Delicious Chicken Dinner under 450 Calories

Are you looking for a dinner that is less than 450 calories but also satisfying?  You might want to try this:  Apricot-Jalapeno Chicken with Sesame Noodles.   This recipe is from Robin Miller’s Quick Fix Meals.  It is really easy to make since it doesn’t have a lot of ingredients and it doesn’t take much time. 

If the word Jalapeno scares you…don’t let it.  This dish is not hot or spicy.  It is flavorful.   My three year old son had 2 servings of it the other night.

This recipe serves between 4-6 people

Ingredients

 sauce

12 ounces of soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti

½ C sliced pickled jalapenos

1/2C apricot preserves

1/4C fresh cilantro

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp ground pepper

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

3 Tbs reduced –sodium soy sauce

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

¼ C scallions (white and light green parts only)

½ -1 head of Broccoli

I think the key to keeping the calories 450 in this dish is adding lots of broccoli.  If you don’t like broccoli, add snow peas or sugar snap peas instead and portioning it out to serve 6.  It might not seem like a lot but it was really filling and very tasty so I was satisfied and didn’t need to go for more.  I might have wanted more because it was tasty, but I didn’t need more.   

Prepare whole wheat spaghetti or soba noodles according to the package.

 

To make the marinade/sauce blend the apricot preserves (try and get organic so there is no high fructose corn syrup – I bought Full Circle Organic Preserves), jalapenos, cilantro, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Add the chicken to a lightly oiled baking dish and spread the apricot mixture on top of the chicken.  It is best to let marinade for a few hours.  If you did this in the morning before work it would be perfect.  I didn’t think about it early enough so I did it right before cooking and it was still good but the flavors would have developed more if it marinated for a few hours.

 

Bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes at 400 degree F.  Meanwhile, cut up the broccoli into bite sized pieces and steam (or microwave) until just tender).  Depending upon how big the broccoli is you may only need ½ a head of broccoli but remember you want a lot of veggies for this dish.  When the spaghetti is done, mix with sesame oil, soy sauce, scallions and broccoli.  Season the noodles to taste with salt and pepper.  When the chicken is done serve the chicken over the noodle mixture.  According to myfitnesspal recipe calculator this dish is 448 calories with 26.8 grams of protein.  You might not want to make this every night but this certainly can be a treat that is tasty and healthy.  

 

 Enjoy!