Summer Salad

Submitted by Jennifer Franks

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Summer Salad
SunWest Fruit Company

Dressing
1/2 C. Extra virgin olive oil
2 T. Honey
1/2 C. Balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 t. Dry mustard
1 pinch of salt
Dash of black pepper

Salad 
8 C. fresh spinach leaves or lettuce, rinsed and dried
1/2 C. matchstick-cut carrots
1/4 C. chopped red onion
4 grilled skinless, boneless, chicken breasts, chopped
4 slices of turkey bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
2-3 SunWest nectarines, thinly sliced
1/4 C. coarsely chopped pecans


Dressing:  In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic and mustard powder.  Season to taste with salt and pepper

Salad: Toss greens, carrots, and red onion in a large bowl. Divide mixture among 4 plates.  Top with grilled chicken, bacon, and nectarines.  Drizzle with dressing and top with pecans.  MAkes 4 servings

Sweet Pork Salad with Garlic Lime Rice and Beans

I love Cafe Rio or Costa Vida for eating healthy.  This is also a great thing to make at home.  I have found a skinny dressing that I feel comfortable with as well.  This is filling and versatile enough for everyone in the family - from quesadilla's to burritos to salads.

I layered mine as follows:

Sweet Pork

Brown Rice

Garlic Black Beans

Mozzarella Cheese
Romaine Lettuce
Diced Tomatoes (or you can use pico de gallo)
Skinny Tomatillo Dressing

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Shredded Sweet Pork  

Slow cook a 3-5 lb roast. (about 6- 8 hours). One hour before serving, remove roast and shred it. Dump out all cooking juices and place shredded pork back into crockpot and add...

3/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup or combination.  

1 c red enchilada sauce

If not sweet enough - add 1/4 cup brown sugar.

Let cook for about an hour.

Serve in Salad, burritos, or quesadillas. 

Skinny Tomatillo Dressing

1 package of Hidden Valley buttermilk Ranch Dressing or 3 Tbl.

1 3/4 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk powder
1/2 cup Best Foods light mayonnaise

2 tomatillos (they look like green tomatoes, but they are NOT!  You may substitute 3 Tbsp of prepared salsa verde)

cilantro (1/4 bunch)

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup lime juice

1/8 tsp. Tabasco - optional

Combine all together in blender or with whisk and let thicken.  Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Serving Size 2 Tbl.
Calories 35
Total fat 1.4 g
Sodium 193 g.
Total Carbs 4 g.
Carbs from Sugar 3.5 g
Protein 1.6 g.

Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

5 1/2 c water
1/2 c lime juice or additional 1/2 c. water

1 c. uncooked brown rice

1 Tbl. olive oil
2 cubes chicken bouillon

2 tsp garlic, minced

1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 onion
1/2 can green chilies

1 Tbl.

3 Tbl fresh chopped cilantro

1. In a large saucepan (one you have a lid for) combine oil, garlic, 1/2 cup lime juice, chicken bouillon and water.  Bring to a boil.  
2. Meanwhile blend cilantro, onion, and chilies in food processor, rinse rice in colander with paper towel (to prevent losing rice through holes). 
3. When water comes to a boil, stir in rice and cilantro-onion mixture. Boil and cook uncovered for 30-35 minutes, until rice is tender. 
4. Pour the rice into a strainer/colander and drain for 10-15 seconds then return it to the pot off the heat.  Stir in 1 Tbl. lime juice and 3 Tbl fresh copped cilantro.
5. Immediately cover the pot with a tight fitting lid.  If your lid isn't really tight, place a kitchen towel over the pot before putting the lid on.  Let the rice steam for 10 minutes before uncovering the pot and fluffing the rice with a fork.  

Garlic Black Beans

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 c tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tsp)
1 tsp cumin
1 Tb olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb chopped cilantro

 Heat oil then add cumin and garlic until garlic begins to pop. Add rest of ingredients and serve warm.

** Sweet Pork Quesadilla from Costa Vida is actually what convinced me to search for and make my own sweet pork recipe.  My boys are not big on salads, so we often make quesadillas instead.  I cook a pork roast for sunday dinner and then with the leftover roast I add equal amounts of red enchilada sauce and honey or brown sugar.  Broil a tortilla topped with cheddar cheese.  Top with warm meat, fold in half, and top with light sour cream and pico de gallo.  Delicious!

Sweet Pork Quesadilla - photo from http://www.costavida.net

**The meat freezes well.   Make a large roast and divide into smaller portions and freeze.  Makes dinner easy. 

Southwestern Chopped Salad

Southwestern Chopped Salad

Large head of romaine 15 oz.
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large orange bell pepper

1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 cups corn (fresh or frozen, thawed)
5 green onions
Optional: avocado

{Dressing}
1 cup loosely packed cilantro, stems removed and roughly chopped
1/2 avocado (or 1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt or Greek yogurt)
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (about 1/2 lime), more to taste
1-2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. white wine vinegar
1/8 tsp. salt

{Instructions}

Making the dressing: puree all ingredients in a food processor/blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Making the salad: Finely chop romaine, bell pepper, tomatoes, and green onions.Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.Toss with desired dressing.

Skinny Chicken Salad

Skinny Chicken Salad

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Posted By Sara@Our Best Bites On 01.15.2014 @ 12:01 am

Skinny Chicken Salad for One
Recipe by Our Best Bites
4 ounces shredded or diced (cooked) boneless, skinless, chicken breast (abt 1 cup)
1/4 cup diced celery
2 tablespoons sliced green onion
1/4 cup diced sweet, crisp apple
1 tablespoon light mayo
1 tablespoon light sour cream or Greek yogurt
optional: 1/2-1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
1/8 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sliced almonds
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients except almonds and stir to combine.  If possible, chill for an hour or so before eating.  Before serving, mix in almonds.  Eat in a lettuce wrap, on whole grain bread, in a wrap, or in a pita.  Serves 1.
Nutritional Info (Salad alone):
Cal: 267 g  Protein: 28 g  Fat: 12 g  Carbs: 8 g  Fiber: 2 g Sugar: 6 g

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Article printed from Our Best Bites: http://ourbestbites.com
URL to article: http://ourbestbites.com/2014/01/skinny-chicken-salad/

Thai Citrus Chicken Salad

Found on Gimme Some Oven

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RAINBOW THAI CHICKEN SALAD

This rainbow thai chicken salad is full of amazing colors and fresh flavors that you will love!

PREP: 15 MINS TOTAL: 15 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

THAI CHICKEN SALAD INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
• 1 cup shredded green cabbage
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 (large) carrot, julienned or shredded
• 1 red pepper, cored and julienned (or diced)
• 1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped cashews or peanuts

PEANUT DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 2-3 tablespoons hot water
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (if you are gluten-free, use GF soy sauce or tamari)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• juice of 1 lime
• pinch of red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

TO MAKE THE SALAD:

Toss all salad ingredients together until combined. Drizzle with dressing or toss to combine, then serve immediately.

TO MAKE THE DRESSING:

Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If the dressing is too thick, add hot water a teaspoon at a time until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Raw Zucchini Noodles with Tomatoes and Pesto

Raw Zucchini Noodles with Tomatoes and Pesto

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Found at Gina's Skinny Recipes

Servings: 4 • Size: 1 1/4 cups • Old Pts: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts

Calories: 148 • Fat: 12 g • Carb: 9 g • Fiber: 3 g • Protein: 4 g • Sugar: 3 g

Sodium: 102 mg (without salt) • Cholesterol: 4 mg

Ingredients:

For the Pesto:

• 1 cup packed fresh basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
• kosher salt & pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the zoodles:

• 21 oz (3 medium or 4 small) zucchinis
• 1 cup heirloom grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a food processor pulse basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing. Set aside.

Spiralize the zucchini, cut it into smaller strands if they are too long and place them in a work bowl. Toss with the pesto and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper as needed.

**I combined all of my favorite end-of-summer garden vegetables and created this simple, raw, vegetarian spiralized zucchini and pesto dish.

As much as I look forward to the Fall, I'm not quite ready for summer to be over. Having fresh herbs at my fingertips is what I'll miss the most, so I'm taking all my basil and making skinny pesto with it to freeze and use throughout the year.

Mango Chicken Salad Recipe

Mango Chicken Salad Recipe

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Found at Tried and Tasty

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2 mango, peeled & cubed
• 4 oz. cooked chicken breast, cubed
• 1/8 c. red onion, finely diced
• 2-3 tbsp. greek yogurt
• Morton's Nature's Seasoning (to taste)

Instructions:

• MIx together your cubed mango, cubed chicken, red onion and greek yogurt. Incorporate all ingredients fully and evenly coat with yogurt. Sprinkle with seasoning, to taste. Serve with lettuce and your favorite bread for a tasty sandwich!

Notes:

• If you don't have Morton's Nature's Seasoning, it's just a compilation of the following spices: salt, black pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, & celery.

Apple Feta Salad w/ Dressing

Apple Feta salad w/ Dressing

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submitted by Chelsea

Romaine hearts

Chopped apples,

Craisins

Feta

Almonds

Toss together and pour on Salad Dressing - usually 1/2 of a recipe is good for a large bowl of greens.

Vinegar & Honey Dressing

1/2 C Olive Oil

1/2 C Red wine vinegar

1/2 C honey

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1-2 tsp minced garlic

Combine in blender.