Lightened Up Chicken Parmesan

-For the breading:

◦ 6 whole wheat ritz crackers

◦ 1/4C-1/2C grated parmesan cheese

◦ 3/4tsp each: salt, black pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning

-1/3C Egg whites

-1lb boneless skinless chicken breast tenders

-1 jar of marinara pasta sauce (I stand by Kroger’s simple truth brand original marinara. Its delicious)

-2C baby spinach

-shredded Italian style or mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with nonstick.

In a sandwich baggie, crush crackers with a rolling pin or other cylindrical object. Add Parmesan cheese and spices, seal bag and shake to combine. Spread breadcrumbs on a large plate.

Pour egg whites into a bowl. Begin dipping tenders into egg whites then coating in breadcrumb mixture and place on foiled cookie sheet. Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 mins. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet to medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil or nonstick and sautee baby spinach until slightly wilted.

Remove tenders from oven and flip. With a large spoon, coat each tender with marinara sauce. Place spinach atop marinara then cover with shredded cheese. Place tenders back in oven for another 5 mins or until cheese is melted.

I weighed out 1oz of thin whole wheat spaghetti and cooked to al dente, about 6 mins and Topped it with marinara. I served it on the side with a small simple salad. 2-3 tenders are one serving, and you should be able to get about 3 servings out of a pound of chicken.