Red Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip

Saturday Night Adventures

I used to have a go-to recipe for a Medifast-friendly buffalo chicken dip  that I would make to take to parties, so I would be sure to have something I could eat that was on plan (or so I thought).  I made a double batch of it one day because we were scheduled to host small group at our house.  However, a blizzard hit and the meeting was cancelled.  I figured, no problem, I've got my lean and green meal prepared for the next few days then.

And then the scale stopped moving.  I'm not as consistent about logging my meals as I should be, but it's one of the first things I do when I hit a plateau.  Frequently, I find that something I've eaten has taken me out of the optimal fat burning zone of 800-850 calories and 80-85 carbs.  When I calculated the nutrition values for the original recipe, I found it had 413 calories and 19.6 grams of fat, not counting calories from any veggies added to the meal.  To be on plan, your entire lean and green meal, protein and vegetables, should be no more than 400 calories.  Eating this put me at the top end of the allowed calories and fat for the entire day on the 5 and 1 plan, and far away from the optimal fat burning zone.  No way!  Not this mama.

So it was recipe makeover time.  It was surprisingly easy, much easier than I thought it would be.  I substituted fat-free cheddar for the reduced fat cheddar, and used a tablespoon of 1% milkfat cottage cheese in place of the cream cheese.  I also cooked the chicken in the crockpot in broth, so it stayed hydrated and didn't shrink from its raw weight.  By changing two ingredients, and the way I cooked the chicken, I was able to eliminate 135 calories and over 10 grams of fat.  Same delicious taste, just like hot wings.

Ingredients

18 oz boneless skinless chicken breast (3 lean)
1 cup fat-free chicken broth (1 condiment)
1 cup fat-free cheddar cheese, shredded (1 lean)
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank's Hot Buffalo) (4 condiments)
1/2 cup Hidden Valley Ranch Light or light blue cheese dressing (4 healthy fats)
1/4 cup 1% milkfat cottage cheese, blended (1/6 lean)

Instructions

Cook chicken in broth in slow cooker on high for 4 hours.  Depending on your slow cooker, you may need to turn it to low after a couple of hours.  Remove chicken from the cooking liquid and shred.  It should be falling apart, so it will shred easily with two forks or you can use the food processor.  Discard cooking liquid.  In a bowl, mix chicken, buffalo wing sauce, dressing and cottage cheese until well combined.  Place in baking dish and top with shredded cheddar.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings, 1 lean, 1.25 condiments
Nutrition information will vary depending on what brand of salad dressing you use.  I calculated nutrition values using Hidden Valley Ranch Homestyle Light
278 calories, 9.1 grams fat, 1708 mg sodium, 3.8 grams carbohydrates, 37.8 grams protein

Serve with 3 cups of on-plan vegetables for dipping