Asian Chicken Salad

Hello, my name is Kiersten, and I collect cook books. When I was in college I had a bad habit of buying cook books pretty much anywhere they sold them... typically at ROSS or Tuesday Mornings (which are great places to look if you share my same obsession).

I am a bargain shopper through and through, so if I stumble on good cookbook that is 1/2 off, its hard for me NOT to buy it. The recipe that I am featuring below is from just such an occasion... I was shopping at Tuesday Mornings looking for Christmas presents and I found "Cook Yourself Thin Faster" by Lauren Deen. The cook book is the sequel to "Cook Yourself Thin", and has even MORE health but delicious recipes. Initially I bought one copy for my mom, and then I ended up going back and buying a copy for myself. I have tried several recipes over the last year, but this was the first time I tried out the Asian Chicken Salad.

The Asian Chicken Salad recipe turned out pretty good, but I would make a couple alternations next time-which I have included in red below. Overall I gave this recipe 3 out of 4 forks. It has good flavor, little prep time, and it has the health factor (246 calories, 7g fat, 429mg sodium and 3g sugar).

 

Asian Chicken Salad

Source: Cook Yourself Thin Faster, by Lauren Deen
(246 calories, 7g fat, 429mg sodium and 3g sugar). 
Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, divided
• 2 limes, zest and juice, *The recipe only calls for one lime, but it needs more citrus so I would recommend adding another lime.
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt and coarse ground pepper to taste
• 3 cups shredded roast chicken- discard skin *I didn't want to roast or buy a chicken, so I just cooked chicken about 6 frozen chicken tenderloins on my George Foreman and seasoned it with coarse ground pepper.
• 8 ounces salad greens *I used a mixture of kale and spinach
• 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• Avocado*
• Thinly sliced mushrooms* I added mushrooms but I don't think I will next time, it didn't blend well with the other flavors.
• Diced green apple* GREAT addition. The salad needed some extra citrus, so I would highly suggest the apples.

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, soy sauce, half the sesame oil, half the lime zest and juice, the onion, cilantro*, salt and pepper. Add the chicken* and toss to coat evenly.
2. In a small bowl add the mushrooms*, green apple and cilantro- drizzle with sesame oil and the zest and juice from 1 lime. Mix until the mushrooms, green apple and cilantro are evenly coated.
3. Spread the salad greens on a large plate or in individual bowls and top with two tomato slices. Sprinkle the remaining sesame oil and lime zest and juice over the greens and tomatoes. Evenly divide the chicken mixture over the greens and serve. Garnish with extra cilantro if desired.