astradele

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/238959

Jul 24, 2007 04:30 AM
Suzanne Carere
Special to the Star

Product: Quarter Chicken Breast (skinless).

Price: $7.49.

Total calories: 210 calories in 124 g.

Manufacturer: Swiss Chalet.

The Position: Swiss Chalet’s chicken breast dinner meets the Health Check criteria and is a healthier choice than most fast-food meals.

Ingredients: Chicken.

Nutritional breakdown: 0 g carbohydrate, 38 g protein, 7 g fat (2 g saturated, 0 g trans).

Analysis: I recently watched a friend painstakingly peel all the skin off her Swiss Chalet chicken breast. I could tell she didn’t want to but she’s concerned about fat calories and knows that skinless chicken breasts are very low in fat.

I hated to burst her bubble, as I reached for her skin, but that’s true only if the skin is removed before the chicken is cooked. According to the Canadian Nutrient File, a cooked skinless chicken breast has only 2 grams of fat.

In the case of rotisserie chicken, the skin holds most of the fat inside as it turns into oil, allowing the meat to absorb it. According to Swiss Chalet’s online nutrition table, the meat contains almost twice as much fat (7 g) as the skin (4 g).

Alternative: A clear alternative is to stay at home and cook your own skinless chicken breast. Another is to get the dinner with salad and no-fat raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

Take it or leave it: If eating rotisserie chicken, accept it’s higher in fat and adjust your fat intake elsewhere.