Dieting tips: A delicious, homemade, healthy crispy chicken sandwich

Hola, fam. America has become obsessed with the crispy chicken sandwich, and for good reason. It’s wonderful.

The downside, however, is if you’re watching what you eat, those delicious sandwiches can rapidly derail a healthy day. I have a chicken sandwich hankering every week, so I wanted to create a compromise to see if I could mimic the experience while keeping the diet on track.

To prepare, let’s crush up one bag of your favorite flavor of Quest protein chips (you’ll probably see me mention those often in this series). I like to opt for the ranch flavor. Add the crushed chip breading to a bowl and add in whichever seasonings, if any, you like. I tacked on maybe a tablespoon or so of a personal favorite — McCormick Montreal Chicken seasoning. In another bowl, crack one egg or in my case, pour about a serving of egg whites.

After you cut the chicken breast in half, season one or both halves (depending if you want one or two sandwiches) with salt and pepper. Then dunk in the egg wash before coating in the Quest chip breading. I air fried these at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes, flipping halfway through.

While they’re in the air fryer, take a light hamburger bun and toast each side. I opted for Village Hearth light Italian, which is 80 calories per bun. I sprayed some nonstick in a frying pan and toasted them that way which worked just fine. Once toasted, place your favorite pickles on the bottom bun, put a tablespoon of light mayo on the top bun, then place the air-fried chicken on the bun and you are ready to eat.

I hadn’t eaten since lunch and had to make up some calories, so I went with a double portion. One sandwich comes out to about 400 calories, 50 grams of protein and 24 grams of carbs. They’re no Popeyes of Chick-fil-A, but if you’ve got an itch for a chicken sandwich but want to keep the calories low, this is a great homemade option.

I’d say this is my second-favorite healthy-alternative meal I’ve made so far, behind the chicken tenders.

Thanks for tuning in. Much love and take care of yourselves.

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