This delectably sweet balsamic chicken salad is balanced enough to eat as a meal on it’s own. Adjust the pasta amount to meet your need; low-carb and vegan options in notes.
I appreciate recipes that have a lot of flexibility to adjust ingredients/macros, and this balsamic chicken pasta salad fits the bill!
– Increase, decrease, or eliminate the pasta to adjust the carbohydrate content.
– Swap out the chicken and feta for tofu and nutritional yeast for a vegan option and use plain plant yogurt for the dressing.
If you decide to add the pasta, I recommend whole grain pasta. It has a slightly sweeter taste and pairs well with the rest of the flavors. In my first attempt at this recipe, I used chickpea pasta which has an unfortunate texture and taste that detracts from the rest of the flavors. Any pasta shape will work – recommend rotelle, bowties or shells for their dressing capture capabilities.
Don’t feel like cooking? The creamy balsamic dressing itself would work great for a regular salad or as a dip for veggies!
Special thanks to my client Tony for inspiring this creation.
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A healthier, easy to make version of Broccoli Beef stir fry. Skip takeout and enjoy this delicious combination of juicy strips of beef infused with garlic, ginger, and soy mixed with broccoli.
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Simple dinner with minimal clean up. This sage roasted sausage & sweet potato uses a single plan and is delicious for a minimal amount of work. Roasting the sweet potatoes with sage and combining with balsamic brings forward a savory-sweet combination that pairs well with the sausage and broccoli.
For even cooking, it’s worth the time to flip over each of the sausage pieces so that they crisp up on both sides. Swap full fat sausage for low-fat chicken sausage – there are plenty of options at the grocery store and each 85 g link is typically going to have 7-8 g of fat and 12-13 g of protein. I’ve used Sabatinos (Costco) as well as Open Nature (Vons). You could also substitute extra firm tofu in this recipe for a plant-based protein source. Remove excess water from the tofu before baking by pressing.
It’s relatively straightforward to adjust the macros for this sage roasted sausage & sweet potato; if you are looking for lower carbs reduce to one potato and instead add an extra crown of broccoli. To reduce the fat, reduce the oil to 1 tbsp. total or instead make some home made ground turkey with sausage seasoning like the one I made for this recipe and combine with the sweet potato and broccoli at the end.
Skip takeout and stay on track with these easy high protein flatbread pizzas. Simple ingredients with no yeast or rise time. Ready to go in less than 30 minutes.
Left: Chicken + Roasted Poblano w/ Feta Middle: Chicken Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Right: “Satay” Style with Green Onion, Chicken, Broccoli, Sriracha, and Peanut Butter Sauce
I’m very impatient so it was exciting to discover no-yeast pizza crust recipes that don’t require waiting time for dough to rise. Thishigh protein flatbread pizzas is an experimental merge of the many I’ve found online. The dough has only four ingredients – baking flour, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, baking powder, and Italian seasoning (optional). It takes only a few minutes to prepare. In fact, if you have all of the ingredients, making these pizzas is faster and less expensive than getting delivery.Up front: NO…these do not taste like what you can pick up in the Bronx. However, it is a way to stay on track in a healthier eating plan AND not feel like you need to wash your face and lie down after eating it!
A note about yogurt
IMPORTANT: use PLAIN GREEK YOGURT in this recipe. Regular yogurt is too watery to make proper dough. Roll the dough to an even thickness so that the edges don’t burn. One of the most valuable tools I use for baking is a beveled French Rolling Pin. It’s natural wood and there are no joints to clean so it’s more sanitary.
Don’t skip the step of uniformly spraying both sides of the formed dough with olive oil – this is important for a crispy outside texture. Further, you will be baking the crusts at high temp (500 F) so ensure the parchment paper is rated accordingly. The paper will slightly char regardless – this is expected.
The best part about homemade pizza is topping flexibility and you can make it a family experience where everyone prepares their own. Here I’ve made one large pizza but it’s straightforward to divide the dough into smaller portions for personal pizzas, or scale up to make additional pizzas.
Toppings
Beyond the pies shown here, other healthier topping possibilities include Canadian bacon, onion, jalapenos, turkey pepperoni, ground beef, and veggies. For cheese, I recommend using low-fat. Non-fat does NOT melt and you don’t want to feel like you’re eating little bits of white rubber. A less traditional but as tasty option is fat-free feta cheese – it’s an excellent protein source if the melty-cheesy texture isn’t as important to you. If you decide to add veggies such broccoli, make sure they are pre-cooked or roasted to remove excess moisture so the pizza doesn’t get soggy. Even when you take this precaution, a veggie pie may need additional baking time.
The tomato provides enough sweetness on it’s own so look for a marina sauce that has no sugar added and has about 60-70 calories per 1/2 cup. Swapping directly for tomato paste works great if you want a tangier taste. Stirring oregano or Italian seasoning and/or a bit of minced garlic into the sauce before spreading is great for extra flavor .
In addition to the more traditional pizzas, I played around with a Satay style as well! The sauce was made with peanut butter powder and water. Give it a go if you’re feeling adventurous.
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Who says veggies can’t be delicious? Simple sweet balsamic roasted broccoli and peppers dish is great side dish for lunch or dinner.
For this balsamic roasted broccoli and peppers, ensure your cut veggies are spread out on your baking sheet and that the pieces aren’t touching. Like most vegetables, raw broccoli has a very high water content so by spreading it out we ensure that moisture can escape during cooking and the broccoli roasts instead of steaming.
Really, you could use a number of different vegetable combinations, cooking time may vary. Other great options that taste amazing roasted is cauliflower, brussels sprouts zucchini, and even kale. Play around with it!
You’ll be surprised how much the veggies shrink after baking. I recommend making multiple batches and storing them in the fridge for eating throughout the week with lunches and dinners.
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