Avamum

Home, Food, Family

salad recipes

Chicken with Mango Dressing

Wraps are a great option for families looking for healthy lunch recipes, and a good way to use up leftover chicken breasts and salad from a previous evening’s dinner. The variety of wraps are endless.  Choose a whole-wheat or roasted red-pepper tortilla for your wrap, or visit your local health food store for one of the new options such as flax, multi-grain or spinach wraps.  The flavor of the dressing you choose can also significantly change the flavor of the finished chicken wrap recipe.

Chicken wraps are also a healthy lunch choice for picky kids.  My toddler loves chicken and avocado wraps and especially this recipe that uses mango dressing and dried cranberries.  Experiment with flavored tortilla wraps, dressings, veggie choices, and seeds and nuts (sesame, sunflower and flaxseeds are good choices) to find the perfect combination that your kids enjoy. Children love to help in the kitchen, and learning how to make a chicken wrap recipe is  a good opportunity to teach your kids about making healthy food choices, measuring ingredients, and also safe food preparation -scrub those little hands well prior to handling poultry and all other ingredients! Some picky eaters become less finicky when they have prepared the food themselves.

 

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced thinly

one handful of romaine lettuce, shredded OR

one handful of mixed greens, including mustard greens and arugula

1/4 cup shredded carrots

6 grape tomatoes, sliced

2 green onions, chopped finely

3 tablespoons of homemade or commercially prepared Salad Dressing (see Mango Salad Dressing Recipe below)

3 tablespoons dried cranberries, either original or orange-flavored

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 large tortilla wraps

How to Make a Chicken Wrap:

Lay tortilla wraps flat on a large work surface or dinner plate.  Line each tortilla with romaine lettuce or mixed greens.  Place sliced chicken in a horizontal line about 1/3 of the way up the tortilla.  Add shredded carrots, grape tomatoes,  and chopped green onions over the chicken.  Sprinkle salad dressing over everything, and add dried cranberries and fresh cilantro leaves to taste.  Carefully roll up wraps and slice in thirds. Serve with a glass of low-fat organic milk or almond milk for a healthy lunch, or add some fruit and yogurt for a healthy dessert.

 

Easy Mango Salad Dressing Recipe

3 tablespoons organic freshly squeezed mango juice

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients together well in a glass bottle. Store in fridge for up to one week. That’s it – super easy!

This recipe serves two adults for lunch, or one adult and two children.  It can be easily doubled or tripled.  This make-ahead lunch recipe can be taken to work or school and stored in a cooled and insulated lunch bag.

 

Chinese Chicken Salad

Here is another great recipe for a salad that makes a meal.  Adding chicken or salmon to a crunch salad gives you protein and enough substance to make a new meal out of leftover cooked meat.  Add a whole grain roll and a glass of milk and your main food groups are all represented.  This recipe uses bottled Oriental or Asian black bean sauce for convenience.  You can easily substitute peanut sauce if you prefer, and if you are really ambitious you can make your own black bean sauce.  This allows you to monitor the sodium, which can be high in prepared sauces.  Be mindful of the red chili peppers – start with just using one and see how your family fares – you can always add the second if they are ready to try a spicier version. This is a super low-fat alternative to the fast food oriental salads offered at Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Burger King.

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup Oriental-style black bean sauce

1 cucumber, thinly sliced

2/3 cup chopped green onions

2 dried red chili peppers, chopped

1/2 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Romaine lettuce leaves

orange bell pepper, sliced thinly

dried egg noodles for garnish

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 can mandarin orange segments

Method:

Slice the chicken breasts into thin slices.  Use a shallow glass dish (I use my pyrex lasagna dish) to combine chicken and black bean sauce.  Make sure the chicken is well-coated with marinade.  Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about half an hour.  Spray a wok or large non-stick skillet with vegetable cooking spray.  Add the chicken and saute over medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes or until it is no longer pink inside.  Stir in cucumber, green onions, bell pepper, chili peppers and peanuts.  Saute for another minute then remove the wok from the heat.  Arrange romaine lettuce leaves on four large dinner plates or salad bowls.  Spoon the chicken mixture over the lettuce leaves. Garnish with the egg noodles, sesame seeds and mandarin orange segments.  Serve immediately.

This recipe makes four servings of 187 calories each.  There are 9 carbs per serving, 28 grams of protein, 573 grams of sodium, 4 grams of fat and 66 mgs of cholesterol.

 

Pepper Steak Salad with Caper Salad Dressing

This recipe for steak salad makes good use of beef and rice cooked earlier in the week.  Mung bean sprouts and capers add flavor and texture without extra fat.  Mung beans sprouts are commonly used in Asian cooking, and have a crisp, clean taste as well as being high in Vitamins A, B, C, and E, and a good source of iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Capers are the pickled bud of the caper bush, and are most often used in Italian (particularly Sicilian) recipes for a flavor burst and as a garnish.  These tiny buds are about the size of a green pea, and after being pickled in vinegar and/or oil for a few months they begin to exude a sharp mustard-like taste, an excellent option for beef.  This recipe makes four servings.  Add frozen yogurt and fresh berries for a well-rounded family meal that includes all the food groups.

 

Salad Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice

2 cups cooked lean beef

3 cups torn mixed salad greens

3 medium tomatoes cut into wedges

1 green pepper, cut into strips

1/2 cup mung bean sprouts

1 15 ounce can of pineapple chunks

For Caper Dressing:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup capers, drained

1/4 cup tarragon vinegar

1 tbsp dry white wine

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Use a glass jar with an airtight lid to combine all the ingredients for the Caper Dressing.  Place the lid on tightly, shake for thirty seconds.   Slice the cooked beef as thinly as possible and place it in a large glass bowl.  Pour the caper dressing over the beef, cover and chill in the fridge for at least three hours.  Place cooked brown rice in a small mixing bowl and set aside.  Just prior to serving, place the mixed salad greens in a large salad bowl.  drain the marinade from the beef into the small bowl containing the rice.  Mix the rice and marinade together well. Spoon the rice onto the centre of the salad greens.  Top with the beef strips, drained pineapple chunks, tomato wedges, green pepper strips and bean sprouts.

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

Here is a family-sized and kid-friendly salad recipe that incorporates pasta, fruit, and yogurt.  It tastes best when made the day before and refrigerated, but keep the salad dressing separate and toss it together just before serving.  As with many of my salad recipes, substitutions and variations abound – try different fruits to see what your family likes best. Just remember that you should have at least four full cups of fruit in total.

1 1/2 cups whole grain fusilli or other short pasta

1 14 ounce (398 ml) can of pineapple tidbits, drained

1 10 ounce (284 ml) can of mandarin orange segments, drained

1 cup of washed, halved and seeded red or green grapes

1/2 cup diced red apples (do NOT peel them)

1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt (thick, creamy yogurt is best)

1 tsp curry powder (optional)

2 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate that has been thawed

1 banana, sliced

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until it is al dente, or firm.  Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking, and drain once again.  Place the cooked pasta in a large bowl.  Add the drained pineapple, oranges, grapes and apples.  In a separate small bowl, stir together the yogurt and orange juice concentrate.  If you are serving the salad within the next five hours, pour the dressing over the pasta mixture, toss gently and stir.  Add the banana as garnish just before serving.  This recipe makes 6 cups of salad.  If you don’t have Greek yogurt,you can make a thicker yogurt by simply placing 1 cup of regular yogurt in a paper-towel lined (or use a coffee filter)  strainer or sieve.  Place the sieve in a bowl, cover the whole thing in saran wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.  When you check it in the morning there should be liquid in the bowl, leaving thick yogurt (it will be a cottage-cheese like consistency)in the sieve.

This Hawaiian Macaroni Salad is a good recipe for a summer buffet or barbecue.  It goes well with cold grilled chicken, ham, or kabobs.

 

Shrimp Salad Recipe

Shrimp is an excellent addition to your summer salad recipes.  This versatile crustacean is the most commonly eaten seafood in the United States, coming in a close second to canned tuna – also great in salads.  Shrimps may be small, but they pack a powerful nutritional punch with high quality protein, selenium, vitamins B6 and D.  Just one four ounce serving of shrimp provides almost 50 percent of your daily requirement of protein.  An excellent low-fat source of protein and a good alternative to higher fat meats, shrimp is high in cholesterol, so if you are on a low-cholesterol diet use caution. Recent studies in Greece and Italy have shown that diets that include fish at least three times a week help reduce the chance of heart disease and stroke as well as helping with high blood pressure.  By adding a tuna sandwich to your lunch, having a salad with tuna, salmon or shrimp, and one dinner entree each week that has a seafood serving you can enjoy delicious and healthy recipes while doing your body good.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of low-fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp organic horseradish

1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 lb small cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 ounces fresh snow peas in the pod

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup celery, sliced diagonally

1 cup fresh bean sprouts, washed and dried

1/4 cup green onions or chives, sliced

1 tomato, diced, or 1 cup cherry tomatoes

2 cups cooked whole wheat macaroni noodles

6 cups mixed salad greens: romain lettuce, arugula, watercress, mustard greens, baby spinach

Method:

Combine the first four ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for four to twelve hours.  Just prior to serving, arrange six plates with mixed greens on the plate.  Spoon the shrimp mixture onto the plates.  Serve with whole grain bread or buns, and have fresh fruit and yogurt for dessert for a well-balanced meal.