Recently, fast food has been dominant in all walks of life due to its flavorful, savory taste and conveniences. According to recently conducted research, appropriately 36,6% of adults living in American eat fast food every day.
The popularity of this food, along with the circumstance that people continuously purchase it from restaurants, make doctors and nutritionists concerned and warn people to avoid eating it.
Many choose to make chicken quesadillas – a kind of fast food – at home to solve the problem. However, have you ever asked, “are they healthy?”
Are Chicken Quesadillas Healthy?
Typical and traditional chicken quesadillas with sour cream or lots of cheese may not be healthy. However, there are several ingredient substitutes that people can use to make them more nutritious.
Moreover, various healthy recipes have been successfully applied and shared by famous professional chefs.
Although chicken quesadillas have a spicy, flavourful, satisfying taste, they’re still the optimal choice in a harsh diet’s favorite food list, thanks to healthy substitutes.
Why Do Many People Believe That Chicken Quesadillas Are Not Healthy?
Despite being recommended by nutritious specialists, many people still concern and doubt the suitability of chicken quesadillas for human health. There are two main reasons.
First, these are considered fast food. It can be prepared within 20 minutes to become a foolproof lunch or dinner for both adults and children. Combine chicken, cheese, tortilla – all easy-to-find ingredients, and you are ready to make the dish yourself.
You can even use leftover chicken or make it in large quantities for later use for better saving.
These conveniences, along with the savory, fragrant, addictive flavor, may fool people into assuming it is unhealthy. What’s more, the appearance of cheese in the recipe also contributes to the misleading belief.
However, remember that there is no 100% terrible food, and so does cheese. Therefore, limit the amount of cheese used, and you will make the most of its protein, calcium, and other nutrients.
What Can You Do To Make It A Healthier Choice?
To make sure your chicken quesadillas are good for health, remember to use the below ingredients:
- Cooked chicken (breast): Do not worry about choosing chicken. Any kind or part of it would work. However, you should use chicken breast to optimize your diet strategy. This step is quite familiar because experts always recommend dieters include chicken breast in their meals.
- Bell peppers: Red, orange, or green bell peppers are all applicable. However, red and orange are better options if you do not like the bitter taste. Feel free to mix them to create colorful quesadillas. Moreover, you can add low-calorie or organic veggies such as spinach, tomatoes, corn, and so on.
- Whole-grain tortillas: Replace wheat flour tortillas with a whole-grain option (low carb). Whole grain is well-known for its suitability for helping people in strict diets.
- Low- fat Shredded cheese: In the market, various cheddar is supplied. Choose low-fat cheese such as cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, parmesan, feta, goat’s cheese, and low-fat cream cheese.
- Seasonings: Adjust according to your taste. A mix of cumin, salt, pepper is preferable. Thus, remember to limit the use of condiments that contain salt and hidden sodium.
That’s all, five easy-to-find ingredients, and you can simply prepare your amazing and healthy chicken quesadillas satisfying your beloved family.
In addition, several actions you can do to reduce the calorie count and up the nutritional value are:
- Calculate calories including in your recipe before cooking. Dieters always do this before every single meal to best control their energy and exercises.
- Ask for advice from specialists when needed. Contact nutritionists or simply publicize your considerations on the Internet would work.
Above are simple actions you must consider. However, do not skip any of these because even a small change can create significant results.
How Many Calories Is A Large Chicken Quesadilla?
Many different recipes about chicken quesadilla contain high calories. For example, according to a recent estimation of a believable research organization, the average chicken quesadilla from a fast-food restaurant has 529 calories in a serving size of 180 grams. That is a considerable amount!
Homemade dishes may have lower calories and fat because you can control them by yourself. Conduct the above steps, and you will find significant results.
Are They Fattening?
Chicken quesadillas will fatten with some recipes. If you want to enjoy the dish totally, choose the most delicious recipe that may contain high calories and fat.
But if you want to eat them regularly, you should carefully consider ingredients, balance them to reduce calories and fat efficiently.
In other words, whether they are fat or not depends on your purpose and how smart you are when choosing a recipe. Several methods you can apply to decrease calories and fat are illustrated above.
Is Eating Quesadillas Everyday Bad?
There is no absolute good or bad food. Just bad combinations exist. Hence, including chicken quesadillas in your daily meals is not wrong. However, eating the same food continuously will bother and worsen your taste, even if it is the most delicious one.
Repeatedly consuming quesadillas will make you lose the chance to eat other necessary foods that enhance your health conditions. What’s more, overeating chicken also harms your health. So, balance is always the optimal solution.
Can You Eat Them For Breakfast?
Among the three main meals people take every day, breakfast is always said to be significantly important. Therefore, no matter how busy people are, you should not skip breakfast while learning to choose the most beneficial food.
Cereals and other ready-to-cook foods are regular options. However, eating packaged products is not advisable, and you may feel bored with these meals.
Hence, if you have a day off and desire a wholesome breakfast, chicken quesadillas are not a bad alternative. Sometimes, changing regular meals with nutritious meat will enhance your health. Therefore, do not hesitate to give it a try.
Are They Authentic Mexican Food?
Overall, chicken quesadillas, along with other types of quesadillas such as beef quesadillas, taco bell quesadillas, etc., have their origin from colonial Mexico. This dish has changed and developed with more and more flavors throughout thousands of years as people have created different variations.
Since it was born, they have quickly increased in popularity and remained one of the most famous street foods in Mexico and other nations such as the US, England, China, etc. The reasonable price, appealing look, spicy and savory taste make them famous and welcomed.
Wrapping Up
If you are keen on chicken and a strict diet, do not hesitate to make chicken quesadillas at home and not regret it.
The post Chicken Quesadillas: Are They Truly Healthy? first appeared on elpasoNY.com
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