Sometimes it is hard to eat healthier when the foods you love are not very healthy. One way to help reduce the amount of calories, increase the nutritional value and continue to be successful as you try to become healthy is to make what you love, but make it healthier. There are many books and websites dedicated to taking a food, and changing the ingredients to make it healthier.
One of my favorite things to eat is Parmesan Crusted Chicken, or Parmesan Crusted Tilapia. Yummy! About a year ago one of my co-workers moved into a new home and had a bunch of us over for dinner. She put yogurt and herbs on top of her chicken, and told us it was wonderful, we would love it. Turns out, I did like it even though I thought that yogurt on my chicken would be disgusting. Here is my mom’s updated version of Parmesan Crusted Chicken.
1 pkg. Skinless chicken fingers or thinly cut skinless breasts
8 oz Plain greek yogurt
½ cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 lemon
Pepper to taste
Mix yogurt, cheese, and pepper in bowl, squeeze in juice from ½ of lemon
Trim chicken and dredge pieces through yogurt mixture. Entire piece should be covered.
Place on foil lined pan in 375 degree oven for 34-40 minutes.
My mom always puts them under the broiler for just a minute before she takes them out to make sure the top is nice and crispy. I remember one time my mom made mashed potatoes and they were so good. I kept going on and on about how good they were. It wasn’t until about 3 years later that my mom told me that she had stopped using regular potatoes to make our mashed potatoes and instead started replacing them with cauliflower. I know if she would have told me I would have been grossed out because I did not like cauliflower. I guess I did and didn’t even know it.
