"Better For You" Chicken Parmesan

Clean eating doesn't mean giving up your favorites. If there is a will, there is a way! One of the Mister's favorite dishes is Chicken Parmesan. I've been cooking for this guy for 9 years now. He will eat pretty much anything I put in front of him. In the last nine years, I've probably put or tried to put a "healthier spin" on any meal that I've prepared, including his favorites. Now don't get me wrong, some attempts have had better outcomes than others. I am please to share with you that this one was a winner! He raved about how good it was and how much it tasted like the "real" thing.  Real thing? As if I swapped out his chicken for a piece of plastic chicken.

So what makes this a "better for you" option you ask? Let me explain...

1. Antibiotic free chicken- for starters. If you don't know about Fresh Markets $2.99 Tuesday, you're missing out! BIG TIME! Every Tuesday people flock to Fresh Market for a can't miss deal... $2.99/lb. chicken breasts. Yep, you heard me. $2.99/lb antibiotic free chicken breasts. I usually go every other week and stock up.
2. Panko crumbs- Instead of using bread crumbs, I use panko crumbs. Panko crumbs are a Japanese- style breadcrumb traditionally used as a coating for deep-fried foods. The biggest difference between panko and breadcrumbs is panko is made from bread without crusts. The bread less loaf is coarsely ground into airy, large flakes that give fried foods a light, crunchy coating.
3. Low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella shredded cheese- No need for the extra calories. This does
the trick just as well!





This particular recipe was adapted from Dana Nicole Fitness.

Servings:4    Prep Time: 10 minutes    Cook Time: approximately 30 minutes

 Ingredients:
- 1-1.5 lbs. antibiotic free, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 4 oz. pieces
- whole wheat panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup of egg whites
- 1/2 tsp of sea salt
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper
- 2 cups of "Grandma's Tomato Sauce" from Fixate cookbook or organic tomato sauce, divided equally into 4 parts for each piece of chicken
- low-moisture, part skim shredded mozzarella shredded cheese
- 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Pre heat oven to 450
1. Pour egg whites into bowl and set aside.
2. Mix panko crumbs, salt and pepper in separate bowl. Combine well.
3. Dip each piece of chicken in egg whites, then into panko crumbs. Coat well evenly.
4. Heat olive oil. place each piece of chicken in skillet. Cook on each side until brown, about 5 minutes each side. Chicken should no longer be pink in the middle
5. Next, place chicken on baking sheet covered in foil. Cover each piece of chicken with no more then 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and no more than 1/3 cup of mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. This will finish cooking the chicken if extra thick as well as nicely melt your cheese.

This is recipe is 21 Day Fix APPROVED! Serving is 1 piece of chicken. Container breakdown: 1/2 green, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 blue, 1 teaspoon

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