If there’s one food Americans can’t seem to get enough of, it’s chicken. Americans consume more chicken than anyone else in the world. In fact it’s the number one protein consumed in the United States.
From fried chicken to baked chicken to chicken cordon bleu to chicken wings, there is no shortage of options for using chicken to make food. In 2015, Americans consumed 90.1 pounds of chicken per capita. The National Chicken Council projected in 2016 that the number would grow 91.8 pounds per capita.
The demand for chicken means a lot of work for chicken farmers. In 2015, almost nine million broiler chickens, weighing 53 billion pounds, live weight, were produced. More than 40 billion pounds of chicken product was marketed, measured on a ready-to-cook basis. About 25,000 family chicken farmers have contracts with companies. Approximately 95 percent of broiler chickens are produced on these farms with the remaining five percent raised on company-owned farms.
Chicken is delicious, but there are also numerous health benefits to eating it:
- It’s packed with protein: The National Chicken Council says that 31 grams of protein are packed into each 100 grams of cooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast. Chicken also contains many important amino acids that help regulate several of the body’s systems.
- It’s packed with nutrients: In addition to all that protein, chicken is packed with many essential vitamins and minerals including iron, vitamin A, zinc and phosphorus.
- It goes down easy: The body can quickly process all the protein and nutrients that are packed into chicken. Being easy to digest also helps people who suffer from digestion problems.
- It’s healthy: Chicken is a great addition to a balanced diet because in addition to having protein and many nutrients, chicken is low in calories, cholesterol, sodium and fat.
- It can help with weight loss: Depending on the diet, high levels of protein can help with weight loss which means eating lots of chicken can help shed pounds.
- It makes you feel better: Chicken is packed with tryptophan, which leads to good feelings and is commonly associated with sleepiness. But chicken can also help you feel better. The old adage of chicken soup being the only way to fight a cold is very true as eating chicken soup provides relief from sore throat, congestion and colds.
Whether you’re craving Latin cuisine with chicken, fast food chicken or looking for caterers that serve rotisserie chicken, there’s no limit to ways of preparing, eating or ordering chicken.
In 2014, there were 39,325 eating and drinking places in Florida. As of 2018, more than a dozen of those of those are Chicken Kitchen restaurants in South Florida. Chicken Kitchen knows how to prepare chicken as well. Chicken Kitchen marinates chicken overnight, slow grills chicken and serves it up in a variety of ways with plenty of sauce options available.
If you’re wondering where to eat next time you’re in South Florida, consider Chicken Kitchen if you’re craving chicken.
