If you try to determine the most versatile and easy food, most people will choose chicken. Indeed, it is the lightest and most appetizing snack that gratefully accepts seasonings. And the legs are also quite fatty, and therefore men also value them. The calorie content of a chicken leg may vary depending on the method of preparation, but in any case, the indicator will surprise a losing weight person, for whom calorie content is the main factor of choice. Let's reveal the secret!

Why do we love chicken?

Indeed, why do we love this gentle bird so much if we do not speak positively about its mental abilities? We compare a stupid person to a chicken, and a loud-mouthed person to a rooster. But almost everyone loves chicken on the table. Chicken meat is a very “grateful” base for any dish, be it just a roast, cutlets, minced meat or dumplings. It is surprising and pleasing that chicken is eaten almost entirely. Some housewives even adapt paws and scallops and make jellied meat based on them. But it turns out delicious! What can we say about Sometimes they are compared to sunflower seeds, meaning the fact that it is impossible to tear yourself away from fried wings, and you cannot get enough of them. Calories without skin are only 156 calories. This figure will satisfy the requirements of even those girls who adhere to a very strict diet. But the chicken leg is more fatty than other parts of the chicken.

Oh, those legs!

The beauty of chicken lies in its softness, tenderness and high cooking speed. In addition, chicken tempts with its affordable price and ease of serving. Chicken legs with skin will complement the daily home menu and decorate the holiday table. Their calorie content will be slightly higher than without the skin. By the way, even a leg with skin can remain dietary if the meat is boiled, steamed or baked without oil. But if you fry them, after marinating them in mayonnaise or any other fatty sauce, then the calorie content of a chicken leg can reach up to 210 calories. This part of the chicken is ergonomic, and therefore the meat becomes an excellent buffet dish and a universal choice for a picnic or barbecue party.

By the way, legs are the most accessible and affordable, even among other parts of the chicken. Because of this, a huge variety of recipes have appeared. A chef can cook legs every day and never repeat the cooking method. The legs are delicious to fry, boil, bake and stew. They also make an excellent base for soups, appetizers or deep-frying.

Taste Factor

The calorie content of a chicken leg allows you to supplement a recipe based on this with a variety of ingredients. Agree, low-calorie meat will harmoniously combine with vegetables, spices, herbs and even fruits! After all, the legs can be cooked with pineapples or apples. The taste will be incredibly original! It’s even easier to chop the drumsticks and lightly sprinkle them with a mixture of pepper and salt. After this, the legs need to be fried in butter and enjoy the taste. No time wasted, but the dish seems truly festive. If the taste is good even in such a primitive recipe, then it is difficult to imagine the extravaganza of aromas in sophisticated dishes!

A little bit of imagination!

There are a great many options for cooking chicken, and they are all simple. But it’s almost impossible to spoil it! It is tender, light and tasty. The main thing is not to burn it on fire and not to overdo it with spices. If there's a festive dinner on the horizon, how about drumsticks simmered in a delicious creamy sauce and baked in a sleeve? The calorie content will not increase much, but when calculating the total energy value of the dish, you need to remember about the sauce and side dish. For the marinade, prepare a spacious bowl, into which pour about 100-150 grams of cream, a large spoon of sour cream, add grated garlic and onion, cut into half rings. Place chicken legs in the sauce so that they completely “drown” in the mixture, and leave in the cold for a couple of hours.

After the appointed time, prepare the sleeve; cut a large carrot into thin slices and place the pickled legs. The marinade can be sent after the meat. Approximately 40-50 minutes in the oven, and the legs are ready to serve. Guests will lick their fingers and definitely ask for more. You can diversify this dish with stuffing. The legs go well with mushrooms, sweet peppers and other vegetables.

Dieting

To put it bluntly, dieting is not at all fun, since you have to limit yourself in the most pleasant thing - food. And it’s such a shame that the most delicious things are always forbidden. However, the calorie content of a chicken leg allows you to fit the bird into any dietary framework. You can even get creative with the side dish! For lunch, Azerbaijani soup made from drumsticks and peppers is good. And a purely Italian recipe - chicken legs in tomato paste - can also be enjoyed for dinner, as it is hearty, but not heavy.

Interestingly, not every nutritionist recommends drumsticks because of the large number of blood vessels in this part of the chicken. The leg meat is darker and tougher than the meat in the wings or breast. The value of meat is also questionable, since not every chicken is kept in good conditions. More cholesterol “settles” in the drumsticks, and if the chicken does not walk much, then fat is not consumed there at all. But the harm of meat manifests itself only due to excessive eating, and within reasonable limits, drumsticks enrich the body with vitamins and amino acids, and also treat anemia and affect the condition of the blood.

Chicken meat is loved and regularly prepared from it; it becomes the basis of a lot of different delicious dishes. Everyone knows how healthy and easily digestible chicken meat is. It is chicken that contains the most protein, amino acids, and important microelements for the human body.

Variety of chicken leg dishes

You can prepare many dishes from chicken meat. Many people prefer to take a part of a chicken carcass for them, which is called a drumstick or just a leg. You can cook delicious and healthy dishes from it. Let's see what cooking options are used and are popular. So, the drumstick can be:

These options for preparing chicken drumsticks are usually used for main courses. For the first course, the much-loved chicken soup, broth is prepared from the legs.

Every family's refrigerator always contains fillets or wings, hangers, backs, etc. Most often, housewives prefer to have drumsticks in stock. They are inexpensive and quick to prepare. Chicken leg dishes are always nice to see on the table. Deliciously cooked chicken meat is sure to whet your appetite. Sometimes we forget that there is a danger of overeating, especially if the food is fatty and high in calories. But in the case of chicken, those who like to eat heavily, even if the drumsticks are, for example, fried, baked or smoked, should not be afraid of harming their body.

The nutritional value of the product is very high. It's impossible to imagine now our diet without it. And what attracts people to chicken is its calorie content.

Chicken meat is consumed at any age, for any disease. It is not contraindicated for anyone, unlike other meat products. Chicken meat can be served as a separate dish or with any side dish. It’s rare that a holiday feast is complete without, for example, baked chicken. Or salads, in which tender, soft chicken meat is an obligatory ingredient.

Calorie content of chicken meat

Poultry or animal meat is considered dietary because it contains a small amount of calories. It is easily digested in the human stomach. The body receives many nutrients and vitamins that are so necessary for humans. For example, chicken contains such very important and microelements useful for the human body s like:

• iron;
• magnesium;
• calcium;
• phosphorus
• and others.

Unlike lamb, beef, and especially pork, which contain a lot of fat and, therefore, calories, chicken meat is a low-calorie product. Therefore many people prefer to eat chicken so as not to gain weight. Most often, to prepare delicious dishes from it, they take part of the carcass - the drumstick.

The first advantage over animal meat, which contains a lot of calories, which makes it difficult to digest food, is that meat from a chicken leg is quickly and easily absorbed by the body.

The second benefit is that the drumstick contains approximately 16 grams of protein while containing very few calories. This is especially useful for those who decide to go on a diet, as well as athletes. It is best to eat the legs boiled.

Chicken drumsticks have different caloric content. Experts conducted research, based on the results of which they concluded that the number of calories in 100 grams of it is not the same for a number of reasons. It all depends on:

• chicken breeds;
• chicken weight;
• composition of a chicken carcass.

Laying chicken drumsticks have very little calorie content. It is only 180 calories per 100 grams, but a domestic broiler, which gains weight very quickly, has almost 50 calories more calories than a laying hen.

Number of calories depending on cooking method

In addition, the method of preparing shin dishes also affects the calorie content of the product. When it is cooked in the oven, the fat in the skin on it is burned. That is why the calorie content remains within 180.

The simplest dish and method of preparing it is, of course, boiled chicken drumstick. Anyone can play the role of a chef. You don't need any special skills. And another value of boiled chicken lies in its low calorie content. For 100 grams of meat it is only 170 calories. This is the dream of any person who dreams of losing weight.

Chicken cooked in a frying pan is very tasty. Many people love this meat with an appetizing crispy crust. And also beautifully decorated with spices and herbs. However, you should not eat such dishes often. First, the calorie content of a fried chicken drumstick is 240 calories or more. Secondly, such a dish may not always be beneficial for the human stomach.

The average calorie content of smoked drumstick is 190 calories. Especially if it is cold smoked.

Chicken is a popular product that regularly appears on our tables. Many people like chicken fried or baked in the oven without oil, while others prefer it boiled or stewed.

As a rule, poultry meat is salted, but sometimes it is eaten without salt, replacing it with aromatic herbs and seasonings. The variety of chicken preparations is simply amazing. But what are the calories in chicken cooked in different ways? Let's find out more!

No type of meat contains as many important substances for the human body as chicken. It contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, as well as valuable vitamins A, B1, B2, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, E and a number of amino acids. But the most important thing is that it is a source of easily digestible protein, which activates the growth of muscle mass.

Useful properties of chicken meat:

• activation of muscle growth;
• strengthening nails and hair;
• acceleration of metabolic processes in the body;
• positive effect on the functioning of the reproductive organs;
• normalization of the nervous system, reduction of stress and anxiety levels;
• maintaining normal blood pressure.

Nutritionists recommend consuming domestic chicken, since artificially bred birds are often raised with hormones and treated with antibiotics. Among all the methods of preparing chicken, preference is best given to boiling, steaming, stewing or baking, but in no case frying. The fact is that during frying, protein molecules are damaged, the amount of fat increases, and carcinogens are released.

Photo source: shutterstock.com

It is also not recommended to eat smoked chicken, since, in addition to natural smoking, there is another way to obtain this tasty meat - chemical processing, during which phenols and carcinogens are formed.

It is important to remember that the most dangerous part of the chicken is the skin, as it acts as a kind of garbage can for birds. It is in it that toxins, metals and other harmful components present in polluted air accumulate. Therefore, the skin must be removed.

Calorie content of chicken (per 100 g)

The calorie content of raw chicken with skin is 190 kcal. It also contains:

• proteins - 19.12 g;
• fats - 12.10 g;
• carbohydrates - 0.30 gr.

Photo source: shutterstock.com

The calorie content of raw skinless chicken is reduced to 178 calories, and the amount of fat is reduced by almost a third - to 7.23 grams. The amount of protein is 19.55 g, and the amount of carbohydrates is only 0.26 g.

Table of calorie content of different parts of chicken per 100 grams

The caloric content of various parts of chicken deserves special attention, since we rarely cook a whole bird. As a rule, many people prefer white meat from chicken breast. Others are delighted with chicken wings or legs (fried or baked in the oven). Let's find out how many calories they contain per 100 grams.

Carcass part	Calories (kcal)	Proteins (g)	Fats (g)	Carbohydrates (g)
Chicken fillet	123,18	23,77	2,76	0,55
Boiled chicken fillet	120,52	23,82	2,09	1,01
Fried chicken fillet	128,70	22,69	3,69	0,55
Stewed chicken fillet	121	22,08	3,39	0,55
Chicken leg	169,73	21,62	9,28	0,38
Boiled chicken leg	165	20,80	8,80	0,60
Fried chicken leg	249	24,93	17,65	0,88
Braised chicken leg	188,49	20,31	11,48	1,77
Chicken breast	112	22,58	2,4	0,21
Boiled chicken breast	134	27,00	2,68	0,58
Fried chicken breast	164	30,32	5,08	1,04
Chicken breast stew	110	21,00	2,06	1,51
Chicken drumstick	174,6	21,29	10,29	0,59
Boiled chicken drumstick	159,87	21,82	8,35	0,15
Fried chicken drumstick	208,18	21,07	23,88	0,17
Braised chicken drumstick	172,77	18,96	9,29	0,41
Chicken wings	195,52	19,32	12,70	0,36
Boiled chicken wings	179,56	20,40	9,76	0,56
Fried chicken wings	264,31	21,96	17,47	6,67
Braised chicken wings	185	21,30	11,00	0,10

How many calories are in a chicken thigh? A raw chicken thigh contains 184 kcal. At the same time, the BZHU indicators are as follows: 20.3 g / 11.16 g / 0.13 g. Boiled chicken thigh is only slightly lower than these indicators.

Calorie table for chicken cooked in different ways (per 100 g)

Before you create your diet, you need to know exactly how many calories are in chicken prepared in one way or another. The easiest way is to present the calorie content of chicken per 100 grams in a table indicating the BJU for each individual dish.

Cooking method	Calories (kcal)	Proteins (g)	Fats (g)	Carbohydrates (g)
Boiled chicken	244	22,97	16,75	0,06
Boiled chicken without skin	145	3,09	28,65	0,38
Fried chicken	281	23	17	2,25
Fried chicken without skin	164	28	5	1,1
Baked chicken	195,97	20,06	11,18	1,39
Baked skinless chicken	148,28	23,9	5,3	0,38
Grilled chicken	184,5	22,29	8,81	1,41
Grilled chicken without skin	135,52	23,17	6,13	1,23
Stewed chicken	163,47	17,68	9,04	1,22
Stewed skinless chicken	149,75	26,78	3,68	0,72
Smoked chicken	205,19	21,23	12,91	0,50
Steamed chicken	140,79	23,80	5,78	0,66

As you can see, the calorie content of boiled skinless chicken is reduced to 145 kcal compared to conventional preparation, and the amount of fat drops by more than 5 times. Naturally, this option for cooking chicken is the healthiest.

Photo source: shutterstock.com

If you like fried chicken, it is better to cook it in the oven. It is best to have no skin, since in this form the calorie content is lower and the amount of fat is reduced by 15-20%. But chicken baked in foil has only 100 kcal.

You can find out what kind of chicken you are allowed to eat during the diet from the video:

baked chicken drumsticks rich in vitamins and minerals such as: choline - 12.2%, vitamin B5 - 17.6%, vitamin B6 - 15.1%, vitamin B12 - 12.5%, vitamin PP - 21.2%, phosphorus - 20 .6%, selenium - 36.8%, zinc - 15.5%

Benefits of baked chicken drumsticks

• Kholin is part of lecithin, plays a role in the synthesis and metabolism of phospholipids in the liver, is a source of free methyl groups, and acts as a lipotropic factor.
• Vitamin B5 participates in protein, fat, carbohydrate metabolism, cholesterol metabolism, the synthesis of a number of hormones, hemoglobin, promotes the absorption of amino acids and sugars in the intestines, supports the function of the adrenal cortex. A lack of pantothenic acid can lead to damage to the skin and mucous membranes.
• Vitamin B6 participates in maintaining the immune response, processes of inhibition and excitation in the central nervous system, in the transformation of amino acids, the metabolism of tryptophan, lipids and nucleic acids, promotes the normal formation of red blood cells, maintaining normal levels of homocysteine ​​in the blood. Insufficient intake of vitamin B6 is accompanied by decreased appetite, impaired skin condition, and the development of homocysteinemia and anemia.
• Vitamin B12 plays an important role in the metabolism and transformation of amino acids. Folate and vitamin B12 are interconnected vitamins that are involved in hematopoiesis. A lack of vitamin B12 leads to the development of partial or secondary folate deficiency, as well as anemia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia.
• Vitamin PP participates in redox reactions of energy metabolism. Insufficient vitamin intake is accompanied by disruption of the normal condition of the skin, gastrointestinal tract and nervous system.
• Phosphorus takes part in many physiological processes, including energy metabolism, regulates acid-base balance, is part of phospholipids, nucleotides and nucleic acids, and is necessary for the mineralization of bones and teeth. Deficiency leads to anorexia, anemia, and rickets.
• Selenium- an essential element of the antioxidant defense system of the human body, has an immunomodulatory effect, participates in the regulation of the action of thyroid hormones. Deficiency leads to Kashin-Beck disease (osteoarthritis with multiple deformities of the joints, spine and limbs), Keshan disease (endemic myocardiopathy), and hereditary thrombasthenia.
• Zinc is part of more than 300 enzymes, participates in the processes of synthesis and breakdown of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, nucleic acids and in the regulation of the expression of a number of genes. Insufficient consumption leads to anemia, secondary immunodeficiency, liver cirrhosis, sexual dysfunction, and the presence of fetal malformations. Research in recent years has revealed the ability of high doses of zinc to disrupt the absorption of copper and thereby contribute to the development of anemia.

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Chicken drumstick can rightly be called one of the most popular meat products in our country, so its calorie content is of interest to many people who monitor the amount of calories they consume. Since this product is not a dietary product, you should consider what the energy value of bird legs is.

Energy value

Determining exactly how many kilocalories each leg contains is not so easy. The fact is that the calorie content of the drumstick depends on several factors: the breed, weight and physique of the bird. For example, a laying hen produces a raw product with an average energy value of 180 kcal per 100 grams of product, but for a broiler the same figure can reach 230 kcal.

It should be noted that drumstick is a fillet, that is, meat and skin. The latter is significantly fattier, and therefore higher in calories. For example, for boiled shin without skin, the average is 158 kcal per 100 g, and the skin alone already contains 212 kcal per serving of the same weight.

The method of heat treatment also has a huge impact on the calorie content of the product. Boiled chicken should be considered the most dietary option, especially if it is steamed - in this case, the rendered fat drips off, so even a drumstick with skin has an energy value of 170-180 kcal. Something similar happens with natural smoking over a fire. When using “liquid smoke”, smoked drumstick does not lose fat, therefore the calorie content in such a product is higher. It will probably not be a discovery for anyone that fried meat not only does not lose the fat present in it, but can also absorb oil from the frying pan, so in this case the energy value increases to 240 kcal or even more.

Many supporters of a healthy diet are also interested in specific indicators relating to one lower leg, without a clear link to weight. Statistics show - on average 1 piece. drumstick weighs from 100 to 150 g, from which we can conclude that the leanest small-sized boiled leg will provide the body with energy in the amount of 150 kcal, while a large fried leg can provide 400 kcal.

Why is it worth eating?

Many representatives of the fair sex, who sincerely want to lose weight in a significant amount and as quickly as possible, may come to the conclusion that large legs are not for them, at least temporarily. This point of view is based on the fact that most non-meat products have a lower calorie content, and even a chicken carcass contains dietary parts, for example, the same fillet. But experts do not advise giving up the meat of this bird.

The fact is that chicken (in particular, drumstick) is very beneficial for the human body. For example, this product is a very valuable source of animal protein, of which there are 16 g in each 100-gram serving. If you want to not only lose weight while maintaining all your stretch marks, but also get a toned figure with beautiful muscles, then you cannot exclude such a product from your daily diet.

Considering that most people combine weight loss diets with active sports, constant replenishment of protein reserves is simply necessary.

In addition, chicken drumsticks are a rich source of various minerals, including iron and calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, as well as many other elements. The point of losing weight is often not to eat less, but to establish proper metabolism, which allows you to promptly remove all excess from the body without the formation of unnecessary fat deposits. All of the microelements described above are necessary for good health and the proper functioning of various body systems, so it is possible that weight gain is not so much due to extra calories, but due to the lack of certain minerals. A similar set of substances, of course, is present in pork and beef, as well as in other types of meat, but it is chicken that allows you to get all this with the least amount of fat.

Finally, healthy nutrition experts point to the balanced composition of chicken meat. Thanks to this, it is absorbed much more intensively than other types of meat products. To extract all the benefits from drumsticks, you don’t need to eat kilograms of this product.

How to cook?

There are few people who purposefully strive to increase the calorie content of a dish, but there are more than enough of those who would like to reduce it. In order for chicken drumstick to remain relatively dietary, you need to cook it correctly or at least avoid making common mistakes.

For example, those wishing to lose weight are advised to remove the skin from the leg before consumption. If a person really loves chicken precisely for this part of it and is not ready to give up the skin, then it is worth limiting the cooking methods more strictly - in fact, you will only have to boil the meat, steam it or bake it without adding oil. After removing the skin, you can try cooking in other ways. For example, you should treat yourself to a fried leg. However, it must be remembered that you should not abuse such delicacies.

In order to taste the drumstick and not overdo it with the amount of calories, it is better to prepare composite dishes in such a way that a significant amount of them is provided by much lower-calorie components. Luckily, chicken pairs well with a variety of fruits, so it's often served accompanied by pineapple or the more familiar apple. The latter, by the way, require even more calories for their digestion than they provide, so they can slightly reduce the energy value of meat, whose share in the total weight will be relatively small.

It is also worth considering that a huge percentage of calories comes not even from meat, but from the sauce with which it is often consumed. The same mayonnaise on average has a mind-boggling 680 kcal per 100 g, and even its relatively dietary varieties can turn out to be higher in calories than meat.

If the issue of calories is of concern due to the desire to reduce your weight, then you also need to pay attention to the fact that salt and some spicy seasonings can contribute to fluid retention in the body, so it is better to be very careful with these ingredients.

To learn how to prepare dietary chicken legs, watch the following video.