Who hasn’t had a craving for a big bucket of fried chicken? The satisfaction of licking your fingers and wiping the grease all over your clothing is surprisingly satisfying. It tastes so good, but unfortunately, one piece can pack in close to 500 calories and 28g of fat.

I have come up with a healthy alternative that is sure to satisfy your crispy craving. The nutty coating on this chicken makes it pleasing and mouth-watering. Who needs greasy fried chicken when you have this crusty, crunchy dish?

Ingredients:
• 4 4- ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
• 2 cups Special K Protein Plus cereal(or another plain bran flake cereal)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• ¾ teaspoon poultry seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Place a chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and flatten with a meat mallet to ½ inch thickness. Repeat with remaining breasts.
2. Place the chicken in a glass bowl and cover with the buttermilk. Turn the chicken to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours, turning occasionally.
3. Put the cereal in the food processor and process into coarse crumbs. Alternatively you can put the cereal in a reseal able plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or with your hands. You will have approximately 1 cup of crumbs. Put the crumbs in a shallow dish and add the pecans, lemon pepper, poultry seasoning, and salt. Stir to combine.
4. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and shake off excess. Dip the chicken in the cereal mixture, turning to coat both sides well.
5. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the chicken in a single layer. Coat the tops lightly with cooking spray and bake at 400F for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is crisp and gold on the outside and is cooked through. Serve hot.

Serves 4
Nutrition Content:
Per Serving: 357 calories, 21g carbohydrate,4g fiber,41g protein,13g total fat,2g sat. Fat, 686mg sodium

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being.  For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.