I give up!!! I just ate (part of) the last JC Chicken sandwich I will ever buy. It, like every single other one I've ever had before was tough and stringy. I kept giving it "another chance", thinking it was just a bad batch. And I've had them several times since joining JC back in November.

Thank goodness I had a really great salad made up to eat too. I'm at the point where I can begin to have MOMO- so if I want a chicken sandwich, I'll stick to GOOD chicken (aka buy my own) from here onward.

I agree with you Worknit. I don't like it either. I cooked it as per the directions and it was way overdone, tough and it was stringy! Glad it wasn't just me!

That's interesting, I've never felt that way about the chicken sandwich but then again I only nuke it until just defrosted, then pan sear it for a minute in some PAM. It definitely does not come out tough or stringy when I do that.

I do agree that fresh chicken breast is best, though. I am on maintenance now and have been introducing some fresh chicken into my diet. I only have the chicken sandwich on those nights when I am too tired/too busy to make "real" chicken.

Worknit, I heard a creative variation for the chicken sandwich that might help involving shredding or chopping up the chicken and putting BBQ sauce on it, then putting it back on the bun. Perhaps then it would be more appealing to you.

I DO THAT! To help switch up the chicken sandwich I cook the chicken in the microwave as directed. After its done I slice it up and add 1 T BBQ sauce (I love Trader Joe's). I usually prepare the chicken the night before, and pack my lunch. Then at work all I have to do is toast the bun and reheat the chicken. As a matter of fact I had it for lunch today! Very tasty!

I love the chicken sandwich. But you CANNOT cook it according to the directions, it will come out way too dry. Nuke it for HALF the amount of time specified. I nuke just the chicken part for 45 seconds (not the 90 secs in the directions) and then put it back on the bun to nuke for 1 minute. It will be juicy and soft.

You have to play around with it as all microwaves are different. But definitely do not do it as long as directed. The chicken is pre-cooked so all you have to do is heat it up.

Thanks for the ideas, folks!
Maybe, just MAYBE I'll buy it again. (One Last Try)
I guess the Good News is- it's not the only thing JC offers, eh?! And- I'm just now at the point on JC where I am able to make my own meal plans (with JC foods) and they want me to also start doing one or two days of MOMO. Within the next week or two.
The ideas are great- even to use a "regular/non-JC" chicken breast for a tasty meal.

WorknIt, do you like buffalo wing sauce? I had your same issue with the chicken sandwich, but I got an idea from another thread somewhere on this site, and I've loved the chicken sandwich ever since. It takes some extra time, so I only have it on the weekends when I can take my time with it. Here's what I do:

-I DON'T let the chicken even TOUCH the microwave! I defrost it, either the night before, or I defrost it in some warm water.

- I cook the chicken in some water on the stove.
- I put a thin slice of swiss cheese on the bun (I usually eat cereal for breakfast, so I save my meat serving), and then I broil the bun for just a minute or two in the oven until it browns and the cheese gets bubbly.
- Once the bun is toasted, I spread on half a tablespoon of lo-cal blue cheese dressing (as half my fat serving for the day), and I put fresh lettuce and tomato on, too.
- Then, once the chicken is done, I shred it with a fork and mix it with a tablespoon and a half of lo-cal buffalo wing sauce (budweiser makes a yummy one) -- which I count as the other half of my fat serving (although, now that I think about it, it's probably a starch, but I don't really care; it's really low in calories, so it could probably count as a limited free).
- I stack it all together, and I've got a delicious, Applebee's-quality buffalo chicken sandwich, all without cheating! It's very yummy, but I'm also sure there are plenty of ways to modify this to your favorite flavors -- I, personally, think shredding the chicken is the key to making it not like rubber.

Just so you know, I must have tried the chicken sandwich (and been disappointed) probably 10 times before I finally got it right, but I'm glad I stuck with it -- LOL!

Good luck,

-Steph

I just tried this for the first time today and it's the second thing I did not like (first being the chicken burrito). I'm not much of a fan of chicken sandwiches anyway. But I took two bites and just couldn't do it anymore. It was more than the texture, but also the taste. I think I will be avoiding this from now on. I am starving now and will probably end up eating a hot dog sans bun at the mall.

I never used to like it either, but the other day I microwaved it for the time the box said. I toasted the bun in the toaster oven. And left the sauce off of it....I of course added my own sauce. I found it was very good.

Must have been the toasted bun :P

This weekend I had the sandwich and this was my variation:

I cooked the chicken in the microwave, as directed but without the bun. I cut the chicken into chunks and tossed it with about half of the creole mustard sauce that comes in the box.

I defrosted the bun in the microwave and then spread a teaspoon of margarine and garlic salt on each side. I then toasted the bun.

I put the diced chicken on a bed of spring mix salad greens that were tossed with about 1/2 tbsp. of fat free dressing.

After this meal I was stuffed! It felt like a total cheat having the garlic bread on the side too!

Ok, today I tried something different with my chicken sandwich, thanks to some of your posts. I nuked the chicken for one minute, then I shreaded it and mixed in enough bbq sauce to coat the chicken. In a skillet, I "toasted" the bun. I put some spray butter on the bun and heated it in the skillet until the edges were brown. Then I removed the bun and heated the chicken in the skillet. Once the chicken was cooked all the way through, I put it on the bun. Believe it or not, it wouldn't all fit on the bun. It tasted delicious!!!! You should give it a try. It was a nice change!

I just had the chicken sandwich for dinner last night so that I could do my favorite creative twist with it:

I first nuke it until it's just defrosted (no more than that).
Then I put salt and pepper on it and sautee it in PAM to brown it.
Then I cube it up into bite sized pieces and toss them in some Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce.
Then I nuke the bun until it is soft and warm and pile the chicken pieces on it (they almost won't fit!).
Then I top it and the bun with some Marie's Light Blue Cheese dressing and some shredded lettuce (this time I used a thai mix from Whole Foods).

OMG, it WAS SO GOOD I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!

I think I have perfected this variation if I do say so myself!

I actually really like the chicken sandwich.... I add green chile to it, or some salsa and it is quite tasty! I guess that could be the chile and salsa that I am really liking!!

My JC consultant suggested bringing the chicken sandwich to a barbeque party and cooking it on the grill. I did and it was delicious! I always find it tough and stringy when I nuke it, but grilled it was tender and juicy. It also made it very easy for me to stick to my JC plan while enjoying the party with friends and family - my grilled chicken sandwich looked pretty much like the burgers everyone else was eating.

thanks i am going to try that myself some way different

Hi --great suggestions for the Chicken Sandwich! I used the Creative Recipes Book (alot!) and and I also try to cook it in a skillet and add tomato sauce, maybe chopped onions and mushrooms and a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Toast the bun with butter spray and garlic powder...add some fresh chopped tomato, some basil or even a drizzle of EVOO. Viola! Chicken parm with Bruscetta and a salad!! On days when I do this--I swap my dinner for lunch and have this variation for dinner.
Lynn from Maryland

I agree with you. I don't like to eat stringy chicken either. I am having a hard time finding food on the plan that I do like to eat. I have some favorites but they are getting old fast.. even with volumizing, etc.

Shelly