Lighter chicken parmasan

I am again trying to eat lighter and exercise more, this is almost an annual thing for me, as I have a tendency to gain weight and after all I love food, and would rather eat and cook than almost anything else. I committed to lose 8 lbs before going on my next big trip in late October, 3 weeks in and I am down 3lbs with 5 more to go in just over 4 weeks. So comes the challenge to create tasty food that is low in calories and fat.

I saw the idea for this on pinterest, but the version there was using prepackaged items and was not particularly healthy so I have changed it up a lot and came up with a dish that fits my brief of using fresh ingredients, and I will definitely make it again.

For 4

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in to quarters
• 1 bunch of fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 cups of tomato puree or tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs (I used panko)
• 1/4 cup of grated parmasan cheese

Place the basil, garlic and olive oil in a small food processor.

Wizz up to make a nutless pesto.

Spread all this mixture on the bottom of baking dish.

Place the chicken on top and then spread the remaining basil mixture on top along with salt and pepper. The baking dish should be big enough to get the chicken in a single layer.

Pour the tomato sauce or tomato puree on top.  Next time I am going to make this with roast tomato sauce 

This can be made to this point, covered and refrigerated until 3/4 of an hour before you want to eat. When ready to bake add the breadcrumbs and parmasan cheese.

Bake in a 350 oven for about 3/4 of an hour until the top is crispy and golden and the chicken is cooked through.

This filled the brief of low calorie and tasty very well. I figured this was about 350 calories a portion, in case you were interested, and was very tasty. I think it would only be improved with using the roasted the tomato sauce, which would only add a few more calories.