Coconut Curry Chicken Salad Wrap

 

Creamy chicken salad jazzed up with curry powder, carrots, a splash of lime juice, toasted coconut flakes and cashews. If you’re in the mood to try something new without totally venturing out of your food comfort zone, then this is for you! No need to go to a specialty food store for exotic ingredients. Your regular grocer should have everything you'll need. I’m also loving that this is one of those meals that you can prep ahead of time and keep in the fridge for fast lunches and dinners.

This recipe happens to be another that’s inspired by one of my favorite lunch spots in Frankfurt called Kleine Anna. Their unique sandwich combinations leave me thinking about my order lonnnng after I leave their doors. My first attempt at bringing their delicious ideas home had me whipping up these roasted eggplant sandwiches with goat cheese and caramelized onions. I thought it was time to take a swing at my other regular order: a sandwich topped with a creamy curry-carrot spread, sliced turkey and arugula.

To make the meal a little healthier, I cut the carbs and decided to go with a wrap instead of bread, but you can also just eat it on top of a bed of greens with a little lime juice, olive oil and s&p.  I also added chicken breast for lots of low-fat protein that will keep me full. Instead of relying on full-fat cream cheese for flavor, I used non-fat Greek yogurt and added in healthier fats with the coconut and cashews. The result is an absolutely delicious, hearty chicken salad you can feel good about eating! 

So what are you doing for your body with this tasty meal?

• Keeping yourself full and energized while fighting sugar cravings: All the protein from the chicken and nuts plus the fiber from the carrots and celery slow digestion and keep blood sugar levels from spiking. This means you won't be hungry again for a while and won't have to fight annoying sugar crashes or cravings.
• Improving blood pressure + lowering stress levels: Celery contains the phytochemical called phthalide, which has shown in clinical traisl to relax muscle tissue in artery walls and thereby increase blood flow. 
• Stimulating your immune system : Carrots are a great source of alpha- and beta-carotene that the body converts to vitamin A.
• Helping your vision/eye health: Carrots contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids, that help protect your eyes from macular degeneration and cataracts. The vitamin A from the alpha- and beta-carotene also boost your body's production of rhodopsin, which you need to see in dim light.
• Preventing cancer: High carotenoid intake (the stuff that gives carrots its bright pigment) is associated with a decrease of up to 50% in bladder, cervical, prostate, colon and esophageal cancer. The carotenoids acts as strong antioxidants that protect cells from the damage done to DNA by aging and free radials. Read more here. 
• Alleviating inflammation and arthritis: Curry powder is a mix of different spices and one of them is tumeric. In the spice world, tumeric is an allstar with strong antioxidant power. It's actually part of the ginger family and its ability to reduce inflammation is attributed to curcuminoids (the compounds that give tumeric that fantastic yellow color that stains everything). One curcuminoid in particular, curcumin, has been the focus of most anti-inflammatory research. Tumeric also improves cholestrol and its anti-tumor properties are showing promising results in animal studies. I'll stop here, but the list goes on. Read more from one of my favorite M.D.s Dr. Andrew Weil here.
• Boosting heart health: Cashews get a bad reputation because of their carb content, but they actually contain a high-level of heart hearthy monosaturated fat that is shown to be associated with lower levels of heart disease. Not to mention the nuts are filled with important minerals like magnesium, calcium, potassium, and selenium.

Mint & Chinese Cabbage Chicken Salad

When it starts to get warm outside I want something light and fresh to eat, but it also needs to fill me up. This low-carb, Asian-inspired cold chicken salad absolutely fits the bill. It's packed with protein and fiber that will keep you going for hours and the lime and mint brighten up everything. Oh yeah... and the dressing is to die for. It's the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, tangy and salty and the peanut butter gives it some real body.

The cabbage itself is also mildly sweet with a fresh crunch. Many people don't realize that this delicious green (and purple) vegetable is part of the same family as nutritional superstars like kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts and chard. And for good reason:

• It contains the phytochemical indoles, which help reduce the risk of cancer due to the way they alter estrogen metabolism and protect our bodies against the carcinogenic effect of pesticides. 
• Cabbage is also full of antioxidant plant compounds, such as carotenes, thiocyanates, indole-3-carbinol, lutein, zea-xanthin, sulforaphane and isothiocyanates, that protect the body against carcinogens and free radicals that promote aging. 
• Abundant source of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, which helps reduce levels of bad cholesterol, improve digestion and boost nutrition absorption. 
• Good source of vitamin C and folates and contains calcium, magnesium, potassium as well as electrolytes.  

Honey-Lime Grilled Chicken on Strawberry Spinach Salad

 Grill season has started and I could not be more excited. While steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs have their place in my heart, sometimes I just want something healthier to throw on the grill. This honey-lime chicken marinade is one of my favorite go-to recipes for summer barbeques. It's sweet, tangy and a pinch of cayenne pepper adds a little spice!

The salad is also low in fat, high in protein, fiber, immune-system boosting vitamin C and a great source of tons of other vitamins and minerals. You get brain- and heart-healthy omega-3s from the avocado. The carrots are packed with carotenoids that are great for eye health. Strawberries have exceptional antioxidant properties as well as phytochemicals that are believed to help significantly inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. 

Cold Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad

Out of nowhere full-on, sweaty summer has arrived: temperatures in the 90s, soaring humidity, don't-even-bother-bringing-a-sweater kind of weather.

All I want when I come home is something cool and fresh. This salad is exactly what I was craving. Tangy, spicy and sweet Asian flavors coating succulent noodles and crisp snow peas – chilled to perfection with a hint of sesame.

Added bonus: you can whip out a batch ahead of time and it makes for superb leftovers. In fact, it’s best when left in the fridge for a while so the noodles and chicken really soak up the gingery, garlic dressing. It is one of my go-to dishes for summer potlucks.

If you are trying to cut down on carbs, just change the pasta to veggie ratio. When I want a lighter meal, I reduce the pasta by half and add more cabbage and snow peas. I also recommend adding bean sprout for an extra crunch!

What I love, besides the cool crunch, is that it is an all-in-one kinda meal. You don’t need a side or a salad, because everything is packed into one.  

Waldorf Chicken Salad Wrap

 

I’ve been known to get behind In-N-Out burgers, the occasional Subway sandwich or some Chick-fil-a every now and then. And as a child, I definitely would beg my parents to take me to the golden arches, partially so I could play in those grubby jungle gyms, but mostly for the collectable toys. But I fear I am slowly becoming one of those people. By those I mean the ones that turn up their nose at fast food. It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized how unappetizing processed food has inadvertently become to me.

I had just climbed onto the metro and plopped down on a seat after work, exhausted, slightly sweaty and 100% ready to be home when this smell hit me. Something like old grease, melting plastic and dusty moth balls. I scanned my surroundings for the culprit only to find someone next to me had pulled out a burger. I scanned again, unwilling to realize the truth: yes, this was the source. Burger King. I found myself repulsed as he scarfed down his flattened bun and square patty in about five seconds flat while clutching the oil-stained bag. THAT IS NOT FOOD, my internal voiced screamed. Food simply does not smell like that!

At that moment, I was just so happy to be coming home to my dinner. I guess having fewer processed foods in my diet I has really changed my taste buds over the last few years. The thought of my Waldorf chicken salad wrap had my mouth watering. After a hot day, it is just so refreshing to chow down on a mix of cold, crisp grapes, crunchy celery and sweet apples. And after eating real food, you just feel so much better. No bloating, no sluggishness followed by immediate hungry. It replenishing body’s nutrients instead of giving your liver  toxic junk to process. So do yourself a favor and eat something real.

Sweet & Sour Mango Chicken Salad

Now that is a meal-worthy salad. Juicy chicken, sweet mango, crunchy cabbage, creamy avocado, spicy radishes and crisp red peppers. Note the lettuce-to-everything-else ratio. I top it off with my tangy sweet and sour dressing. When I am craving something with more carbs, I just throw this into a wrap. Tada!

So often I hear people say "O, salad, I wish I could eat that for lunch, but it just doesn't fill me up." I promise you can be "one of those people" who is satisfied by a salad. You see... it's not so much the person as the salad. If you eat a bunch of iceberg lettuce covered in nonfat Italian dressing with a few baby carrots unloving tossed on top then OF COURSE it doesn’t fill you up. It's just water with some salt and sugar. I don’t think that fills ANYONE up. When I say salad, I mean something more like this.

I dare you to eat this salad and tell me you are not satisfied and full. You are getting around +25 grams of protein along with a huge amount of fiber from the veggies. Plus the carrots provide antioxidant benefits from carotenoids and big dose of vitamin A. The cabbage and red pepper are also great sources of vitamin C.

Lemon Chicken Salad with Walnuts Apples & Feta

This is the kind of salad you don't feel bad about shelling out nine bucks for at a cafe. It won't leave you hungry and every bite tastes like heaven. It's the kind of salad you THINK you can't make for yourself. But OoOO you CAN!

See, I think I've finally cracked the code to those bougie cafe salads. It's that combination of fruit, nuts and cheese that sets their salads a bar above the rest. Think about it. Strawberries, apple, mango? Cashews, almond slices, walnuts? Blue cheese, parmesan, feta? It can be yours!

This is just one combination I came up with:

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

If I could only eat two types of cuisine for the rest of my life it would be Mexican and Vietnamese. Heavy, cheesy food and then, when I inevitably got sick of that awesome feeling of being absolutely stuffed after every meal, I'd turn to the delicious, fresh flavors of mint, cucumber, lime and rice wine vinegar. These are the types of things I think about. Practical, I know.

This recipe is about as light and fresh as it gets: crisp cabbage, sweet carrots, fresh lime and herbs, salty peanuts and a splash of fish sauce. OK, the fish sauce may sound and smell fish, but it's delicious, just trust me. And this is one of those recipes that will leave you feeling satisfied without feeling stuffed. It's filled with protein from the chicken and fiber from the cabbage, which in incidentally a great source of vitamin C, K and B6 (nutrition data).

Speaking of nutrition data, I'm sure you have noticed by now that I use nutritiondata.com as my primary source for information. It's brilliant for finding out a breakdown of calories, vitamins and minerals as well as how complete of a protein is, how filling/nutritious a food is and its glycemic score. They make it simple for you. They even provided nutritional data on foods in various states (raw, cooked, boiled, etc). This is extremely helpful, because we often forget that cooking foods alters their nutritional content significantly.

Oven Chicken Fajitas

Friday night was fajita night! And movie night, but that’s beside the point. If I don’t have Mexican food at least one a week, something just feels wrong. Somehow my body craves spicy meat, fresh lime and creamy avocado.

Living in Germany does not make this easy, because there are all of two Mexican restaurants in Frankfurt neither of which actually serve Mexican food. And to make matters worse, you can’t find any decent salsa, chips or corn tortillas in regular supermarkets. That requires a trip to an indoor farmer’s market.

I do the best with what I can find, though. And tonight’s meal was cooked with ingredients that I even I can get my hands on at a local grocery store. The beauty of this dish was that while it took a while to cook, it did not take long to prep (15 mins). And everything went into just one massive casserole dish, so limited cleanup!

I served this over a bed of lettuce with avocado and sour cream. Were I not completed cutting out processed carbs, I would have used it as a filling in tortillas or eaten the salad with some tortillas chips crumbled on top.

Mango Red Curry Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice

Red curry paste has only recently become a staple in my kitchen. Honestly, I don't know what took me so long. It’s an easy way to add a punch of complex flavors to your dishes with minimal effort. Generally the paste consists of chili peppers, garlic, lemongrass, cumin, cilantro, fish sauce and let’s not forget galangal – a root that tastes kind of like ginger. All this and all you have to do is measure out a few teaspoons. I can no longer imagine cooking without it.
 

As always, this recipe is just a starting point. The onions, garlic, paste, broth and coconut milk are just a sauce. You can replace chicken with chickpeas for a vegetarian version or change up the vegetables: put in snow peas, broccoli, wilted spinach, red bell peppers or carrots. Whatever you feel like!!

As for the cauliflower rice, I’m a HUGE fan. It’s so fluffy and light, but still soaks up the sauce – all this at a fraction of the calories in rice. One cup of white rice has about 200 calories compared with 30 for a cup of cauiflower. Plus you get vitamin C, potassium, fiber and some folate. Like other cruciferous veggies, cauiflower is also famous for its cancer-fighting properties. The vegetable contains sulforaphane, which enters the bloodstream and boosts your antioxicant defense system and helps the body disarm and remove carcenogenic compounds from the body. And these are just a few of the reason to give cauliflower a try!

Cauliflower Pizza With Artichoke, Sun-Dried Tomatoes And Chicken

With its crispy edges and cheesy center, cauliflower pizza crust has hit the Internet by storm. It’s on just about any respectable foodie’s pinterest. I tease, but with all these recipes for cauliflower pizza crust floating around I had to give it a try myself.

Clearly, the crust is not going to taste exactly the same, but the most frequent main complaint is that the crust is too weak and floppy to hold up toppings. Ooo, but it CAN! It’s just a matter of adding enough egg and pre-baking the crust long enough – but not too long. It’s a delicate thing you see. While you want to bake it enough to let the excess moisture off before pilling on the topping, you don’t want it black on the edges by the time the toppings and cheese are golden brown. Slightly tricky.

My tip: Try to make sure the edges of your crust are just as thick, if not thicker, than the center. Edges are going to bake faster, so given them a fighting chance. If they still aren’t crispy enough for your liking, crank up the heat toward the end of baking time to toast them up.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

If you like Mexican food, just go ahead and make this. I can definitively say that your future self will thank you. It's hearty, healthy and so, so full of flavor.

I tried to fight it, making this recipe that is. I already had a recipe for a tortilla soup that I was perfectly happy with. But when I went home for Christmas and my sister made the soup she had been raving about, I had to admit it to myself: this one was better. 

So, just give in and make this soup for your own good.

As I mentioned this isn't one I can take credit for. But you can find it here.

And best of all, it is a breeze to make. Just saute the onions and throw everything else in a crockpot or just a regular pot and cook. Then pull the chicken out to shred and add it back again. If you don't have that much time and are willing to settle for slightly less succulent meat, just put the heat on medium and check the chicken after 15-20 minutes. 

The soup itself is great, but topping it is more than half the fun. Green onions, sour cream, grated cheese, avocado, hot sauce, red onions, salsa, cilantro, lime juice, chips, freshly fried tortilla strips. Go wild!

Spinach Chicken with Rosemary Sweet Potates

Just looking at this plate cheers me up!

Vibrant food somehow makes me excited to eat it. Mostly because I'm convinced that eating it will make me just as vibrant.

Having just started my sugar-detox, I was experiencing some pretty intense sugar cravings. Ones that had my brain thinking things like ... Why did you decide to do this to me? Chocolate doesn't count as sugar right? There are antioxidants in it or something. Can't we end this tomorrow? Or um ... right now? 

So to give in without giving in, I decided to turn to sweet potatoes. While they are sweet as can be, they also have some great nutritional benefits as well: They are a good source of fiber, vitamin B6 and potassium as well as a very good source of vitamin A, Vitamin C and Manganese. Just see for yourself here.

Of course, sweet potatoes by themselves don't make a meal. To round out the sweet with some savory flavors, I teamed it up roasted chicken and a warm spinach salad. The salty feta crumbles and bacon bits melt together with the spinach.