Chicken is a favored choice in terms of consuming lean protein. The chicken comes from a bird that is grown by several people to obtain their eggs and meat. It is low in fats and rich in protein as well as easy to prepare at home itself. Chicken is the most common as well as popular food that can be found anywhere in any menu card, whether on street food or in cuisines. Some people wonder how many calories does chicken contains when it is on your plate. So, to understand the amount of calories chicken contain, one must understand that chicken comes in different cuts, each containing a different portion of calorie count. Chicken is divided into breasts, wings, thighs, and drumsticks.
Do you know how many calories count for each cut of chicken?
- CHICKEN BREAST
Most people prefer chicken breast and it is the most favorable choice in all the parts of the chicken. People maintaining a healthy lifestyle prefer consuming chicken breast as it is rich in terms of protein and low in terms of fat. Therefore, people prefer to eat chicken breast for losing their body weight.
Considering 100 grams of boneless, skinless, and cooked chicken breast, the nutritional split would be as follows:
CALORIES– 165
PROTEIN– 31 GRAMS
FAT– 3.6 GRAMS
CARBS– 0 GRAMS
Considering 172 grams of cooked, boneless, and skinless chicken breast, the nutritional split would be as follows:
CALORIES– 284
PROTEIN– 53.4 GRAMS
FAT– 6.2 GRAMS
CARBS– 0 GRAMS
That means approx. 20% of the calories in chicken breast come from the fat present in it and 80% of the calories in chicken breast come from protein present in it.
Keep in the notice that these nutritional values of plain chicken breast are values without adding anything to it. Once you add oil, marinades or sauces, and other ingredients like vegetables, the total calories are increased along with carbs and fat.
- CHICKEN THIGH
Whatever contains a higher amount of fat will be definitely more tasteful and tender in nature.
Considering 100 grams of cooked, boneless, and skinless chicken thigh, the nutritional split would be as follows:
CALORIES– 209
PROTEIN– 26 GRAMS
FAT– 10.9 GRAMS
CARBS– 0 GRAMS
Considering 52 grams of cooked, boneless, and skinless chicken thigh, the nutritional split would be as follows:
CALORIES– 109
PROTEIN– 13.5 GRAMS
FAT– 5.7 GRAMS
CARBS– 0 GRAMS
Therefore, these values state that 47% of calories in chicken thigh comes from the fat present in it and 53% of calories in chicken thigh come from protein present in it.
Usually, when we go to buy chicken thighs, they are cheaper than chicken breasts which makes it budget-friendly for people who are low on budget.
- CHICKEN WINGS
Whenever it comes to chicken wings, we either find them as a fried dishes or something saucy which automatically removes it from our mind as a healthy intake. But if we consume them without frying or coating them with bread and sauce, they can be easily consumed as a healthy protein.
Considering 100 grams of cooked, boneless, and skinless chicken wings, the nutritional split would be as follows:
CALORIES– 203
PROTEIN– 30.5 GRAMS
FAT– 8.1 GRAMS
CARBS– 0 GRAMS
Considering 21 grams of cooked, boneless, and skinless chicken wings, the nutritional split would be as follows:
CALORIES– 42.6
PROTEIN– 6.4 GRAMS
FAT– 1.7 GRAMS
CARBS– 0 GRAMS
So, in the case of chicken wings, 36% of calories come from the fat present in them and 64% of calories come from protein present in it.
- CHICKEN DRUMSTICK
Chicken drumsticks come from the leg of the chicken and are made up of two parts that are the thigh and the drumstick itself. It is the lower part of the chicken leg and probably the cheapest cut of out all.
Considering 100 grams of cooked, boneless, and skinless chicken drumstick, the nutritional split would be as follows:
CALORIES– 172
PROTEIN– 28.3 GRAMS
FAT– 5.7 GRAMS
CARBS– 0 GRAMS
Considering 44 grams of cooked, boneless, and skinless chicken drumstick, the nutritional split would be as follows:
CALORIES– 76
PROTEIN– 12.4 GRAMS
FAT– 2.5 GRAMS
CARBS– 0 GRAMS
Overall, chicken drumsticks calories come from its protein level which is 70% and 30% comes from fat content present in it.
OTHER TYPES OF CHICKEN SPLITS
When it comes to chicken you will always find wings, breasts, thighs, and drumsticks on the top list but there are other options available as well.
You will find other splits with calorie content present in it below:
- Chicken tenders: 263 calories per 3.5 ounces (100 grams)
- Back: 137 calories per 3.5 ounces (100 grams)
- Dark meat: 125 calories per 3.5 ounces (100 grams)
- Light meat: 114 calories per 3.5 ounces (100 grams)
Why Do We Consume Chicken Without its Skin?
Are you also wondering about the same? Let us know why we consume chicken without chicken skin. It is because chicken skin adds a lot of calories to its content. If we compare the above values, there is a huge shift in calorie count if we add on the skin to it.
Let us understand by examples
If we see the nutritional value of 196 grams of boneless and cooked chicken breast with skin then the calorie count turns out to be 386, protein count turns out to be 58.4 grams and fat content turns out to be 15.2 grams. This increase in value clearly states that adding skin to it adds 100 calories in total.
If we see the nutritional value of 34 grams of boneless and cooked chicken wings with skin, then the calorie count turns out to be 99 whereas in skinless chicken it is only 42 which concludes that 60% of the calorie will be added in from the skin of chicken which is fat.
Hence, if you want to lose weight and lower down your fat intake, it is recommended to consume your chicken without the skin as it has the most calories, and avoiding the skin can minimize the consumption of fat content.
How You Cook Your Chicken is A Key Factor
Have you ever heard people comparing the calorie content of chicken with other meats? Of course, yes. It is because when we consider chicken it has the lowest calorie content in comparison to other meats. But making it extravaganza by adding oil, sauces, and marinades, bread coats, etc adds up the high number of calories in it.
For instance, if we deep fry chicken thigh of 52 grams which had 109 calories and 5.7 grams of fat, it will become 144 calories and 8.6 grams of fat after frying. In the same way, if we add any coating over it like flour then the calorie count will reach 162 and the fat count will reach 9.3 grams which is too much.
Likewise, a chicken wing with add one like barbeque sauce will have 61 calories and 3.7 grams of fat which is comparable to fried wings with an add-on of flour coating, but the fat count will again increase to 4.2 grams.
Hence, it is very important to keep in mind how you are going to cook your chicken before consuming it. Because every cooking style adds some extra calories to it. To keep the calorie content low, you can consider consuming your chicken by steaming, grilling, roasting, and poaching it. It is much healthier than of fried chicken coated with flour or sauces.
When Should You See Your Doctor?
If you think you have a chicken allergy, it is recommended to consult your doctor. After examining your symptoms properly, they may recommend an over-the-counter antihistamine to treat your symptoms or an elimination diet to get into the knowledge if the chicken is causing your symptoms.
If your allergic reactions are severe, your doctor can work with you on safely managing your allergy.
If you experience anaphylaxis, it is recommended to seek medical help immediately, even if you use an EpiPen. This is because of the risk of the second phase of symptoms that don’t respond to epinephrine.
Substitutes of Chicken
Some people think avoiding chicken is not possible. But the fact is avoiding chicken is possible. To avoid chicken, try these simple substitutes:
- Substitute tofu chunks for chicken in soups and stir-fries.
- Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Use veal or soy protein products instead of chicken cutlets in potpies or stews.
- Try experimenting with other protein sources like fish, pork, or beans. Try using the same seasonings you’d use on pizza or chicken but keep a track of the cooking time for the protein source.
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