This week I had the worst craving yet since my stomach revolted, and it wasn’t even for sweets! This time it was for some honey mustard crusted chicken. Don’t ask why, because I just don’t know. It just sounded SO good!! Naturally, like so many things, it’s a big no-no for GERD (and I’m not sure at this point whether dijon mustard or mustard seeds would be ok on the low FODMAP diet. I didn’t bother researching since I already knew it wasn’t allowed due to the GERD).
To make up for this, I needed to come up with something else that would be similar texture-wise, but wouldn’t try and kill my insides due to ingredients. Almond crusted chicken sounded fabulous (almonds are good to go with low FODMAP, and using a small quantity in breading wouldn’t be fattening enough to cause GERD issues, and either there will be gluten free breadcrumbs to buy without any problem ingredients or I’ll just make my own by drying out and grinding some gluten free bread), until I started realizing all the recipes out there use – wait for it – mustard smeared on the skin before putting the breading on. It’s like a big conspiracy or something! If they didn’t use mustard, they used honey, which is strictly prohibited on the low FODMAP diet, or egg which I was trying to avoid because I don’t think my body handles eggs very well.
Next, my brain went to strawberries (probably because I was eating my afternoon snack of strawberries), which pair well with almonds, so this seemed promising! Strawberry jam would be ideal, since it’s slightly sticky like honey and has substance like the mustard to hold the breading on. Problem with jam, though, is that it’s full of preservatives (i.e. acids) and usually contains lemon juice in there as well. Sure enough, the internet gives a resounding giant thumbs down to jam with respect to GERD/reflux.
This was starting to get ridiculous, but only made me more determined to figure something out! Short of making my own jam (which just isn’t a thing that’s going to happen), what could I do? My mind wandered off to balsamic vinegar for a moment (thinking of other fabulous things that go with strawberries that I can’t eat) which brought to mind balsamic reduction. Yes!! Balsamic reduction is sticky like honey (when reduced enough), and surely there must be a way to reduce strawberries enough to where they would morph into something similar, right?
Right! And so here we go. Somehow I went from a desire for honey mustard crusted chicken to having strawberry almond crusted chicken, and I must say, the end product eviscerated any longing for mustard, honey, balsamic, or anything else. It was SO good! The sweetness of the strawberries paired with the toasted flavor of the almonds was perfection, and the chicken was baked to tender perfection thanks to its blanket of strawberry reduction. Strawberries (and almonds) in large quantities tend to give me some GERD symptoms, but I found that the amount you end up with is quite minimal with this chicken. Having reduced the strawberries, the flavor comes through strong so that you don’t need much.
This chicken is quite high in fat due to the almonds, but if you stick to a single serving portion and serve it with non-fat sides (such as steamed vegetables) you should do fine unless you’re in the midst of an IBS flare-up and/or are in the elimination diet phase for GERD. I served the chicken breasts with a side of steamed carrots (30g cooked per plate) and zucchini (40g cooked per plate) and a baked potato (122g prior to cooking, 90g after cooking), to make a complete IBS and GERD Friendly Meal. *Note the photo shows 2 servings of the chicken.* It was an excellent summertime dinner and I can’t wait to make it again!
Strawberry & Toasted Almond Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
For Strawberry Reduction/Puree:
- 150 g strawberries (this is about 10 medium-sized berries) - washed, de-stemmed and diced
- 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 cup + 3 Tbsp. water
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
For Toasted Almond Breading:
- 50 g toasted almond slices (either buy toasted if available, or make your own - recipe here). *Note: The almonds need to be toasted, otherwise the almond flavor won't come through much.
- 1/3 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (if buying packaged, be careful to read labels - for GERD, make sure they don't contain acids or lemon/lime juices, and for both IBS/GERD make sure they don't contain any onion or garlic. Alternatively, you could make your own breadcrumbs by drying out gluten free bread for several days, then placing in a blender and pulsing into crumbs. I used this kind that I found at a local grocery store)
- 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 3/4 tsp. salt (I use pink himalayan salt which seems to be less intense than regular salt, so if you're using regular you might want to use a bit less)
For Chicken:
- 12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded out to be level, ~1/4" thick)
Instructions
For Strawberry Reduction/Puree:
- Place the strawberries, sugar and 1 cup of the water in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring frequently, for ~10-15 minutes, until sauce has reduced to ~1/4" in the pan.
- Remove from heat, transfer to a blender and blend until the strawberries are completely pureed/liquefied.
- Return the pureed strawberry sauce to the saucepan over medium heat.
- Mix the cornstarch in a small dish with the remaining 3 Tbsp. cold water until it dissolves, then add to the strawberry sauce and stir constantly until sauce is very thick (seriously, you want it incredibly thick. The goal is to be almost as thick as honey, almost like molasses).
- Remove from heat, place in a large, shallow dish and allow to cool while you make the almond breading.
For Toasted Almond Breading:
- At this point, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the toasted almonds, rosemary, thyme and salt in a blender and pulse until almonds are finely diced.
- Place in a large, shallow dish, add the breadcrumbs and mix until thoroughly combined.
For Chicken:
- Before working with the chicken, prepare your baking pan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set next to the dish with the almond/breadcrumb mixture (you want a bit of an assembly line going. Dish with raspberry sauce, dish with almond/breadcrumb mixture, parchment-lined baking sheet).
- Take a chicken breast and, using your fingers, smear the raspberry sauce all over. You want a semi-thick but not too thick layer on each side, and as much chicken covered as possible.
- Place the chicken breast down flat in the dish with the almond/breadcrumbs mixture, rinse and dry off your hands, then gently turn the chicken breast over to other side so both sides of the chicken get covered, then place onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. *Note: I'm not going to lie, this step is a tiny bit annoying... just stop, rinse and dry your hands again if needed, and it will all work out fine, I promise! My chicken breasts didn't seem like they were totally covered with the strawberry stuff, then some had spots that didn't have almond/breadcrumb mixture (where my fingers had been) once they were on the baking sheet. I didn't worry about the first issue and just threw some of the extra almond/breadcrumb mixture on the spots where my fingers had been. They all came out looking and tasting great!
- Repeat step 2-3 for the remaining chicken breast(s).
- Bake in preheated oven for ~22-25 minutes, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches at least 165 degrees F.
Notes
- You have to eyeball serving on this a bit. That's why it's important to pound the chicken out into a nice even layer, so you can gauge when it's done how to cut it into 4 even servings. You know it's 12oz of chicken and yields 4 servings, so try and visualize it. Or weigh out no more than 3+1/4oz of the chicken and that will definitely be a safe amount. It's important with this recipe to not overdo it, because of the fat from the almonds and all the sugar in the strawberry sauce, but eaten in the right portion you should have no symptoms from it (as long as you're not in an IBS flare-up and/or in the elimination diet phase for GERD).
- This recipe may not be suitable for those with GERD/Acid Reflux that are in the "dropping acid" phase (har de har har, I know) due to the rosemary and thyme as well as the higher fat content. This is more for those who have gotten their acid levels under control and are in the maintenance phase.
*The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.*
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