5 Easy, High-Protein Lunches
Maybe it’s just me, but lunch seems to be the hardest thing to plan for sometimes, especially for a busy work week. You need something that is simple, easy to [...]
I am constantly thinking about ways to make dinner easy. I mean……..constantly. I see a recipe and I’m like “OOO how can recreate this to reduce the prep time to 3 seconds?” or “OOO how can I make this ridiculously easy recipe a PHFF-balance meal?” The latter is definitely where my head was at with this one. I was perusing the almighty Pinterest for dinner ideas and I came across a ‘chicken bacon ranch foil pack’ and I thought MMMM YEP. But then I opened it up, and found the recipe used fake bacon bits and fake cheese. Why??? But I had a plan.
In addition to wanting to make this particular recipe PHFF-balanced, I wanted this to be something you could just open and eat right then and there. This would make it easy to double the recipe and take it along to work all week and just heat it up in the microwave. So, foil was out of the question a) because no one wants to eat off metal b) because don’t put foil in the microwave ever (lol I’ve never done this, I swear, and I definitely haven’t done it in the last year) and c) because we’re gonna get some cheese meltage. Cheese paper >>>> cheese foil. If you grew up eating McDonald’s you know what’s up here. If not, don’t worry about it. Read on.
This is so easy, SO DELICIOUS, and takes minutes to put together. Do yourself a favor and don’t skip the extra 2-minute step of heating up a pan and searing the chicken. I tried the recipe both ways and the chicken turned out 23429847s juicier when I seared it. Always always always sear chicken breast before cooking it and it won’t suck.
Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Packets
Author: Megan Hansen, RDN, LD
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 4
This comfort food classic has been turned into a PHFF-balanced meal that can be prepared in minutes and eaten all week.
Ingredients
8 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins (~20 oz chicken)
3 c chopped broccoli into small, 1/2” pieces
1/2 c Herby Yogurt Ranch Dip (or a GOOD quality ranch dressing – check the label for weird ingredients)
4 pieces of bacon, finely chopped
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Tear off 4 12-inch pieces of parchment paper. Divide broccoli evenly amongst the parchment paper. Place right in the middle of the sheet.
Heat a pan on high heat. Get it hot.
Season chicken tenders with salt, onion powder and garlic powder on both sides.
Sear chicken for 25 seconds on each side. Place 2 chicken tenders on each parchment paper, on top of the broccoli.
Layer ranch dip, bacon, and cheddar on top of the chicken.
Loosely wrap the paper around the chicken and fold over the ends to close (leaving about an inch open on each side). Don’t stress about this – you’re just creating a little house for your chicken to live in.
Bake chicken packets for 20 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. And be careful when opening – they’re hot.
Transfer to a plate, or just eat it straight out of the packet.
Serving size: 1 packet
Fat: 18
Carbohydrates: 7
Fiber: 2
Protein: 44
Notes:
If you don’t have parchment paper, foil works just as well.
You can also use small chicken breasts instead of 2 chicken tenders. If you are using a large chicken breast, I recommend slicing it in half.
After cooking, these will last for about a week in the fridge, so don’t be afraid to make a ton and eat them all week.
