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!

SO Easy Mini Breakfast Bagel

This is a simple, quick, delicious and nutritious recipe!

Mini Breakfast Bagel:

1 whole wheat mini bagel*                  110cal 4g protein 20g carbs 0.5g fat

3Tbsp egg whites                               25 cal 5g protein 2g carbs 0g fat

1oz.  Nonfat cream cheese                  30 cal 4g protein 2g carbs 0g fat

Tomato slice        

Sliced mushroom

Baby spinach

Salt & pepper

Simply spray your skillet with cooking spray and sauté mushrooms until slightly tender, then add egg whites and spinach. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until done and fold like mini omlet. Spread cream cheese onto bagel assemble like a sandwich, adding egg white omlet and tomato. 

About 165 cal, 13g protein, 24g carbohydrates, 0.5g fat, 0mg cholesterol

 *Side Note: When you purchase whole wheat bagels, make sure under the ingredient list the FIRST ingredient is in fact 100% whole wheat. A lot of bagels label themselves as wheat bagels, but are in reality just disguised enriched flour- which is not what you want.

I used spinach and mushrooms because that’s what I had on hand, you can substitute those veggies for whatever you like or even add a slice of turkey bacon into your eggs or up the amount of egg whites you want to use. This is just a good foundation to build your personalized breakfast bagel off of. You know how many calories, and how much protein your body needs and therefore you know how many grams carbohydrates to add to it (twice as much) so mix up your own plan.

Yummy! Give it a try!

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!