What will be the first thought that jumps to your mind when somebody says he or she is on diet? More than likely, it’s a scanty menu limited to some low-calorie foods and meals deprived of taste and flavor. Yet, today, healthy eating is much more than a restricted diet based on a mere calorie count. It’s rather a whole philosophy inducing people to change the way they eat not only to be healthier physically but also to feel better in all senses.
It has been well said that a sound mind is in a sound body. However, a healthy diet is not necessarily tasteless food. With a myriad of ingredients available on the markets and in the stores including all sorts of greens, roots, fruit, and veg, all kinds of meat, poultry, and fish, and an array of spices and seasonings, you can diversify your daily menus with an array of delicious and healthy dishes. Meanwhile, such appliances as an air fryer, electric rotisserie oven, slow cooker, pressure cooker, steamer, and a multi-cooker offer convenient and easy ways to cook fried, roasted, and stewed dishes without fat.
Reinvented Classics
Light salads and chicken are an integral part of any healthy diet, whether you try to lose weight or simply stick to healthy eating principles. A salad with a boiled chicken breast and leafy greens is probably the classics of a low-calorie ration and the most boring one as well. Hence, in summer abundant in a whole bunch of seasonal veggies, we offer a more palatable, brighter, and much more appetizing yet still healthy version of a chicken salad. Now, distinguished by a splash of vibrant savours, bold tastes, and zesty flavours, it will undoubtedly become one of your favourites.
- 1 pound of skinless and boneless chicken breasts
- 4 cups of chopped leafy greens including lettuce, arugula, romaine, and micro green in proportions to your taste
- 1 ½ cup of sweet cherry tomatoes cut in halves
- 2 yellow bell peppers
- ½ cup of roasted sliced almonds
- ¼ cup of cilantro leaves
- 1 cup of soy sauce, 2 cloves of garlic, freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon of honey, and ¼ cup of pure olive oil for marinade
- 3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard or Bavarian sweet mustard
- ½ tablespoon of salt
- ½ tablespoon of brown sugar
- ¼ tablespoon of ground black pepper
- ½ cup of light mayonnaise
- ¼ cup of sour cream
- ¼ cup of apple vinegar
- 3 tablespoons of honey
- 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
- 1 small clove of garlic,smashed
- 1 teaspoon of Himalayan salt
- ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- In a bowl, blend all ingredients for the marinade and let the chicken breast soak in it from 15 minutes to a couple of hours if you have enough time.
- Once marinated, roast the chicken on a non-stick fry pan without oil, in a rotisserie oven, or on a grill within 15-20 minutes until juices run clear. When cooked, let the chicken cool and cut it into ½-inch slices.
- Cut peppers in halves, discard seeds and stems and cut peppers lengthwise into thin strips.
- In a big bowl, mix all ingredients for the Balsamic Vinaigrette or Creamy dressing.
- Put leafy greens, tomatoes, chopped pepper, and cilantro leaves into a bowl with the dressing and toss gently to coat.
- Serve the salad on a big plate with roasted chicken slices and sliced almonds on top.
With a vinaigrette dressing, you’ll have a lighter version of the salad that will have a tangy flavour while a creamy sauce with honey is a good option for those who can afford some extra calories and like unusual sweet and salty combinations in sauces.
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