Food Friday - Super Salads

from Kris B.

I am a huge fan of salad and I'm not particular about what kind of salad I eat.  The only thing here is that I am not a fan a most salad dressings.  Even when I'm not watching my calories, I don't eat dressing on my salads.  So the problem for me, as I am looking for ways to trim those unnecessary calories, is not adjusting to eating "dry" salad, but frather inding a dressing that I will enjoy when the salad must have a dressing.  And let's face it, chicken salad is not salad unless it has dressing.

This is a simple chicken salad, given its flavor by tarragon and chives and its crunch from toasted almonds.  The dressing is a mixture of low-fat plain yogurt and light sour cream.  Aside from cooking the chicken, it takes no time to prepare; but, it is best if allowed to sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours to give ample time for all of the flavors to meld together.

INGREDIENTS
3 small chicken breast halves
3 ribs of celery, diced
1 bunch of chives, finely chopped
2 TBS fresh tarragon, finely chopped
1/2 Cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 Cup light sour cream
1/4 Cup toasted almonds
Salt Ground black pepper
Salad greens

Coat a skillet with non-stick cooking spray.  At medium high heat, cook the chicken, 4-6 minutes on each side until there is no pink and the juices run clear.  Remove from heat and allow the chicken to rest for ten minutes.  Once cooled, cut into bite-sized pieces.

Combine the yogurt, sour cream, celery, tarragon, and chives in a medium bowl,  Once it has cooled, add the chicken.  Mix.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 24 hours. (The longer it is refrigerated, the better the salad will be.)

Just before serving, add desired amounts of salt and pepper and the almonds, reserving a few for garnishing, if desired.  Serve on a bed of your favorite salad greens.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition information: per serving; 177 calories; 5g fat; 8g carbohydrates; 25g protein; 3g fiber; 182mg sodium



from Tracey G

Another funny opposite between Kris and I, is my love for salad dressing. I was one who only ate salad so I could have dressing! After all, it would look kind of crazy me eating salad dressing from a spoon! I was never a fan of creamy dressings (other than for potato salad, macaroni salad chicken salad etc), ranch was a dip for me, not something that went on my salad and so forth. I preferred, and actually still do, a vinaigrette-style dressing. My first ever salad dressing was plain vinegar and olive oil. I remember once, as a little girl, my mom had run out of olive oil - it was a staple in our household and at the time and where we live, you couldn't get it here. So we used to bring it back up north with us from visits downstate in the Detroit area - same with feta, but that's another story, lol. So what did she do? She substituted VEGETABLE oil in its place. I remember I almost spit out my bite of salad (I actually may have!) - it was awful! Like taking a drink of your iced tea and discovering it's Coke or vice versa, it was just wrong. She never ever did that again.

But anyway, I do love a good vinaigrette, and I think one of my all time favorites is a raspberry vinaigrette which I use on this salad. It is a "lite" version, and it's one of my particular favorites. I use this one even when I'm not eating mindfully because I just love the taste of it - it's Ken's Steak House Lite Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette. It's the best one I've run across that reminds me of the very first one I tried in a restaurant. The rest of the salad I pulled from various things I love in salads. I had this idea to just pull them altogether and tie them up with my favorite dressing, and I was very happy with the results!! It was actually yummy enough that dressing may not have even been needed as all the flavors mixed together to be just right on their own.

The ingredients are approximate and you can, once again, add or subtract whatever you like!

Red, White and Blue Salad

serves 6

8 cups spring mix salad greens

2 cups halved fresh strawberries

1 cup blueberries

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup raspberry vinaigrette

1/2 cup crumbled feta

Combine greens, onion, and berries in a large bowl; drizzle with vinaigrette and toss to combine. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.