5:2 diet: Chicken dishes and recipes

 © Ryzhkov | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images
Photo Credit: © Ryzhkov | Dreamstime Stock Photos &Stock Free Images

Do you feel like chicken tonight? Well, it's not a bad choice for the 5:2 diet. While all meat tends to be higher in calories than fish and vegetable dishes you can make some satisfying and interesting low calories dishes with chicken - of course you'll have to make sure you cut all the skin and fat off.

Using chicken for your main meal of the day can be a good choice if you are cooking for others in your family while doing the 5:2 diet. You can use a 5:2 recipe like those below, you stick to a single portion serving and let your partner take a bigger serving or include an extra side dish or two for them.

And it's a good choice for a family meal as most children like chicken dishes even if they won't eat fish yet.

For 5:2 dieters it's best to use chicken breast meat as it's the least fatty and therefore the lowest in calories.

An uncooked chicken breast is about 114 calories per 100g. So a medium chicken breast is about 130 calories. If you want to be very accurate with your calorie count you will need to weigh the chicken. If you are using cooked chicken breast - roasted or poached - 142 calories.

If you prefer to buy whole chickens then one option is to roast a chicken on one of the non-fast days and use the thighs and wings then. And save some breast meat for your fast day. 1 oz of roasted chicken breast uses 56 calories.

Add 2 oz of chopped chicken breast to a large salad for lunch or even use 1 oz of chicken as a mid morning or afternoon snack to keep the cravings at bay.

See below for some of my favourite low calorie chicken recipes for the 5.2 diet. Remember the calories below usually refer to one portion from the recipe.


Chicken and Parmesan Fennel  (244 calories)

Garlic and Mushroom Chicken (248 calories)

Tarragon Chicken Parcels (330 calories)

Cajun Chicken Kebabs (215 calories)

Sweet and Sour Chicken (278 calories)

Lemon Chicken with Cannellini beans (275 calories)




No comments: