Is chicken breast a must-eat for weight loss? 3 health benefits of chicken breast, 4 steps to cook it to make it delicious and not dry

Chicken breast, which is low in fat and high in protein, is a popular ingredient for fitness and weight loss. However, due to its low fat content, it can easily become dry and unpalatable if not cooked properly. So how can you lose weight and still enjoy delicious chicken breast dishes? Cooking experts say that if people master these four steps, they can easily cook and properly preserve chicken breast to create a tender and juicy dish.

Is chicken breast a holy grail for weight loss? Low fat, high protein, 3 major nutritional benefits are favored by slimming people

However, why is it that when choosing meat supplements for weight loss, people are often recommended to give priority to chicken breast? Lee Liang-ji, a well-known Korean culinary researcher, wrote in his book "The Complete Cooking Guide for Chicken Breast to Gain Muscle and Reduce Fat: You Can Lose Weight Even If You Eat a Lot of Meat!" The book "Cold Salad, Fry, Stir-Fry, and Grill" mentioned that this is because from a nutritional point of view, every 100 grams of chicken breast has about 109 calories and a protein content of up to 23.1 grams.

It also contains various trace elements such as sodium, potassium, niacin, vitamin B2, etc., but the fat content is less than 1 gram and it does not contain sugar (0 grams of sugar). From this, we can see that chicken breast is not only a representative high-protein food, but also low in calories. It is easy to digest because it contains almost no fat. It is also rich in a variety of essential amino acids and nutrients for the human body, and has the following three major benefits:

【3 health benefits of chicken breast】

Benefit 1: High-quality protein

In terms of protein content, chicken breast contains 30 to 50% more than the same amount of pork or beef. Moreover, the protein in chicken breast is rich in essential amino acids, which play a variety of roles after being absorbed by the human body. It will strengthen the function of our liver and prevent liver disease. If consumed after exercise, it can help prevent muscle loss. It also helps brain development and the formation of cell tissue, so it is also a good food for children.

Benefit 2: Only 1% fat

100 grams of chicken breast contains less than 1 gram of fat, 70% of which are essential fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids that are beneficial to the human body and help prevent arteriosclerosis and heart disease. The remaining fat component that we must avoid only accounts for 0.3 grams, so those who need to control fat intake due to weight loss, obesity, or adult diseases can eat it with peace of mind.

Benefit 3: Contains micronutrients

Chicken breast is rich in niacin, vitamin B, potassium and other trace nutrients. Niacin is a nutrient required for the production of neurotransmitters. If you eat 100g of chicken breast, you will get 75% of the recommended daily intake. In addition, vitamin B helps eliminate fatigue, while sodium plays a role in excreting potassium and waste products.

Is chicken breast a must for losing weight? What are the benefits of chicken breast in cooking? Understand the differences between 4 common weight loss methods in the market at once

Therefore, for those who want to lose weight, eating in moderation can not only help restore physical strength, but also prevent hair loss and muscle loss that may be caused by weight loss. In addition, its ability to maintain a feeling of fullness for a long time makes chicken breast an indispensable ingredient in the weight loss menu.

In addition, chicken breast is relatively cheap and has a lighter taste than beef and pork, making it perfect for the whole family to enjoy. And because chicken breast is not only low in calories, but also can maintain a feeling of fullness for a long time, for people who need to lose weight, choosing a low-carbohydrate, high-protein weight loss method and moderately using chicken breast in cooking is a more humane way of losing weight compared to ultra-low calorie weight loss methods, single food weight loss methods, high-fat weight loss methods and other blind fasting or dieting methods.

【Differences in common weight loss methods】

●Ultra-low calorie weight loss method:

Refers to a diet-style weight loss method that involves consuming only 800 calories a day. Compared to the recommended daily intake of 2,700 calories for men and 2,000 calories for women for healthy adults, this weight loss method consumes very few calories throughout the day, so it can quickly reduce weight. However, it is also relatively easy for weight to rebound once dieting is interrupted. In the long run, it is more likely to lead to muscle loss and even make people gain weight easily no matter how little they eat.

●Single food weight loss method:

The single food weight loss method is a dietary management method that only consumes specific foods during the weight loss period, choosing one of the following foods to consume: fruits, vegetables, grains, or protein products. Like the low-calorie weight loss method mentioned above, if this weight loss method is used for a long time, it may induce muscle loss or nutritional imbalance, electrolyte imbalance and other health problems.

●High fat weight loss method:

It is a weight loss method that increases fat intake and reduces carbohydrate intake at the same time, also known as the ketogenic diet weight loss method. Although using fat as an energy supplement allows you to freely consume high-fat foods and maintain a high level of satiety, this method also increases the daily intake of calories and saturated fatty acids, and also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

●Low-carbohydrate, high-protein weight loss method → ​​Chicken breast weight loss method:

It is a method of controlling the daily intake of foods that easily raise blood sugar levels, such as grains and fruits, and increasing protein intake. Among them, the chicken breast weight loss method is the most representative, but it should be noted that if high-protein foods are the only source of food, it will cause a burden on the liver and heart. Therefore, it is recommended that when implementing this weight loss method, it must be consumed with fresh vegetables to maintain a balanced diet and supplement the nutrients that the human body needs and lacks.

No matter how you cook chicken breast, it always seems dry and tasteless? 4 steps to prepare delicious chicken breast dishes

In addition to explaining and illustrating why chicken breast is so important in the minds of those who are trying to lose weight. Li Liangzhi, a culinary researcher, also generously shared with everyone in the book, 5 steps to deal with chicken breasts, as well as storage and cooking methods to help improve the problem of dry chicken breasts, so that everyone can enjoy fresh and delicious dishes while losing weight:

[4 steps to process chicken breast]

Step 1 / Choose thick meat:

When choosing chicken breast, you should choose meat that is thick and light pink. Chicken skin is made of fat, so it is recommended to remove it. To remove chicken skin, simply place the knife blade on the chicken breast and make a cut, then pull the skin to easily remove it. In addition, the fat between the chicken skin and lean meat also needs to be carefully removed.

Step 2 / Soften the meat:

Soak the chicken breast in milk for 30 minutes. The protein in the milk can remove the fishy smell and soften the meat. When grilling on a pan, you can also sprinkle it with herbs such as rosemary or rub it with lemon juice.

Step 3／Seasoning to remove the fishy smell:

Add spices such as chili, garlic, ginger, and herbs when cooking. The spices will add flavor and aroma, so even if you use a small amount of salt, you can still cook a fragrant chicken breast dish. And pickling with vinegar or lemon juice to make it slightly sour can further reduce the amount of salt used. In addition, adding garlic, ginger, onion, rice wine, etc. when seasoning after cooking can easily remove the fishy smell.

Step 4 / Master the cooking time:

Since chicken breasts have almost no fat, cooking time is very important. When frying in a frying pan, turn off the heat when you feel the chicken breast is springy when pressed; if it is boiled in water, cook for about 15 minutes until done. If it is overcooked, the meat juice will be lost and the taste and texture will be reduced.

Chicken breast should be properly packaged and stored:

Divide the deodorized chicken breast into meal-sized portions, store in ziplock bags or airtight containers, and freeze. However, please note that if frozen chicken breast is cooked directly without being thawed, the middle will not be cooked evenly or it will become dry and tough due to long cooking time. Therefore, it is recommended to thaw it before cooking.

[Basic preparation method for tender and juicy chicken breast]

Culinary researcher Li Liangzhi further added that if your impression of chicken breast is that it is dry, tasteless meat, then you must remember the following cooking methods, which will definitely change your impression of chicken breast. As long as you master the following basic cooking methods, you can not only remove the fishy smell of chicken breast, but also lock in the gravy and tenderness inside, allowing you to easily serve delicious chicken breast dishes.

★ Beginner's Edition - Boiled Chicken Breast

Ingredients: 100g chicken breast.

Soup base for cooking chicken breast: 1/4 onion, 1 scallion, 2 cloves of garlic, 20g of ginger, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 3 cups of water.

practice:

1. Boil water for spices: Pour water into a pot and add onion, scallion, garlic, ginger, bay leaf, black peppercorns and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes.

2 Cook the chicken breast: After the water boils, add the chicken breast and cook until cooked.

★ Beginner's Edition - Grilled Chicken Breast

Ingredients: 100g chicken breast.

Marinade for chicken breast: 1 tablespoon white wine, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, a little chopped basil, a little salt and pepper.

practice:

1. Marinade: Marinate the chicken breast in the marinade for about 30 minutes.

2. Fry the chicken breast: Put the marinated chicken breast in a frying pan or oven and fry until cooked.

★Advanced version - Herb-roasted chicken breast

Calories (1 serving): 222 calories.

In addition to removing the fishy smell of chicken, a variety of different spices can also add aroma and taste. Put the chicken breast in the oven with tomatoes and onions for an even better flavor.

Ingredients (for 1 person):

100g chicken breast, 2 tomatoes, 1 onion, a pinch of salt and pepper, 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.

Chicken breast marinade: 1 tablespoon white wine, 2 tablespoons mixed western spices.

practice:

1. Marinate chicken breast. Pour the white wine over the chicken breasts, spread the spices evenly over them and let sit overnight.

2.Wrap with cooking paper and place in the oven. Wrap the marinated chicken breast, whole tomatoes and onions in cooking paper and bake in the oven at 170°C for about 30 minutes.

3. Cut the chicken breast. Cut the roasted chicken breast into bite-sized pieces.

4. Arrange the dish. Sprinkle tomatoes and onions with salt, pepper, and olive oil, then serve with the chicken breasts.

TIP: You can marinate the chicken breast with spices in advance and store it in the freezer. When needed, thaw it, cut it into appropriate sizes, and bake it in the oven. You can easily enjoy a delicious dish.