{Simple Solutions} Shredded Chicken

Sometimes it seems like you blink and another week has passed. Every day is so chaotic and crazy, and planning a meal is the last thing on your mind. The convenience of processed food or take out is too easy to pass up.

Before I knew about the effects that gluten had on my body, I used to buy that pre-cooked, already sliced, refrigerated chicken from the grocery store. In fact, most of the food that I ate wouldn't be considered "whole foods" but I thought: Hey, chicken is good for you and I can just put this on a salad and that will be healthy. Now, I'm no medical professional. I still can't say for certain that one thing is healthier than another but once I had to start reading labels in search of gluten, I was amazed at how many additives I had been putting into my body. Since then I have been working hard to go unprocessed.

But I still crave convenience. Don't we all?

I love chicken, and chickens, though I don't think I would really want to own one . . . now. When I was a child, I asked my parents if I could get a horse, and when they inevitably said no and that it was too big for our house, I asked them if I could have a chicken instead. Well, we never got a living chicken but we had plenty of chicken to eat. It's one of those dinner staples in most meat-eating households.

Here's a Simple Solution to cravings for convenient chicken. You can control the quality of your meat and the added sodium. It saves me time, money, and it might even be better for your health. You gotta love that!

Simple Solutions

{Convenient Shredded Chicken}

In a medium saucepan, season and submerge two chicken breasts in chicken broth. (I still use store bought, low sodium chicken broth and make sure that it is clearly labeled gluten free.) Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. The chicken doesn't take too long to cook but I'm not going to put in a time on it because I'm certain I still overcook mine! Of course, the best way to test for doneness is to check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. It should reach 165 degrees F. When the chicken is fully cooked, remove the chicken from the broth and use two forks to pull the meat apart. I let this cool a bit and then store it in the refrigerator in a glass container with some of the chicken broth to keep it moist and flavorful. I generally make this on the weekends and then use it in the first few days of the week. (We get four servings from this.)

Use the chicken in salads; warm it up with peppers, chili powder, and cumin for chicken tacos; or toss it in a soup. I even added some to our {Pea}sto and pasta.