If you have gotten into working out and weight loss, you have probably come to love the chicken breast. It is like the holy grail of fitness foods – high protein, low cal, low fat and absolutely awesome.
With a whopping 31g of protein in a 100g serving of skinless, boneless chicken breast, you seriously can’t go wrong.
By eating a chicken breast for dinner every night (and perhaps for lunch as well), you will be getting some (or all) of the protein you requirements. The only problem here is that chicken breasts can be quite boring if you don’t know how to cook them up for maximum taste and maximum gains.
If prepared right, these lean mean, protein machines can be an exquisite experience for your taste buds and they will definitely be at the top of your favourite diet foods.
Whether you are trying to gain muscle or trying to slim down – the chicken breast in the perfect addition to your diet – no matter if you are a man or a woman.
So check out these 6 delicious ways to prepare the perfect chicken breast without diminishing its nutritional value.
Table of Contents
Marinated
There is nothing more delicious than a succulent chicken breast that has been marinated to perfection.
All you need to do is whip up a delicious marinate or buy one at your local grocery store (I would recommend a Portuguese marinade) and let your chicken breast soak up the juices for a while.
An easy and delicious home marinade can be made with the following ingredients:
- Some olive oil
- ¼ Cup white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 Tablespoon dried basil
- ½ Teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ Teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ Teaspoon salt
- ½ Teaspoon black pepper
- Dash of chopped fresh garlic
Simply combine all these ingredients and let a pound of skinless, boneless chicken breasts lay in them for at least 15 minutes. You can let it sit longer or overnight in the fridge.
Once you are happy with your marinated chicken, you can throw it on the grill, bake it up in the oven or fry it up in a pan with some olive oil – your choice.
This is one cooking method that is nearly impossible to get sick of.
Stuffed
Who doesn’t love food that is stuffed with other food?
Stuffed chicken breasts have the ability to look and taste like it was made by a professional – yet anybody can do it.
You can start off by flattening you skinless, boneless chicken breast and the whacking it with the meat mallet a bit and then rubbing it with some olive oil, fresh basil, salt and pepper to taste. Then simply place some steamed spinach and feta cheese on the flattened chicken breast and fold the sides together. You can pin it with some toothpicks or tie it up and pop it in the oven for 30 minutes at 180°C or 350°F.
Now remove the toothpicks or rope and your stuffed chicken breasts are ready to serve.
You can stuff your chicken breast with anything you like – just keep it healthy.
Baked
Baked chicken is not only timeless and delicious – it is also quick and healthy.
If you come home after spending 9 hours at work and working out for another 2 hours, the last thing you want to do is cook a healthy meal – so you go to the drive through and grab a burger and fries – after all, you did just burn a tonne of calories and muscles do not feed themselves.
Well, we have a better solution – baked chicken breasts. With minimal effort, you can prepare a tasty chicken breast that will only take a moment to prepare and leave you feeling satisfied and guilt-free.
Once you get home, take your chicken breast, rub it with some olive oil, season it with some salt, pepper and garlic powder, sprinkle it with some parmesan, add some chopped tomatoes and basil and pop it in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes at 180°C.
Once you have taken your shower, your baked chicken breast will be ready to be served.
This recipe is not only delicious but perfect for your weight loss diet or for building muscle.
Wrapped
Wraps are without a doubt one of the best-tasting ways you can possibly serve chicken.
Many people are not keen on wraps since it contains carbs but if you are hitting the gym then you need the energy.
A whole wheat wrap contains between 100 and 150 calories and about 20 grams of carbs – which really isn’t that much.
In order to prepare a delicious wrap, simply cut your chicken into strips or chop it and season it with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You can then fry it in a skillet with some olive oil until it has taken on a golden shade and is cooked in the centre.
Now you can take a defrosted wrap and toss the chicken in a line across the middle of the wrap. Next, you need to mash up about half an avocado, add some salt and pepper and add it to the chicken on the wrap. The avo will keep the chicken from falling out and it will taste amazing. You can now add chopped tomatoes and lettuce, sprinkle some feta cheese and fold over the ends of the wrap.
If you aren’t too worried about the extra calories, you can also put some mayo on – it is amazing for taste.
Place the wrapped tortilla with stuffing in a non-stick skillet without oil and simply grill it a bit on each side until it is a golden brown colour.
Your muscle building wrap is now ready to be served.
Stir-Fried
Some lean chicken breast and fresh veggies all fired up in one skillet – absolutely mouth-watering.
Why not skip the rice and noodles and cook up a big bowl of super healthy and super delicious stir fry?
All you need to do in order to prepare the perfect muscle building meal is chop up your chicken breast into bite-size pieces, cover it with salt, pepper and some garlic powder and toss it in the heated skillet with some olive oil. Now you can add some chopped up veggies, such as mini corn, peppers, baby carrots, peas, broccoli – or whatever your heart desires.
To make it even easier, you can buy a bag of frozen stir fry veggies from your local supermarket and simply toss it with your chicken.
Once your veggies and chicken are busy frying up, splash some soy sauce over it, add some salt and pepper to taste and just toss it around in the skillet until the meat and veggies are perfectly cooked.
Now you can serve your stir-fry and enjoy a delicious guilt-free meal that will help you build muscle.
Skewered
Make your muscle building food fun and put a skewer through it.
Everybody loves eating things that come on a stick – ice cream, corndogs, and of course skewers. Everything is better on a stick.
So, if you are tired of eating the old-fashioned way, why not put your muscle building food on a stick?
Simply chop your skinless, boneless chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and season it with some salt, pepper, a bit of garlic powder, and some dried basil. Once the chicken is seasoned, chop some veggies into bite size pieces. You can use any suitable veggies, such as peppers, or zucchini.
All you have to do now is string your bite-sized food onto the skewer, season it a bit more if you’d like and place the skewers on the grill.
Once the chicken is cooked at the centre, where the skewer stabs through, your meal is ready to be served.