A HIGH PROTEIN LUNCH

Posted in Poultry, Rice and Grains by

I could call it “my secret weapon”  to  counteract usual over-indulgences. Back in June, I bought  the  book   “The Dukan Diet” and tried that nutritional system for a while. I found out that I really like his oatmeal galette, a nice source of protein and complex carbs that became part of my weekday lunches.  The galette can also be adapted for breakfast by omitting the salt, pepper and spices, and adding a little Splenda or the sweetener of your choice.

HIGH PROTEIN LUNCH
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for Dukan-type pancake
1 egg white
2 Tbs non-fat yogurt
2 Tbs oatmeal
salt and pepper
pinch of dried thyme

for chicken
chicken breasts, boneless
water to cover
splash of soy sauce
1 Tbs green tea
2 star anise
a few peppercorns
piece of ginger
salt
squeeze of lemon juice

Poach the chicken by bringing all ingredients to a gentle boil in a saucepan, cover the pan, turn the heat off, and allow the meat to sit in the liquid for 25 minutes.  Remove from the pan, and keep in the fridge until needed (I usually cook 3 chicken breasts on the weekend, and save for lunches the following week).

Make the pancake by beating the egg white in  a small bowl.  In another bowl, mix the yogurt with the oat bran, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Add the beaten egg white to the yogurt, and mix gently with a silicone spatula.   Spray a very light coating of olive oil on a non-stick frying pan, heat the pan over medium heat, and pour the pancake batter on it.  Fry the first side until the top seems to be getting dry, then carefully flip the pancake over. Cook the second side for a couple of minutes, and slide the pancake on a plate.

Cut the chicken breast in slices, add to the same pan you cooked the pancake, adding just a little more oil if necessary.   Saute the chicken slices briefly just to warm them up and get some color.  A squeeze of lemon juice at the end brightens up the flavor. Serve it with the pancake and a small bowl of non-fat cottage cheese, seasoned with salt and pepper.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

I love poaching chicken in green tea and soy sauce.  The  meat gets a delicate hint of color, and the addition of ginger and star anise imparts nice flavor.   You can use chicken poached this way in other recipes, of course.  Shredded for salads, filling of fajitas, or even incorporated in a sauce for pasta.   As to non-fat cottage cheese,  I admit it’s not very gourmet…  The low-fat version is better,  the full-fat truly delicious, but when I’m on my protein-only mission, I stick with the zero fat, and use it to build not only muscle, but character.   😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Festivus Dinner Rolls

TWO YEARS AGO:  New York Deli Rye

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

23 thoughts on “A HIGH PROTEIN LUNCH”

  3. Glad you asked! It turns out that the oat bran that Dukan calls for in his book, is not easy to find in the US. Here it is more common to find oatmeal, and some brands are closer to the “oat bran” than others.
    I included the photo of the product I normally use, because it’s almost all protein, nothing added to it. Here you can find a bit more info on the two products and how they compare

    http://vegsfblog.com/2010/02/15/oat-bran-vs-oatmeal/

    If you find oat bran where you live, just use it in exactly the same proportion.

    Like

    Reply

    • It’ all connected, isn’t it? I am actually here counting the hours until tomorrow, the P90X2 DVDs should be delivered at my front door…. can hardly wait to be completely sore and beaten up by Tony Horton 😉

      Like

      Reply

  5. I’m going to try poaching chicken in green tea and soy sauce. I think the kids and I will really enjoy that. What a great protein lunch! 🙂 I’ve been on a hummus and pita kick lately, perhaps I can through a bit of this chicken in the mix.

    Like

    Reply

  7. Oh, Sally, the build character comment is just too good! Indeed, zero fat cottage cheese is not easy on the palate 😉

    But I already knew you have the will power to stick with it. I should follow your example and get the motivation to get in better shape next year

    Like

    Reply

  8. Where are your veggies young lady?! 🙂

    Delicious lunch option Sally – the seasonings in the chicken are really wonderful. I’m particularly intrigued by the green tea! And what an interesting low carb pancake – I’m going to make it for my husband (using whole egg and 2% yogurt 😉

    Like

    Reply

  10. I am having trouble to reply to each comment individually from my iPad (The Precioussss), so I address the last comments as a group.

    Celia, I guess we are all in the same boat, struggling with temptations and excesses, so it is nice to have a few “weapons” under our best… 🙂

    Margareth, thereto fat cottage cheese is indeed hard to get used to, but…. it is for a good cause… 😉

    Kelly, didn’t t you notice the veggies under the pancake? 😉
    Well, seriously,now.. , I do eat a lot of veggies (but would be better with. more fruit, as Phil constantly reminds me) on my “regular” meals. Just whenI go for a real protein high I skip the veggies.

    Dana, I ve got a cookbook called Culinary Tea, that uses tea I many types of recipes. I actiually did the tea poaching long before getting the book, but stay tuned for some interesting recipes using tea, not only green but oolong, black tea, etc etx

    Like

    Reply

    • I cannot take credit for it… but to be completely honest, I don’t remember where I saw tea-poached chicken for the first time. It was NOT in Culinary Tea, because I just got this cookbook, and I’ve been poaching chicken in tea for a long time…

      Maybe some website, long before I started blogging… Wish I had kept the info to give proper credit

      Like

      Reply

Click here to comment, love to hear from you!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.