Start 2011 off right & tasty!

HAPPY 2011!!!!!

I hope the coming year brings you all nothing but health and happiness! 😀

Mr. Prevention and I had a cocktail at my favorite bar last night and then went out for a late seafood dinner. YUM! 9pm dinners miss the NYE crowd, FYI…it was very nice. 🙂 Then we headed over to a friend’s house for a mellow get together and just watched the NYC festivities on TV and played Mad Gab – it was fun! I stayed up til nearly 2am and slept until 9:30am! Definitely not standard for me, but at least I got my sleep 😀 (We like to sleep in this house. A lot.)

If you’re like most Americans, and myself, you may have (or plan to) set a new years resolution that involves health. Your resolution may involve weight loss, weight maintenance, exercise, healthy eating, cooking, resistance training, eating less processed foods, or so on. The sky is the limit and we all have different goals…goals that likely entail following a healthy lifestyle. And what better way to lead a healthy lifestyle than to eat a healthy diet. Three meals a day can easily lead to success or failure when it comes to attaining health and wellness goals. Thus, healthy cooking is the cornerstone to the healthy lifestyle I lead and blog about here at Prevention RD.

My blog has definitely taken that turn towards a healthy cooking blog in the past year and I love its new direction. Americans don’t cook enough and it has helped land us in the obesity crisis we are now in. While I do love to whip up some fancy stuff to challenge my culinary abilities, I more so enjoy finding healthy, tasty, quick, and low-cost meals that anyone could enjoy. Eating well SHOULD taste great, that much I can assure you!

I saw a recipe that caught my eye on My Kitchen Adventures. I’ve been CRAVING chicken salad, and this was the perfect answer to my stomach’s call.

“Waldorf Style” Chicken Salad adapted from Skinnytaste, as seen on My Kitchen Adventures

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
1/4 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp dried tarragon (optional) – I omitted.
1 cup chopped apple (I used 1 medium Fuji)
1/2 cup celery, diced
2 Tbsp dried cranberries
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
salt and pepper, to taste (I used about 1/4 tsp each)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the mayo, vinegar, yogurt, salt, and pepper. Add in the chicken, apple, celery, cranberries and walnuts.  Cover and allow flavors to blend in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Serves 4 (about 1 cup/serving).

Nutrition Information (per serving): 204 calories; 7.3 g. fat; 41 mg. cholesterol; 308 mg. sodium; 14 g. carbohydrate; 2.3 g. fiber; 20.5 g. protein

Result: This was WONDERFUL! The flavors just…work! It keeps well in the fridge for upwards of a week, and the vinegar keeps the apples from browning so it always looks fresh and delicious, too. I ate 1 cup of the chicken salad on about 6-8 Triscuits as a meal and it was so filling, high in fiber, low in calories, and provided lots of lean protein. I am thinking about making this recipe for my patients because it is so good, simple, and high in lean protein.

T-2 days until teaching time – eek! I am going to be planning my lectures for the rest of the weekend and working out, that’s about it!

Question: How do you spend New Year’s Day?

Happy 2011, friends! Stop by tomorrow for a giveaway!