Chicken Poppy Seed Salad for Two
(Recipe adapted from Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood)
Every now and then, you run across a recipe that you know will taste great, but one of the ingredients causes you to pause and wonder whether the taste will be worth the calories. The good news is that you can usually alter a recipe to make it healthier without sacrificing taste. That’s the case with this Chicken Poppy Seed Salad recipe.
The original recipe — which I’ve cut in half — called for a whopping two cups of mayonnaise. That’s approaching 2,000 calories for those of you who are counting. By significantly cutting the mayonnaise and using lite instead of regular, this adapted recipe uses only two tablespoons of mayo, totaling less than 80 calories. I added an additional two tablespoons of plain yogurt to make it creamier. I also added a grated carrot to the mix, adding a a little extra sweetness with the side benefit of some beta-carotene.
Honestly, you won’t miss the extra mayonnaise in this recipe, which makes just enough for three or four sandwiches:
Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken breasts
2 stalks of celery, diced (a good source of B & C vitamins)
1 cup of red seedless grapes, halved (a good source of antioxidants)
1 small carrot, grated (a good source of vitamin A & beta-carotene)
1 TSP dried dill weed (a good source of minerals such as copper & potassium)
1/2 cup slivered almonds (high mineral content, promotes heart health)
1 TSP poppy seeds (high in fiber and a good source of calcium & copper)
2 TBSP lite mayonnaise
2 TBSP plain yogurt
salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Place the chicken breasts in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil until cooked through, approximately 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, dice the celery, cut the grapes in half and grate the carrot. Mix together in a bowl and add the dried dill weed and poppy seeds. Once the chicken is cooked through and cool enough to handle, dice it in small pieces and mix in with the other ingredients. Add the mayonnaise and yogurt and stir. Season to taste with salt and pepper.