Eat This, Not That: KFC chicken breast meal

Updated Aug 12, 2014

KFC recently started its own line of grilled chicken pieces. Let’s see how the healthier alternative stacks up against KFC’s original fried chicken. Also, because every plate comes with two sides, we will look at how popular sides such as stack up against each other.

Here’s how the KFC Chicken compares.

Calories:

Original Chicken Breast has 320 calories.

Grilled Chicken Breast has 190 calories.

Difference: 130, or 6.5 percent of your daily calorie intake based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Grams of fat:

Original Chicken breast has 15g total fat, 3.5g saturated fat.

Grilled Chicken Breast has 6g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat.

Difference: 9g total fat, 2g saturated fat.

Here’s how two popular sides, mashed potatoes with gravy and macaroni and cheese, compare to two healthier sides, green beans and corn on the cob.

Calories:

Mashed potatoes with gravy have 120 calories, and macaroni and cheese has 180 calories.

Green beans have 20 calories, and corn on the cob has 70 calories.

Difference: Combined the two popular sides of mashed potatoes with gravy and macaroni and cheese have 300 calories, putting them at 210 calories more than green beans and corn on the cob, or 10.5 percent of your daily calorie intake based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Grams of fat:

Mashed potatoes with gravy have 4g total fat, 1g saturated fat, and macaroni and cheese has 9g total fat, 3g saturated fat.

Green beans have 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, and corn on the cob has .5g total fat, 0g saturated fat.

Difference: The combined popular items have 12.5g more total fat than the healthier items and a total 4g more saturated fat than the healthier options.

By choosing the grilled chicken breast with the sides green beans and corn on the cob, you can save yourself 340 calories by not getting the fried version with mashed potatoes with gravy and macaroni and cheese. No need to worry about sides because the entire grilled chicken plate with green beans and corn on the cob has less calories than one fried chicken breast.

*Nutrition information from KFC.

Check back weekly for more small changes you can make in your eating habits that may make big changes in your waistline. New Eat This, Not That features are posted each Saturday.