Strawberry Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

I love salads! They’re refreshing and a wonderful way to pack a whole lot of goodness into one bowl. I know in a previous post I mentioned a book called Skinny Chicks Don’t Eat Salads, but I should clarify that my mom purchased the book for me, maybe because she thought I thought the only way to be skinny was if I ate salads all the time. That simply is not the case. I just thoroughly enjoy salads- maybe it’s just a remnant from my vegetarian days? But if you enjoy salads like I do, then you’re also aware that the most fattening part of the salad is the dressing. (Unless you’re one of those bacon bits type people, then I don’t know how to help you.)

However, some of the keys to keeping off the fat in your salad dressing are as follows. First, stick to a serving size. Don’t overdo the dressing, if a serving size is 2 Tbsp- which they typically are- then use only 2 Tbsp. The reason people get into trouble with salads is because they do not enjoy the actual salad, they enjoy the dressing. So if you are one of those people, you would probably be better off eating something else, but if you like the taste of the actual salads and use the dressing as just a topping rather than a main component then continue on… Secondly, know what’s in your dressing and make appropriate substitutions. YES! We’re back to that… substitute the fatty ingredients for similar slimmer ingredients. Lastly, make sure the other components of your salad are contributing nutritionally, not just adding more fat. Be wise when compiling your salad.

So I was trying to decide what kind of salad I wanted to make when I thought to myself anything with poppy seed dressing and grilled chicken. Then my head started to roll with all of the wonderful salad mix-ins that go great with poppy seed dressing. I love fruits with poppy seed dressing, all kinds, like mandarin oranges, strawberries, blueberries, a few walnuts or almonds perhaps, some red onions and mushrooms, it’s all up to you!

So my foundation salad recipe for you to customize to your personal taste is a recipe I like to call:

Strawberry Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

First we will go over the poppy seed dressing- this is where I use my own customized substitutions. I looked over several different versions of poppy seed dressing. Some of them included lemon and others included onion, some had mustard while others contained no such thing. So, after looking over a couple different versions deciding which components I liked in some and what I didn't like about others, I finally decided on the version below:

Poppy Seed Dressing:

¼ c +2Tbsp oil*

¼ c non-fat greek yogurt*

1/3 c white vinegar

1/3 c sugar substitute

1/4c grated red onion

¾ tsp salt

2 Tbsp honey mustard

¾ Tbsp poppy seeds

Combine all ingredients together, you can use a processor, and refrigerate to store.

*Side Note: In this version, the oil is cut in half from the original version and replaced with Greek yogurt which cuts the fat in half and adds protein.

It should also be noted that this recipe yields a considerable amount of dressing, but a serving size is still 2Tbsp, so although it seems like a large amount of oil and sugar (the ones we need to watch out for) in reality, your consumption per serving is not bad. Plus, your oil has good fats in it; it just needs to be regulated.

Here’s how I make tender chicken breasts for my salads:

This recipe is also modified by me, so that it is healthier than its original version, which is found in Joy of Cooking.

Ingredients:

1-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ c whole wheat flour
1 tsp freshly chopped herbs (optional)
1tsp Olive oil
½ Tbsp Omega 3 light spread**

**Side Note: Most margarines contain Trans Fat, which is a BIG No-no! If you own anything that contains Trans Fat or hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil, get it out of your house! Look for this in margarine, shortening, some butter substitutes, or peanut butter. I've even seen it in my tortillas! There are spreads that are mostly vegetable oil that do not contain any of these, purchase a light version with Omega-3 and use that as a healthy substitute for butter in recipes.  

To Make:

1. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness.

2. Salt and pepper chicken breasts.

3. Mix in half teaspoon of salt and some ground pepper with the flour along with any herbs you may be using.

4. Just lightly coat the chicken breasts in flour mixture (we’re not going for breaded chicken, we’re just sealing in the moisture.

5. Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the olive oil and butter. Swirl them together.

6. Turn the heat to medium. Add the chicken breasts. Cook for just about 1 minute to until slightly golden on one side. Then flip each chicken breast over.

7. Turn the heat to low. Place cover on the pan. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Important!- Do not lift the lid- the steam helps cook the chicken.

8. After 10 minutes have elapsed, turn off the heat, but do not lift the lid. Reset the timer for 10 minutes and leave the chicken breasts in the pan.

9. After the 10 minutes are up, take the lid off, there you have your perfect for salad chicken breasts! Yum!

Put it all together!

For the Strawberry Chicken Salad combine the following:

Romaine lettuce

Grilled chicken- see recipe below

Sliced strawberries

Julienned red onions

Candied almond slices***

Top it with 2 Tbsp dressing!

 A good alternate to my version here would be spinach instead of romaine and add some blueberries. Then you could pack in some great antioxidants! I just didn’t get around to it, but it was delicious nonetheless.
If you choose to cook the chicken another way, just be sure to keep out the fat, that means regulate the amount of cooking oil/butter.
Also, I made candied almonds, which definitely adds sugar, instead you can just toast the almonds and they would be much healthier.

***Side Note: A serving size for nuts is 1oz. Most nuts contain twice the amount of fat as protein; therefore you should count them toward your fat intake rather than protein intake, and certainly keep quantity down- not to say they aren’t good for you, just in moderation. Now, if your almonds have sugar, the portion may need to be reduced from the 1 oz.

So there you have it! An amazingly yummy and also healthy salad!

Nutritious Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Here’s another dose of Healthy Substitutions! 

Okay so if you’re family is anything like mine, you’re often running late, trying to get everyone out the door and often times food gets thrown on the back-burner. My family is so new and small that I’m not up when my husband is getting ready for work, instead I’m trying to catch a few zzz’s while my son is still sleeping. Unfortunately, that often means my husband is waking up late and skipping breakfast, which is a big no-no. One idea I had was to try to give him something good to eat on the go. Now I’m not suggesting that this should be your everyday breakfast replacement, but when in a pinch, the balance of nutrients that I’ve packed into this simple muffin will help stabilize his blood sugar for the first few hours of the morning until he can finally eat something a little more filling. I’ve taken a basic Pumpkin Muffin Recipe and have made a few simple substitutions that make it a Protein-packed Pumpkin Cranberry Breakfast Muffin.

Here’s the original Pumpkin Muffin Recipe:

1 ½ c. sugar
2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda                                 
¼ tsp baking powder                         

1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp salt                                              

½ c. vegetable oil

½ c. cold water
½ tsp cloves                                         

1 c. pumpkin puree (about half a 15 oz can)

Let me start by saying that one of the key items to substituting ingredients, as I have found, is understanding what you are trying to replace, and the item you’re trying to replace it with. For example, if a recipe calls for ½ c vegetable oil and you use ½ c olive oil, you are still using the same amount of oil, you still have the same amount of fat, just a slightly different flavor. However, if the recipe calls for ½ c oil and you substitute it for ¼ c oil and 3Tbsp nonfat greek yogurt, you just cut out half the fat! That’s one healthy substitution! J Now yogurt is a well chosen substitute in baking, but the flavor may not always be what you’re looking for in other items, so in those cases there are other worthy substitutions to be made.- I’ll write another post just to go over worthy substitutes.

Anyway, back to the muffins!

Looking at the original recipe I can tell you right now the only protein inside of this recipe is in the eggs, but there’s plenty of sugar and fat mixed in there! That’s healthy, right? Umm… no, not really.

Okay then, let’s see what changes we can make. I colored the items I’m going to replace in red. First, let’s look at the sugar content. We are making 12 regular sized muffins in this recipe, so maybe we can reduce our sugar intake. Instead of granulated sugar, I am replacing it with brown sugar, which has molasses which will still add flavor even as I reduce the amount. Instead of whole eggs, I will replace it with egg substitute, again, to cut out the cholesterol. Obviously the all-purpose flour will be replaced with wheat flour, but to add in some protein and Omega-3, I will also include, vital wheat gluten flour and ground flaxseed. Finally, as I explained above, we will cut the oil content in half and use non-fat Greek yogurt as a protein packed replacement.

 Thus, My Healthy Pumpkin Muffin Remake:

½ c. + 1 Tbsp brown sugar

½ c. egg whites       

1 tsp baking soda                              
¼ tsp baking powder                         

1 1/3c. whole wheat flour

¼ c. vital wheat gluten flour

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
½ tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp salt                                              

½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cloves  

¼ c. vegetable oil

3 Tbsp non-fat Greek yogurt

½ c. cold water                                     

1 c. pumpkin puree (about half a 15 oz can)* 

*Side Note: When purchasing your Pumpkin Puree, be sure its 100% Pure Pumpkin, the ingredient list should have only one ingredient, Pumpkin!        

**If making Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins, simply add ¼ c dried cranberries or chopped fresh cranberries to add some antioxidants to your muffins!   

To Make:

Mix all ingredients together.  Put in greased muffin tin.  Bake at 325 degrees.

12 Muffins = 40-45 minutes

24 Mini muffins = 25 minutes

All of the healthy substitutions are listed in green. As far as protein content- egg whites, vital wheat gluten flour and non-fat Greek yogurt are all packed with protein. Included in your carbohydrate content are the whole wheat flour, yogurt and pumpkin. Omega-3 is in the flaxseed. Fiber is in the pumpkin, and antioxidants are in the cranberries. Nutrition all around in these things!

So now you have a muffin you can actually feel comfort in giving to your husband and children, knowing that it is actually way better for them than bad! Plus my husband loves them!

Healthy Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

Okay, so as you know I’ve been on this healthy kick lately, and intermingled with that, I have found myself experimenting with substitutions. This idea was first generated as I was reading through the recipes listed in the back of the health book I finished reading. As I was looking at the different recipes a lot of them were classic entrees with a slight twist, a few changes in ingredients and you can take something that was decidedly unhealthy and actually make it good for you! What a novel concept, right? So I opened up my classic recipe book and thought it would be nice if I could make pancakes for my darling husband, especially since I had a banana in the cupboard that had seen its day for regular consumption. Well, one look at the ingredients list and I knew a few alterations would have to be made!-

Here’s the original Pancake recipe:

1c all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 beaten egg

1c milk

2 Tbsp cooking oil

Here I would like to mention that after much research, all-purpose flour has been officially banned from my kitchen, so an obvious change would be made there! I do not drink cow’s milk (if I can help it), I prefer Almond Milk instead and it bakes the same as cow’s milk! My husband, however, will only use cow’s milk in his cereal or to drink but in baking he can’t tell the difference. Almond milk although lacking in protein, has none of the fat or calories as cow’s milk, but still has all the nutrients. The missing protein is okay because I will add it to my pancakes another way. There’s also the matter of the beaten egg, here I substituted ¼ c egg whites, you still get all of the protein but none of the fat or cholesterol. As I replaced all-purpose for wheat flour I also replaced granulated sugar for brown sugar. For this recipe I decided to let the oil remain, it’s a small enough reasonable quantity.

So far I’ve just had some basic substitutions, but here’s the fun part: In addition to substituting wheat flour, I also took ¼ c of the wheat flour and switched it to vital wheat gluten flour, which is packed with protein instead of carbohydrates. Then, I added 2 Tbsp of ground flaxseed to pack in some Omega-3.

Thus, My Healthy Banana Pancakes:

¾c whole wheat flour

¼c vital wheat gluten flour

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ c egg whites

1c unsweetened Almond milk

2 Tbsp cooking oil

1 med softened banana

0-¼ c unsweetened Almond milk- add until batter thins to manageable consistency

I did find that my batter was a little thick, so I added up to ¼ c additional Almond milk to thin it out a bit.

I wish I had a good nutrient calculator tool so I can actually write out the nutritional impact that was made here, but alas, I do not. Therefore, you’ll have to take my word for it- they are much healthier! J And don’t they look yummy!?

This is the first of many postings to come of my new mini-series of Healthy Recipe substitutions! Give it a try & let me know what you think!