Make Your Own: Green Chili Chicken Casserole

This amazingly yummy casserole is from one of our readers, Mary!! Thanks, Mary!

 

Green Chili Chicken Casserole

 

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

12 corn tortillas, cut into fourths

16 ounces low-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded*

1 cup low-fat sour cream

1 can green enchilada sauce

 

* I sometimes substitute with low fat Mexican cheese

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In baking dish, arrange chicken and sprinkle with cumin and garlic powder.  Bake until chicken is cooked, 30 minutes or more depending on the thickness of the chicken.  When cooled, shred chicken for casserole.

 

Line the bottom of a medium sized baking dish with half of the tortillas.  Top with half of the sour cream, half of the chicken, a third of the cheese, and a third of the enchilada sauce (you will end with cheese and enchilada sauce).  Repeat layers, top with the remaining sauce and cheese. 

 

Tent with aluminum foil (not touching or the cheese will bake onto the foil).  Bake for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly-don't let cheese brown.  Let stand for 5 minutes before digging in.

 

PER SERVING: (approximately)

 

451 Calories; 12g Fat (23.9% calories from fat); 52g protein; 33g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 98mg Cholesterol; 725mg Sodium;

 

Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain (Starch); 6 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat; 1/2 other Carbohydrate

Green Chili Chicken Casserole

 

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

12 corn tortillas, cut into fourths

16 ounces low-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded*

1 cup low-fat sour cream

1 can green enchilada sauce

 

* I sometimes substitute with low fat Mexican cheese

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In baking dish, arrange chicken and sprinkle with cumin and garlic powder.  Bake until chicken is cooked, 30 minutes or more depending on the thickness of the chicken.  When cooled, shred chicken for casserole.

 

Line the bottom of a medium sized baking dish with half of the tortillas.  Top with half of the sour cream, half of the chicken, a third of the cheese, and a third of the enchilada sauce (you will end with cheese and enchilada sauce).  Repeat layers, top with the remaining sauce and cheese. 

 

Tent with aluminum foil (not touching or the cheese will bake onto the foil).  Bake for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly-don't let cheese brown.  Let stand for 5 minutes before digging in.

 

PER SERVING: (approximately)

 

451 Calories; 12g Fat (23.9% calories from fat); 52g protein; 33g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 98mg Cholesterol; 725mg Sodium;

 

Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain (Starch); 6 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat; 1/2 other Carbohydrate

Tips for a Healthier Lunch Box

The Basics:

1.  One serving of veggies or salad AND one serving of fruit.
2. One serving of low-fat or fat-free milk/dairy item (ie: low-fat cheese stick, yogurt, cottage cheese).
3. One serving of protein (ie: chicken, fish, eggs, peanut butter, beans).
4. Water, milk or 100% juice.

Healthy Sandwiches:

1.  Swap white bread for whole wheat varieties. 
2. Switch it up with whole wheat pitas/wraps.
3. Switch from bologna, salami, or other fatty luncheon meats to low-fat alternatives like lean turkey or chicken breast.
4. Include veggies like lettuce, cucumbers, or shredded cabbage.
5. Use peanut butter in moderation. 2 tablespoons (size of 1 ping pong ball) provides 190 calories and 16 grams of fat.
6. Use a thinner layer of peanut butter and substitute sugary jelly with banana or apple slices.
7. Skip high-fat mayonnaise.  Try something with fewer calories like mustard.

Pack a Salad:

1. Make it colorful. Use dark greens as a base then load up on bright veggies like pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots.
2. To make it a main entree, add lean protein such as chicken, beans, or hard boiled eggs.
3. Pack low-fat or fat-free dressing in a separate container to prevent it from getting mushy.

 Easy Entrees:

1. Make a cold pasta salad from whole wheat noodles left over from the previous night's dinner.
2. Mix plain brown rice with canned beans or shredded lean meat for a high dose of protein and fiber.
3. Pack hummus with fresh veggies and whole wheat pita triangles or flatbreads for dipping.
4. Include low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese with carrots, cherry tomatoes, fresh berries, or melon. These make for a calcium-rich, high-protein lunch.

Healthy Drinks:

1. If you pack juice, make sure it's 100% juice. All fruit drinks are required to list the percentage on the label.Many juice drinks contain no more than 10% juice and are mixed with a lot of sugar.
2. Water and low-fat milk are the best drinks for children.  They can be frozen to help keep foods in the lunch box cool and should be defrosted by lunch time.

Energy Snacks:

1. Swap traditional fried chips for baked chips or corn chips. (Not totally in agreement with this---this would be a sometimes food, not an often food:))
2. Pack salt-free dry-roased almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts to provide kids with a dose of heart-healthy essential fatty acids- be sure to cap the serving at 1/4 cup since nuts are high in calories.
3. Try low-fat or light yogurt in exchange for full calorie varieties targeted at children. To avoid artificial sweeteners, pack fat-free plain yogurt with fresh fruit.
4. Select whole grain granola bars that are low in fat and sugar-take a look at the food label and choose the ones that contain less than 1g of saturated fat per serving and are no more than 35% sugar by weight.  To figure the percentage of sugar per serving, divide the grams of sugar by the gram weight of one serving and multiply by 100.
5. Aim to make snack treats occasional instead of everyday items.  A small serving of animal cracker are lower in fat and sugar than regular cookies, doughnuts, brownies and other baked goods.

Packing a Quick Lunch:

1. Piece together things that don't need preparation...whole piece of fruit, low-fat yogurt, individual packs of baby carrots, and sliced turkey wrapped in a tortilla is a great balanced lunch.
2. Save time by packing leftover rice, beans, chicken, salad, and other healthy options into lunch containers are dinnertime. 

Thank you to Empower Me for this comprehensive information. I received it at CHOP's Healthy Kids Day!

Go Foodtown!

I stopped in our local Foodtown the other night after my nutritionist appointment and was really pleased to see these tags posted all over the store! Sorry about the crazy glare- camera phones are the worst.  I used it to find maple syrup (the nutritionist suggested buying pure maple syrup instead of using the sugary fake stuff), orange juice and a few other items. I still read the labels before I made my purchase, but the tags lead to good healthy food. Score one for Foodtown!

Toddler Tips: The Perfect Spoon Food!

Baby A LOVES using spoons at this point but is not always successful- forks are much better for delivering food to the mouth without any spillage.  That being said, some food requires a spoon and it's always a huge mess.
Dun, dun, dun....enter yogurt!

I usually feed Baby A her yogurt, but last week I put her yogurt directly on her plate and let her have at it. I was seriously impressed- yes she got it all over her face, but it mostly got in her mouth---none on her lap/arms/ears/feet/etc!!!  This was Fage yogurt--we buy this or Chobani usually- plain, low-fat, and she loves it!

Make Your Own: Baked Tomato Risotto

This is another reader recipe!!!!

2 med zucchinni
1 jar spaghettis sauce
1 can chicken broth
1 can sliced mushroom
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups shredded mozz cheese
yellow bell pepper (optional)

preheat oven to 350, spray 3 qt. casserole dish w/ non stick cooking spray
cut zucchinni lenghtwise in half.  cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices.  combine spaghetti sauce, broth, zucchinni, mushrooms & rice in prepared dish.

bake, uncovered, 30 minutes.  remove from oven & stir casserole.  cover & bake 15-20 min. or until rice is tender.  remove from oven; sprinkle evenly w/ cheese.  bake, uncovered, 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  garnish w/ yellow pepper if desired.


This is supposedly a side dish, I used it as a main course.  I added more rice, spaghetti sauce & cheese.  (why not??!!)  & used vegetable broth in place of chicken to make a vegetarian meal (no one knows the difference!  ;) )  It is just delightful!!


Thanks, Jessica!!!