Samantha's Weight-Loss Surgery Friendly Chicken Divan

Not long ago, I held an informal webinar for a few merciful adventurous Foodies to help me test out new webinar software (more on that in a moment). I called it "Pimp My Recipe" and invited folks to bring recipes they wanted to make WLS-friendly.

Now I consider myself a pretty experienced Foodie but there are a few dishes I've never tried before and thus look to you guys to help make it over. Such was the case with Chicken Divan. My buddy Kim wanted to remake it, so thankfully my other buddy Samantha took on the task.

Here's the original recipe:

2 cans cream soup,
1 cup mayo,
1/4 cup lemon juice
About 1 to 2 tablespoons of curry
1 bag of frozen vegetables
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks
2 cups of Cheddar Cheese
1 big can of fried French onions

As you can probably tell, the trouble with this recipe is it's full of FAT! It's got cream soup, mayo and cheese in there. Which almost guarantees it is super yummy but unfortunately for many of you it also means it can make you very, very sick. So here is...

Samantha's Weight-Loss Surgery Friendly Chicken Divan

2 cans or one really large can of Low fat cream of mushroom soup,
(you can make your own as well)
1 cup plain greek yogurt, - (you can also use cultured coconut milk
instead of mayo or greek yogurt)
1/4 cup lemon juice
About 1 to 2 tablespoons of curry
1 bag of frozen vegetables (I use a broccoli cauliflower mix)
1 bag frozen and shelled edamame
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks
2 cups of Cheddar Cheese
1 big can of fried French onions

And here's how she says to make it:

(Nik Note: If you have trouble with chicken, check out my sure-fire trick to marinating meat post-WLS the night before you plan to make this!)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Mix everything except cheese and French onions in a bowl and then place in a 9x13 pan and bake until the chicken is almost done then add cheese and French onions to the top until the cheese is lightly browned.

You may need more Greek yogurt depending on how much sauce you actually need to coat everything.

This is typically served over rice I now serve it over quinoa instead (Nik Note: You can also use cauliflower rice). I do not use low fat cheese nor do I skip the fried French onions. Mostly because even replacing all of the mayo this is still a treat in my household and not a weekly meal. We maybe eat it once a month and because I eat such a small portion I decided to keep those two things in this recipe.

I think Samantha executed the principles of recipe remixing (some of which we discussed on the webinar) perfectly! Making sensible swaps and preserving (in moderation) the core elements of the dish are important things to do. Thanks, Samantha!

Now about these webinars. If you purchased a Bariatric Foodie Holiday Survival Kit or recipe e-book from the "Shop BF!" page, I have set up TWO webinar times for you to ask questions about the recipes in the e-book and to get some advice on your own holiday recipes. The times are both 6 p.m. EST on Saturday, November 10 and Saturday, November 17. 

If you purchased a Kit or e-book already, click here to register for whichever date works best for you (they are both the same webinar, just two different times to fit people's schedules). If you've not yet gotten your Kit or e-book, there are still some available! I'm currently taking Kit orders through November 7 for shipment on November 10. The e-book comes instantly to your email upon purchase!

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