September is National Chicken Month and I'm going to tell you about all the awesome things you can do with a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, so you won't have to "wing it" to get your protein, fast!
I love a good rotisserie chicken, myself, but I always used to feel a little guilty making it for the fam…like, is this really the healthiest thing to be feeding them? Am I sacrificing something by getting a chicken quick from the grocery store?
Is rotisserie chicken actually super unhealthy??
Well…
The next time you buy a rotisserie chicken, you may want to check the ingredients, because it's got more than just chicken in it! Unfortunately, you might find out that even if the first ingredient is chicken (which, if it's somehow not, put it away! Put it away!)…
…you'll probably see salt as the third or fourth ingredient. And you'll also see the sugar dextrose on there.
This all makes sense because of course the manufacturer wants people to think, "Wow, this rotisserie chicken tastes SO good!" without really thinking about what all that salt is going to do to heart health over time…
If you eat a few ounces of Walmart chicken, for example, which is about a normal serving, it's almost 700 mg of sodium. That's half your daily allowance!
However, if you want to spring $10 instead of $5, Whole Foods has a rotisserie chicken without any salt added… maybe at that point, it's better to just cook your own?
Costco has some good middle ground, with their $5 rotisserie chicken only having half the sodium that the Walmart one does.
Now that I'm sure you're feeling really mouth-wateringly hungry with all this discussion about sodium and dextrose being added where it shouldn't be… 😂 Without further ado, my incomplete list of…
Chicken cooking ideas!
- Bean chicken chili
- chicken noodle soup
- chicken corn chowder
- chicken enchiladas
- chicken tacos
- chicken quesadillas
- nachos with chicken
- buffalo chicken mac and cheese
- buffalo chicken flatbread
- BBQ chicken stuffed baked potatoes
- barbecue chicken pizza
- pulled chicken sandwiches
- chicken salad grain bowl with quinoa, onions, avocados, and tomatoes
- chicken pita pockets with cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, and feta cheese
Really, if you have beans or pasta on hand, or any vegetables from lettuce to cucumbers to tomatoes to onions…your options are endless. Throw chicken in with four or five other ingredients and call it a salad! Or put it in a pot, add some rice, and call it a stir fry!
I know cooking isn't everyone's favorite thing, but chicken is one of the healthiest and quickest-to-cook meats, especially if you buy a decent rotisserie chicken!
Does anyone else have recommendations for where to buy a rotisserie chicken to maximize health while minimizing costs? Are there any grocery stores on your list that I missed? Or do you have any awesome chicken-based recipes to share? Let me know in the comments below!
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