Dinner

Healthy (CLEAN!) Chicken Fingers

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This is a pretty basic dinner recipe, but it’s a go-to when I’m craving something not-so-healthy. Boyfriend-approved, easy enough to do on a weeknight, and I’m pretty sure it would be kid-friendly (although since I’m 24 and have no kids, this theory hasn’t been tested).

ImageI’m in love with the Hidden Valley Ranch dry ranch packets. They can do WONDERS for about a million different traditional recipes, but you have to watch how much you dump into your lunch/dinner because they’re high in sodium. I use the Spicy or Fiesta Ranch mix with Panko breadcrumbs to make these chicken strips, and it adds a super-yummy kick to them. If you don’t want spice, I’m sure the plain ones would be equally delicious (although, again, I haven’t tried it).

Nutritional Overview
Calories: 210
Carbs: 20
Fat: 2.5
Protein: 26.5

Serves: 2 (makes 6-8 strips)
Cook time: 1hr., 15min. (10 min. hands-on + 45 min. marinating + 20 min. baking)

Ingredients:
– 8-10 oz. lean chicken breast (or pre-cut chicken breast tenders)
– 1/4c. Frank’s Hot Sauce
– 1/4c. 0% fat Greek Yogurt
– 1/2c. whole wheat Panko bread crumbs
– 1/2 package Hidden Valley Ranch dry packet
– Cooking spray

Directions:

  1. Cut chicken into strips and place in a large Ziploc bag
  2. Add Greek yogurt and Frank’s to bag and seal. Mush chicken around to coat
  3. Place bag in fridge and marinate for at least 30 minutes
  4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  5. Combine bread crumbs and Ranch seasoning in a shallow dish/container
  6. Once chicken has finished marinating, pull each strip out of the bag and place it in the bread crumb mixture. Flip them over a few times to fully coat each piece
  7. Line a baking sheet with foil and place each strip on the sheet. Coat with a light spritz of cooking spray to make the crumbs stick together
  8. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, then bake for another 5-10 minutes

I serve these with baked sweet potato fries and asparagus. The whole meal rounds out to about 350cal and 30g of protein. We usually dip the chicken strips in yogurt salsa ranch, BBQ sauce, or natural ketchup. It’s like getting the Dairy Queen chicken strip basket, but you save almost 1,000cal, 50g of fat, and at least 80g of carbs… And you won’t feel bloated/gross after eating them. :)

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