. Sprinkle them over the chicken.
Spray your grill or grill pan. Cook the chicken, spice side down until you get some nice grill marks. Now you can continue to cook the chicken on your grill until done or finish it in the oven. Unless it’s warm and I’m outside, I sear the chicken on my grill pan and then transfer it to an oven-proof pan and let it roast in the oven at 375 for approximately 20 minutes until the chicken has no pink remaining in the middle.
While the chicken is cooking you can grill your veggies. In the grill pan or on the grill, lightly spray the onions and tomatoes and put them on the grill over medium heat and cook until they get grill marks on them and the onion gets soft.
In a bowl mix the rest of the fennel seeds and red pepper flakes along with the garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice. This is sort of a dressing.
When the chicken is done plate it with the veggies and then drizzle the whole thing with the dressing. Finish up by garnishing with the basil shreds for garnish and flavor.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Chicken Scaloppini
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. This makes a very authentic tasting meal that is satisfying and still diet food! Because of the breading on this dish you’ll skip your bread portion for this meal.
Serving Size: Serves 2 (can be doubled easily)
Ingredients:
- 12 oz of thin-sliced chicken breast pieces
- 2 lemons
- 1/3 cup of bread crumbs. You can grind up your favorite Plan Z approved cracker or use dried bread crumbs from the container.
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil spray
- 4 tsp of capers (rinse them before putting in the pan)
- ¾ cup of organic chicken broth
Instructions:
Set up an assembly line. Take one lemon and juice it. Pour the juice on a rimmed plate. On a second plate spread the bread crumbs.
Take each piece of chicken and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Then pick it up and slide one side through the lemon juice. Then lightly dip in the bread crumbs. If you do this VERY lightly you’ll have enough to bread both sides. If you have leftover crumbs just toss them.
Heat the pan and spray lightly with olive oil spray. Place the chicken in. Do this same process for each piece of chicken. When they are all in the pan, cook on medium high for 3 minutes per side or until no pink remains in the chicken.
When chicken is done move it to another dish and cover it to keep it warm.
IN THE SAME PAN, (don’t wash it) add the chicken broth and the capers. Just bring it to a boil. You can now cut the other lemon and squeeze some more lemon in the sauce. You can also cut half of the lemon into slices or wedges to garnish. The amount of lemon you use in the sauce is really up to you.
Drizzle sauce over or around the chicken and serve.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Chicken Breasts with Fresh Tomatillo Sauce
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. This lovely Mexican dish can be made mild or spicy. There’s a fresh marinade (a quick one) and a fun sauce.
Servings: Serves 4
Ingredients:
Marinade
- ½ cup of organic chicken broth
- juice of one small lime
- 2 tsp of your favorite hot sauce
- 2 tsp of garlic, minced
- 4 chicken breast halves, no skin
Sauce
- 10 – 12 tomatillos, husked, rinsed and chopped
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper (or less if you want mild), minced
- 1 cup of organic chicken broth
- ¼ tsp of fruit pectin if you want to thicken your sauce a bit.
- 1 Tbl of fresh cilantro minced
- 1 tsp of salt
Instructions:
For the chicken
Put your marinade ingredients in the bag. Seal bag and mix up the ingredients. Then add the chicken. Close bag and mix again. Let sit for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
For the sauce
While that’s marinating you can begin your sauce. Put tomatillos, jalapeno, pectin and chicken broth in a medium sauce pan. Simmer on medium for 5 – 7 minutes or until tomatillos are soft. Let sit to cool down a bit so it will thicken. Then put in your blender to whiz it until it’s a smooth sauce. Put back in the sauté pan and let it sit.
Take the chicken out. Toss remainder of marinade. In a large sauté pan spray lightly with oil and add chicken. Saute one side until brown edges appear. Turn over. You can now put this in your oven to bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. You can optionally continue to sauté it, but usually the chicken gets tougher this way. It’s better to finish in the oven so it stays juicier.
Five minutes before the chicken is done, reheat your sauce and add the cilantro and salt to taste.
To serve: Put a puddle of sauce on the plate and place the chicken on top. This tastes just like a Mexican restaurant without the temptation of taco chips. Eat a few Melba rounds instead.
Cheers,
Enjoy!
Bali Chicken
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.
Serves: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4, 6-8 oz chicken breasts (skinless)
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup Bragg’s Aminos
- 1 tsp minced garlic (jar garlic is fine)
- 8 cups of shredded napa cabbage
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 12 cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 2 cups of pea pods, cleaned and zipped (this means take out the string along the edge. Or you can leave it. Up to you!)
Instructions:
Put the vinegar, Braggs and garlic in a medium sauté pan. Put the chicken on top. Marinate in your refrigerator for 15 minutes. Turn over and marinate another 15. Add some grated fresh pepper over the top if you want.
When marinated put the pan on your stove top and turn on high to bring just to a boil. Cover. Then turn down to simmer. Cook on medium-low until no longer pink in the middle. Depending on your chicken breasts this might take up to 20 minutes.
When chicken is almost done….
In a large sauté pan lightly spray with olive oil. Add the red pepper and pea pods. Saute until they loosen. Maybe 1 minute. Add the tomatoes. Cook 1 minute more.
Put the cabbage and one cup of veggies in each person’s bowl or on their plate. Add the chicken and drizzle the juices left in the pan over the whole thing. The hot sauce will wilt the cabbage.
Optional: dust the chicken (after cooking) with cayenne if you want a HOT (spicy) version. If you dust it with cayenne before cooking even your sauce will be spicy. That’s an option too.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Mumbai Chicken Curry
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. Super easy!
Some love the more exotic taste of Indian food. On Plan Z you can make your own simple recipes at home that follow ZReduction. Indian food is usually like a stew and is traditionally served over rice with a bread called naan. You’ll be skipping the rice and naan but can still fully enjoy Indian food.
Serving Size: Serves 3 and can easily be doubled.
Each serving is 1-1/2 cups
Ingredients:
- 3 boneless chicken breast halves cut into chunks. Shoot for 1” cubes
- 2 onions chopped. I do 1” pieces so they are easy to stab with my fork.
- 1-2 Tbl of curry powder you can adjust according to your taste. If this is your first time making Indian food, start with one.
- Chili flakes to taste. Cracked red pepper is the same thing. Some like their Indian food VERY spicy. You can start mild and work your way up to your own taste. I just like a bit of zip.
- 1-1/2 cups of organic chicken broth
- ¼ cup of cream
- 2 cups of cooked green beans cut into bite-sized pieces
Instructions:
Heat a bit of olive oil spray in a sauté pan. Add the chicken chunks. Begin to cook on medium high until one side is browned. Then add the onion and continue to cook until the onion loosens up. Stir chicken regularly. Add the curry powder, chili flakes and chicken broth. Turn down to a medium heat an continue to cook on a low boil for about 10-12 minutes until some of the juice evaporates and the flavors will meld together. Make sure the chicken bites are cooked through and no pink remains.
Add the cream and cook down a bit more until the sauce begins to reduce and gets a bit thicker.
I add the cooked green beans at the end so they are floating on top. Otherwise the whole dish would be covered in the sauce and be yellowish brown. You can decide your own method. You have the option of putting the beans in when you put in the organic broth and they will cook right along with the chicken. That actually saves you a step.
Eat this like a chunky soup or stew and enjoy! This dish is your veggie and protein allotment. You can have a plain salad on the side and your breadstick or cracker portion.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Chicken Salad
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 small chicken breasts, grilled or poached sliced or cut into cubes
- 2 apples, cored and chopped. You can leave the skin on.
- 2 cups of celery chopped into chunks.
- 1 cup of chopped onion
- 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup of cucumber, peeled and chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- herbs… you can also add some Italian herb seasoning or dried tarragon if you like
- greens, you choose which ones and how much. I use romaine and butter lettuce.
- your favorite salad dressing from the recipe section. I love the balsamic-pesto dressing.
Instructions:
Put everything into a bowl and stir. Pour on your salad dressing just before you dig in.
Note: This leaves you with the ability to eat another half apple or half fruit portion for your dessert and it also gives a little wiggle room to eat a small veggie portion on the side or added to the salad. For example if you have a little cooked asparagus left over from the night before you can add this to your salad.
Enjoy!
Cheers,