I thought this week I would go for old school comfort food. I love chicken and dumplings, but it is a high calorie food. I am using several recipes and making my own. Each has their own thing that I am taking away from it. The initial calculation for calories is about 900 calories. What’s interesting is the base soup is not too bad, however, the dumplings and the chicken thighs add a lot of calories and fat. I had to increase the servings to lower the calories a bit. My mother in law definitely wants meat, so I am doing this for her, and myself. I love chicken and dumplings.

Here are the stats:

Here is the recipe:

Chicken and Low Carb Dumplings

Serves 12

For the stew

• 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds), trimmed of excess fat
• ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 small onions, chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
• 1 celery rib, medium, chopped fine (about 1/2 cup)
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• ¼ cup dry sherry
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

For the dumplings

• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup pea protein isolate 
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon butter melted
• 1 egg

1. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook until skin is crisp and well browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, 5 to 7 minutes longer; transfer to large plate. Discard all but 1 teaspoon fat from pot.
2. Add onions, carrots, bell pepper and celery to now-empty pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in sherry, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in broth and thyme. Return chicken thighs, with any accumulated juices, to pot. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook until thigh meat offers no resistance when poked with tip of paring knife but still clings to bones, 45 to 55 minutes.
3. Remove pot from heat and transfer chicken to cutting board. Allow broth to settle 5 minutes, then skim fat from surface using wide spoon or ladle. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin from chicken. Using fingers or fork, pull meat from chicken thighs (and wings, if desired) and cut into 1-inch pieces. Return meat to pot.
4. Combine the almond flour (3/4 cup) whey protein isolate (1/4 cup), xanthan gum (1/2 teaspoon), baking powder (1 teaspoon), pepper (1/2 teaspoon), dried oregano (1 teaspoon) and thyme (1 tablespoon). Add the butter (1 tablespoon) and egg and stir to combine. Use wet hands to form marble-sized dumplings.
5. Return stew to simmer; stir in parsley and season with pepper to taste. Add in the dumplings. Wrap lid of Dutch oven with clean kitchen towel (keeping towel away from heat source) and cover pot. Simmer gently until dumplings have doubled in size and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 13 to 16 minutes. Serve immediately.