1 Chicken, 17 Healthy Meals, $26 Bucks, No Mayo
Pedro Marques
among food and frugality bloggers. It’s commonly accepted that a
single fowl will feed a family of 11 for weeks, years - even
millennia. Even after 20 months of keeping CHG, I’m constantly
gobsmacked by how moms and dads can create dinner after dinner from
the same bird.
Here’s the thing: sometimes, those dinners aren’t the healthiest meals
in the world. There tend to be a lot of quesadillas and casseroles
whenever these type of posts pop up, not to mention chicken salads
drenched with full-fat mayo. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this
whatsoever (except the mayo - blech), but I wanted to see if I could
put a healthier spin on it.
In a sentence: I wanted to find out if it was possible to create a
gaggle of inexpensive, lower-fat meals with the leftovers from one big
ol’ chicken.
Here were my rules:
* The budget – for EVERYTHING - was $25.
* I had to use as much food already in my pantry as possible.
(Which accounted for a lot, and saved me mad dough in the long run.)
* Each meal had to feed at least two people (The Boyfriend and
me).
* Bonus points for leftovers.
* The chicken had to be used up within a few days, so it wouldn’t
go bad.
* The meals had to have reasonable variety, preferably from a
range of cuisines. It couldn’t be Chicken with Spaghetti on Day 1,
then Chicken with Penne on Day 2.
* The meals had to have very little added fat, since the leftover
chicken would provide most of it.
And? Victory, for the most part. I ended up cooking five distinct,
delicious, largely healthy dinners with PLENTY of leftovers. And
miracle of miracles, there were no duds in the group. (Thanks, online
reviewers!)
However, I did go $0.86 over budget. I’m okay with that, though.
Between what we consumed each night and ate for lunch the next day,
that $25.86 made 17 full meals, which works out to $1.52 each. That’s
less than a cup of Starbucks coffee, so … aces.
What follows is the menu breakdown, complete with pictures and links
to four of the five recipes. The last, a Cook’s Illustrated curry
dish, isn’t online, so I transcribed it at the very bottom of this
post. There’s also a master grocery list, so y’all can see the price
breakdown of everything.
With that said, let’s get started with introductions: Charles, these
are the CHG readers. CHG readers, this is Charles. He’s my chicken.
He’s 6.99 lbs.
He will not look like this for long.
Day 1
Marcella Hazan’s Lemon Roasted Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes
2 servings
Chicken consumed: 10 ounces
We kicked everything off with Marcella’s Lemon Roasted Chicken. It’s
been featured on the blog before, with good reason. In a world of dry,
lame-o poultry, it is the Queen Mum of moist, flavorful goodness.
Plus, when you add a few thick-cut carrots and quartered (unpeeled)
red potatoes to the pan before it starts cooking, it becomes a whole
meal. (Seriously, that’s all you have to do.) Together, The Boyfriend
and I polished off all the vegetables and 10 ounces of chicken (five
ounces each) for a Sunday night meal.
Afterwards, we stripped the chicken bare. Nude. Butt-naked. There was
nothing left on that carcass but skin and gristle. It was a little
hyena-like, honestly, but fun nonetheless. In total, our booty came to
2 pounds, 4 ounces of pure, straight-up leftover meat, mostly from the
breast. Here’s a shot of the carnage.
If I had half a brain, I would have saved Charles’ bones to make
stock. But I forgot.
To quote the bard, “Duh.”
Day 2
Cooking Light’s Chicken Picadillo with Rice and Black Beans
3 servings
Leftover chicken consumed: 1 pound
(Note: The experiment almost ended here, since I didn’t go grocery
shopping in time for Day 2. Fortunately, for this particular recipe,
everything was in my pantry already. [Woo hoo!])
Going in, I had mid-level expectations for Chicken Picadillo, and was
super-pleasantly surprised by the results. All in all, it’s supremely
easy to cook, and a nice change from the average Tex-Mex dish. Ground
chicken, salsa, raisins, and almonds make up the main ingredients, but
a dash of cinnamon ties it all together, giving everything a warm,
lovely flavor. We ate it with plain rice and mashed black beans (to
prepare: heat in pot, mash with masher, add salt and pepa), and used
the leftovers to create a chicken/lettuce/salsa wrap the next day for
lunch. Good times.
Day 3
White Chicken Chili
2-3 servings
Leftover chicken consumed: 1-1/2 cups
This tangy, mild, ridiculously simple chili was The Boyfriend’s
favorite dish of the bunch. (He is the Chili King. He can do
anything.) He slurped a bowl in record time, scarfed leftovers for
lunch the next day, and openly wept when I told him he had finished it
all. Poor guy.
The key to keeping this dish low-fat is the beans. By lightly mashing
them, you create a thicker chili consistency, and don’t have to add as
much cheese. FYI: If you like your chilis a little spicier, the heat
is eminently adjustable here: just include the jalapeno seeds OR add
another pepper altogether.
Day 4
Food Network’s Sesame Noodles with Chicken
5 servings
Chicken consumed: 1 cup
Three days into this thing, and we were barely halfway through
Charles’ leftover meat. That started to change here.
It must be known: I loooooooove noodles. I luff them. I lurve them. I
want to kiss them, but they keep falling through my fingers. (Ooo …
deep.) Naturally then, this dish from Food Network was my favorite of
the experiment. It’s a cross between Ellie Krieger’s Aromatic Noodles
and this Noodle Salad from Cooking Light, with just a little more
tang. The whole shebang is a tad higher in fat than the experiment’s
others (see: butter, peanut), but it’s the healthy, protein-y kind, so
I wouldn’t worry too much.
One note: I substituted a pitted, sliced regular cucumber for the
Kirby. No harm, no foul, and it worked just fine.
Day 5
Cook’s Illustrated’s Chicken Curry in a Hurry
(recipe at bottom of post)
4 servings
Chicken consumed: 2 cups
Finally, we had reached the end. Charles was nearly tapped by Day 5,
though perhaps surprisingly, we weren’t getting tired of chicken in
the least.
It’s a good thing, then, we went with Curry in a Hurry. Served with a
side of brown rice, it’s a fast, fantastic, Indian-inspired weeknight
meal that will absolutely use up the last of any leftover chicken.
Plus, it’s a lot of frigging food. CI claims it serves four people,
it’s really more like five or six. Maybe eight or nine if you’re
elves.
Note: we skipped the peas because they represent the oppression of the
worker by the bourgeoisie, and can only be freed through shared profit
and community-wide effort. (Oh wait – that’s not right. Actually, I
just forgot to buy them. It didn’t make a difference.)
~~~
And that, my friends, is it. We're full. The chicken's gone. The
experiment worked.
Here’s our grocery list (just like we promised!), plus the curry
recipe, should you be into it. Comments and questions are welcome, and
I'd love to hear what y'all have done with a whole chicken. Enjoy!
~~~
SHOPPING LIST
(* means I already had it in my pantry or fridge)
1 7-lb Oven Stuffer Roaster chicken: $6.92
1 lb thick carrots: $0.67
1-1/2 lbs red or Yukon gold potatoes: $1.42
2 lemons: $0.80
*1 or 2 tablespoons salt: $0.04
*3 teaspoons olive oil: $0.11
*2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil: $0.36
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil: $0.18
*2-1/2 medium onions: $0.30
*9 garlic cloves: $0.30
*2-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin: $0.05
*1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon: $0.01
*1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning: $0.02
*Pinch ground cloves: $0.01
*1 teaspoon crushed red pepper: $0.05
*1/2 to 1 tablespoon curry powder: $0.07
*1 cup bottled salsa: $0.99
*1/3 cup golden raisins: $0.79
*1/4 cup raisins: $0.42
*1/4 cup slivered almonds: $0.73
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts: $0.35
1 large bunch fresh cilantro: $0.99
*1 14-oz can black beans: $0.67
1 can large white beans: $1.39
*1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas: $0.67
*1-2/3 cup uncooked brown rice: $0.95
1 seeded jalapeño pepper: $0.25
1 cucumber: $0.80
6 scallions: $0.67
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger: $0.32
1 can (4-ounce) chopped green chilies: $1.49
*2 cups chicken broth: $0.60
*1 pound spaghetti or Chinese egg noodles: $0.80
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter: $0.21
*1/4 cup soy sauce: $0.38
*2 tablespoons dark brown sugar: $0.06
*1 tablespoon rice vinegar: $0.24
*1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (we used low-fat, and it was okay):
$0.28
*1/2 cup grated low-fat Monterey Jack or white cheddar cheese: $0.50
TOTAL: $25.86
~~~
Cook’s Illustrated’s Chicken Curry in a Hurry
Serves 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced thin
1/2 to 1 tablespoon curry powder (mine is hot, so I only use ½)
Salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
½ cup water
2 cups shredded of thinly sliced cooked chicken
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen peas (I left this out, but please use)
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (we used low-fat, and it was okay)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1. BUILD CURRY BASE: Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat
until shimmering. Add onion, curry powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and
cook until onion is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger
and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. ADD WATER, MEAT, VEGETABLES, AND COOK: Stir in water, meat,
chickpeas, peas, and raisins. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated
through, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. GARNISH AND SERVE: Off heat, stir in yogurt and cilantro and serve.
Over brown rice is a good option.
Al
> The stretchability of a whole chicken is a frequently discussed topic
> among food and frugality bloggers. It’s commonly accepted that a
> single fowl will feed a family of 11 for weeks, years - even
> millennia. Even after 20 months of keeping CHG, I’m constantly
> gobsmacked by how moms and dads can create dinner after dinner from
> the same bird.
>
stores so I will take your word for it. I could always buy two
chickens. By the time you discard the fat and later the bones, there
is scarcely half left. I refuse to clog my arteries with chicken fat
to save a few pennies. I also think the look of wearing chicken fat is
disgusting. If I followed your recipe to the T, it would last me alone
for about four days-maybe. It might last longer though as I would be
about ready to give up eating altogether.
h
"Pedro Marques" <pedro...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4f6c2f96-9bbf-4a9a...@u9g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
>Here�s the thing: sometimes, those dinners aren�t the healthiest meals
>in the world. There tend to be a lot of quesadillas and casseroles
>whenever these type of posts pop up, not to mention chicken salads
>drenched with full-fat mayo. Now, there�s nothing wrong with this
>whatsoever (except the mayo - blech), but I wanted to see if I could
>put a healthier spin on it.
Huh? FAT isn't the problem, SUGAR is. Carbs are bad, fat is good. Grains
bad, fat good. Why is this so hard to grasp?
Cindy Hamilton
> "Pedro Marques" <pedroxa...@gmail.com> wrote in message
Neither carbs nor fats are good in excessive amounts. Moderation in
all things.
Frankly, I don't see what the OP has against mayonnaise. I had some
at lunchtime.
tmclone
Of course, but most people don't seem to understand that more than 50
grams of carbs a day IS excessive. Most people eat mostly carbs and
just can't understand why they're so fat. The medical community hasn't
helped by touting "low-fat" as the solution. "Low-fat" is code for
high sugar. Hell, I've seen "low-fat" products which contain HFCS,
which should not be consumed by anyone in any quantity. HFCS is worse
than trans fats, and those have been banned.
Cindy Hamilton
> Of course, but most people don't seem to understand that more than 50
> grams of carbs a day IS excessive. Most people eat mostly carbs and
> just can't understand why they're so fat.
As long as you burn more calories than you consume, you'll lose
weight.
No amount of low-carbing or low-fatting or any other gimmick will
defeat
thermodynamics.
Now, having said that, I recognize that human metabolism is complex,
and what you put in can affect your metabolic rate and (especially)
your appetite.
>The medical community hasn't
> helped by touting "low-fat" as the solution. "Low-fat" is code for
> high sugar.
Only if you eat processed food that has had sugar substituted for fat.
Lettuce is low fat.
> Hell, I've seen "low-fat" products which contain HFCS,
> which should not be consumed by anyone in any quantity. HFCS is worse
> than trans fats, and those have been banned.-
HFCS is a blend of fructose and glucose. Table sugar (sucrose) is
broken
down during digestion into fructose and glucose. As far as I can
tell,
eating HFCS is just like eating regular sugar. The problem is not
HFCS,
it's eating too damn many empty calories .
Here's the prescription for a healthy diet:
Eat food. Mostly vegetables. Not too much.
Eat food. Not industrial crap, but real food. McNuggets? No thanks,
I'll just cook some chicken at home. It'll be better tasting and
better
for me.
Mostly vegetables. They're nutrient dense and calorie-poor.
Not too much. Everything in moderation.
Cindy Hamilton
h
"Cindy Hamilton" <angelica...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:e6fafe27-7271-4e98...@q21g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
On Mar 4, 1:26 pm, tmclone <tmcl...@searchmachine.com> wrote:
>Here's the prescription for a healthy diet:
>Eat food. Mostly vegetables. Not too much.
Well...I prefer 50% protein (meat), 40% veg and fruit, 10% fat.