Dinner is Served!

For dinner this evening I wanted to make a meal similar to the Banquet Homestyle Bakes Creamy Chicken 7 Biscuits meal in a box.  I mostly followed this recipe for Easy Chicken Pot Pie.  I didn't use an egg and I added a chopped up yukon potato.  I also tried poaching chicken breasts for the first time today and they turned out very well.  Dinner took more than 2 hours to make.  I'm not sure exactly how it took that long, but I need to learn to prep in a more time-manageable way.  I learned that one should chop up potatoes before they boil them.  I also learned that if I make this recipe in the future, I should use my smaller than 9x11 baking dish or double up on the veggies and cream of chicken soup.  Also, I should find the low sodium soup.


The finished product looks very similar to a finished Homestyle Bakes.  It tasted like it too, just a little less creamy.


I wish I could compare the price of this recipe vs. the box dinner.  It usually goes for about $3.79 at Kroger.  I didn't save my last receipt to even attempt to price the cost of this meal.


I will compare nutritional value.  When I do my calculations, I record the values of each ingredient and add them together.  I wonder how off my calculations are due to items being cooked and losing nutritional value?

Serving Size 2/3 cup filling; 1/3 biscuit mix (212g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 160 Calories 350
% Daily Values*
Total Fat 18g		28%
	Saturated Fat 4g	20%
	Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 15mg		5%
Sodium 1050mg		44%
Total Carbohydrate 39g		13%
	Dietary Fiber 6g	24%
	Sugars 4g
Protein 11g

The nutritional value of my meal:  Serving size 1.5 biscuits with chicken and veggies in creamy chicken sauce - 380 calories, 10g fat, 44g carbohydrates, 12g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 50mg cholesterol, 22g protein, 660mg sodium


I'm not certain how my serving sizes measure up with the box.  But the calories and carbohydrates are very close.  Mine is better in the fat, protein and sodium department.  Holy 1050mg of sodium in one serving of the box!  The recipe I went with has 3x as much sugar and more than 3x as much cholesterol!


I guess I made some poor food choices today.  I am not even sure the amount of veggies I had on my plate would constitute one serving.  Paired with the tomato sauce I had with my bagel pizzas for lunch, I will count it as one.  No servings of fruit yet today.  I still have time for a snack before bed, so maybe I'll squeeze one in.


Servings of meats:  Maybe one?  Probably less than one.
Servings of dairy:  4
Servings of fruit:  0
Servings of vegetables:  1
Servings of grains:  2


(Red = Bad, Need to Improve!  Pink/purple = OK, Room for Improvement  Green = Good!)

Daily Consumption

Cups of Water (5 cups) :   4

Total Calorie Intake (1000-1500):  1050

Total Fat Intake (<30% of TCI):   30.5g  2.9% of total calorie intake

Total Carbohydrates (125-175mg):  139mg   Surprisingly on track!

Total Carbs from Sugars (<40g):  86g   High again today!

Total Carbs from Dietary Fiber (20-35g):  8g  Low!!!

Total Cholesterol (<300mg):  99mg

Total Protein (44-60g):  55g 

Total Sodium (<1,100mg):  1500  High!

. . .

Breakfast:  Carnation with a cup of 2% milk - 250 calories, 5.5g fat, 39g carbohydrates, 30g sugar, 4mg cholesterol, 13g protein, 210mg sodium

Lunch:  Bagel pizzas (pizza sauce, cheese on flat bagel) - 220 calories, 8g fat, 27g carbohydrates, 8g sugars, 6g dietary fiber, 20mg cholesterol, 14g protein, 630mg sodium
Snack:  Raspberry fudge chunk greek frozen yogurt - 200 calories, 7g fat, 29g carbohydrates, 36g sugars, 25mg cholesterol, 6g protein

Dinner:  2 biscuits with chicken and veggies in creamy chicken sauce - 380 calories, 10g fat, 44g carbohydrates, 12g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 50mg cholesterol, 22g protein, 660mg sodium

Snack:

I guess I didn't feel like snacking today?