Bock Bock! Calorie-Friendly Chicken Salad

I have sucked at this better lifestyle for the past several weeks.  I have blogged on and on about needing to plan better, and while I make baby steps each week, my planning falls short.  Then, my eating is ok, but not the best it could be.   Yesterday, I got my butt in gear and did some food prep for the week.

I have a menu set up for each day including breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I have decided to draw out my favorite recipes in order to renew my motivation for eating clean, real food.  Yay!

For lunch, I decided to make a clean chicken salad.  I am not the best at writing my own recipes, so I am not going to try and take credit for this entirely.  I got the idea from Jillian Michaels' Master your Metabolism Cookbook.  There really are some great recipes in there, if you have been thinking of purchasing it.

Anyway, there is a recipe in the cookbook for chicken salad.  I adapted it slightly and now I have lunch for the week.

The recipe itself calls for 1 pound of poached chicken breast.  I had a coupon for a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, so went with that instead.  I also like the flavor of this much more.  I simply took the chicken off the bone and removed the skin.  I diced it up and voila! Obviously, this means there is a little bit of dark meat incorporated in, but the salad is predominately white meat.

Next, I cut up some celery and red grapes and tossed them in.  The recipe also calls for chopped pecans.  I was a dope and forgot to buy pecans at the store yesterday morning.  Luckily, I had some sliced almonds on hand, so I threw those in instead.

Instead of using mayonnaise for dressing, this recipe calls for plain Greek yogurt.  To be honest, I just do not care for Greek yogurt.  I went with plain, organic traditional yogurt instead.   Apple cider vinegar, honey, and salt are added in to complete the dressing.

Next, stir in the dressing.  This is the salad after the dressing was mixed in.  You can serve it on your favorite whole wheat bread or just eat it on its own.  I am trying to limit my grains, so I plan to eat it on its own or maybe even make lettuce wraps with it.  Yum!

I am really excited because I am well equipped for the week food-wise.  I have a feeling it is going to be a good one!

Chicken Salad:

1 pound chicken breast, poached and cooled (I used a rotisserie chicken that I let sit out and cool.)

1 cup halved red grapes

1/3 cup chopped pecans -- almonds or walnuts work too!

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

1/3 cup low fat plain yogurt (traditional or Greek)

Instructions:

1. Chop your cooled chicken and place in a bowl or container.
2. Mix in chopped celery and grape.
3. Stir yogurt, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.
4. Stir into chicken mixture until evenly coated.
5. Refrigerate.

Nutrition Information (per 1/2 cup serving)

Calories: 118.6   Fat: 5.1 g   Protein:  12.9 g  Carbs: 5.6 g  Sodium:  93.8 mg