Recipe Makeover: Chicken Parm

I love chicken parmesan. It's one of my favorite dishes. In fact, I hope my last meal is pasta, chicken parmesan, lots of bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, red wine and tiramisu. Have you ever played that game? You know, the "what would your last meal be if you had to choose?" Ok, just me and ad man hub? Anyway, I would totally have chicken parm. Well I have to share my recipe makeover with you. It's delish and better for you than the original.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 jar light spaghetti sauce, look for something "traditional" no extra stuff
Shredded Parmesan
Italian bread crumbs
2 egg whites
Cracked red pepper
Wheat pasta
Low-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (optional)
Olive oil cooking spray
Salt, pepper and any other Italian spices you like

Directions
Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray until coated. Place egg whites and desired spices in one shallow bowl. Stir. In a separate shallow bowl dump a moderate amount of bread crumbs and add 1 TBS of Shredded Parmesan.

Place chicken breasts in a plastic baggy and pound with a rolling pin (or other device you might beat someone over the head with if they misbehave) until flattened slightly. Remove chicken from baggy and dip into the egg mixture first and then roll in bread crumbs until completely covered. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with second chicken breast. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked thoroughly. About two minutes before the chicken is done, sprinkle some parmesan cheese (or a pinch or so of the mozzarella cheese) on top of the chicken. Bake until melted.

While the chicken is baking, cook your wheat pasta and prep the sauce. For the sauce, I always like to "doctor up" a traditional prepared sauce with a few spices. I like it hot and spicy, so I always add cracked red pepper along with a mix of other Italian seasonings like basil, oregano, etc. There are also some already mixed Italian spices that you can grab at the grocery store. Those are great.

Ok, so you know how the rest goes. When the chicken is done, place it on a dish with a cup of pasta. Top with sauce and sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese and PRESTO - you have a lower-cal option.

My recos to make it even healthier:

1) Don't have bread with it. You've already got the carb action with the pasta, don't load up with anymore.
2) Don't substitute the whole wheat with regular pasta. The whole wheat is the best for you. A note about whole wheat pasta: ad man hub was SO anti whole wheat pasta until he actually tried it. He's on-board now, though. He (the guy who lives on Taco Bell and NOTHING lo-cal) thinks it tastes just about the same. So there you have it.
2) Add veggies to the sauce. If you want some more healthy stuff, add broccoli, onions, green peppers, etc.
3) Go EASY on the cheese. Really the little bit that I call for above will add the cheese flavor without the big hunk'o'cheese you get at restaurants.

Enjoy!

Nutrition per serving
Total Calories: 460
Total Fat: 6 grams
Fiber: 7.6 grams

Oh and P.S. hubs diet is STILL going really well. He hasn't even fudged once. I'm a proud wife!