Britt, a good friend of mine and blogger at BlondeNerd.com, just had her first salad last night. I know, I don’t believe it either. She refuses to go near lettuce and has avoided salads all her life. I told her that one day I would convert her by taking her favorite meal, Hot Wings, and turning it into a healthy, leafy dish.
Yesterday was that day. With the help of Whole Foods and their Whole Kids Foundation, I created a recipe to encourage more people to eat salads. And if I can get Britt to eat more veggies, I can get ANYONE to. According to Whole Foods, “replacing one meal a day for a salad could translate into the reduction of 100 calories per day. That’s 10 pounds in one year! ” So my thinking is: Let’s take some of our favorite unhealthy foods and turn them into slightly-less-unhealthy salads. We still get the flavors we crave while also getting our daily veggie requirements and filling up on less fattening ingredients. Guess my next challenge is to create a cupcake salad…
Anyway, back to the recipe! Behold: A salad even Britt will eat.
- 2 Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts
- Canola Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Paprika
- ½ cup Hot Sauce (I used Bella's Hot Wing Sauce)
- 3 Romaine Hearts
- ½ cup Shredded Carrots
- 3 stalks Celery
- ¼ cup Blue Cheese Dressing
- ¼ cup crumbled Blue Cheese
- 2 Green Onion stalks
- Slice the raw chicken breasts in half horizontally to make four thin breasts. Season both sides with a bit of salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Pour some canola oil into a frying pan (a little more than you would normally use) and let heat up on medium-high heat.
- Place the chicken breasts in the pan and let cook for a few minutes on both sites (until inside is not pink and outside is browned).
- Place the cooked breasts in a dish, and cover with hot sauce. Flip the breasts over and make sure both sides are fully coated. Place aside.
- Chop the romaine hearts and celery and place into a large bowl. Add the shredded carrots.
- Add ¼ cup of Blue Cheese Dressing (or more or less as your tastes prefer) to the salad and toss until evenly coated.
- Place the salad evenly onto four plates.
- Sprinkle crumbled blue cheese on top of the salads.
- Slice the chicken breasts and place one on top of the crumbled blue cheese. Garnish with green onions.
- Serve with additional dressing and hot sauce as tastes prefer.
Measurements are all able to be messed with: If you like more or less of something in your salad, go for it!
The beer expert at my local Whole Foods recommended the following beers to be paired with the salad:
- Laurelwood Brewing Co: Organic Free Range Red Ale
- Double Mountain Vaporizer (dry-hopped pale ale)
What do you think? Would you eat a “hot wing” salad? What other unhealthy dishes should I try to convert into a salad?
If you feel inspired to help kids eat more salads, visit wholekidsfoundation.org or make a donation next time you’re at Whole Foods!
Whole Foods provided me with a gift certificate to create this salad as well as information about their Whole Kids Foundation. Thank you, Whole Foods!
Looks delicious!
It looks great, except I’m not a hot wing fan… How about a chicken alfredo salad!?
Kristin, that sounds awesome! I know Mr. Geek would LOVE that.