Baked Chicken & Bacon Pesto: The Bariatric Cookery Solo Dining Club Recipe 3

Chicken & Bacon Pesto served on the Bariatric Portion Plate with Bariatric Portion Cutlery

This is a dish that I often make if dining alone (or don’t wish to eat what others are having) and there’s an even simpler version of it (minus the bacon) in my latest book ‘The Bariatric Bible’ (details here) It is very easily prepared and quickly cooked, and it boasts a very impressive amount of protein in a bariatric portion. The small amount of pesto used does lift the chicken from the bland to the most delicious. Serve as it is, with vegetables or a little salad if liked.

This is the kind of uncomplicated food (just a few ingredients) I like to cook when dining solo!

Occasionally I will ring the changes by using red pesto instead of the regular reduced-fat one and vary my cheese too – surprisingly a blue-veined one is a favourite with the red pesto variation.

Needless to say you can opt for a chicken thigh instead of a breast if easier to digest and choose a breast portion from small to medium according to your appetite. The stats quoted here are for a 100 g/4 oz small to medium one, using a rasher/slice of bacon, regular reduced-fat pesto and some reduced-fat cheese.

BAKED CHICKEN AND BACON PESTO

Ingredients

METRIC/US

1 x 100 g/4 oz skinless and boneless chicken breast, flattened slightly

1 rasher/slice bacon

1 heaped tsp reduced-fat pesto sauce (I used Sacla)

1 heaped tbsp grated reduced-fat hard cheese or shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

1 small tomato, sliced

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 C/375 F/gas 5.
Wrap the chicken breast with the bacon, tucking the ends underneath. Place on a small non-stick baking sheet and spread with the pesto sauce. Cover with a little oiled foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the foil, sprinkle with the cheese and top with the tomato slices. Cook for a further 8-12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and no longer pink.
Serve with vegetables in season or a little salad if liked.

SERVES 1

WLS PORTION: ½-1

CALORIES PER PORTION: 252

PROTEIN: 39.7 g

CARBOHYDRATE: 4.1 g

FAT: 8.8 g