Monthly Archives: August 2010

Chinese Chicken Salad


I love a good Chinese Chicken salad, but some of the ones you find on restaurant menus are simply unjustifiable! Huge, loaded down with sugar, nuts, and fried wonton strips or Chinese noodles, they can hardly be considered healthful.

But fear not! This version, adapted from Cook This, Not That has all the flavor without the unwanted health hazards. There are a few critical ingredients, like toasted sesame oil that give this salad its recognizable Asian flavor. Just opening a bottle and smelling it takes you right to the kitchen of your favorite Asian restaurant. I personally like my chicken warm on salads, so that’s how I recommend it in this one. If you put your chicken on to grill or broil when you start the salad, by the time it’s cooked, you’ll be ready to add it to a nearly complete meal. And a delicious one at that.

Pair this with a good crusty bread and a glass of wine and pretend you’re at Spago back in the 80’s where this whole Chinese Chicken Salad craze was born…


Chinese Chicken Salad
adapted from Cook This, Not That
 
serves 4

Salad 
1 head Napa cabbage, shredded
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
1/2 packet stevia sweetener (like Truvia)
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted
1-2 chicken breasts, grilled or broiled, thinly sliced – ideally still warm!
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped 

Dressing
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
3 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 packet stevia sweetener (like Truvia)
Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large bowl, combine both cabbages with the sweetener and toss to coat.  Stir in the oranges, green onions, almonds, chicken, and cilantro (reserve 1 Tbsp. of cilantro for garnish) and toss to combine. 
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Pour over salad and toss to coat thoroughly. 
3. Portion salad onto four plates and garnish with reserved cilantro.

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Honoring Milestones

My firstborn started kindergarten this week! When that big yellow schoolbus turned the corner, she was literally jumping with joy (really – I have the Flip video to prove it!). She climbed aboard, posed for a quick picture, and then was off. OFF! A big piece of my heart rounded the curve ahead and simply drove away! It took all of 2 minutes from the time we arrived at the bus stop. I barely got the pictures I wanted! And I was emotional enough that I was rendered speechless. 

We’d had a celebration for her that morning – a homemade card, the special pancake breakfast she requested, a thousand family pictures as we sent her off. We had a little parade to the bus stop – the five of us plus my parents – complete with neighbors waving and wishing her good luck as they watered their lawns or walked their dogs. My 3 year old was devastated that he couldn’t ride the bus once it got there, so my parents took him to the park as a consolation prize, leaving my husband and I home alone for a bit with the newborn and our thoughts. I cried. Then I laughed. Then I cried some more. We talked about the day we brought her home from the hospital, and what it was like on her first day of preschool, and how we’d likely feel at her high school graduation, or on her wedding day. We hugged each other…we looked at pictures…we laughed a little more and cried a little more.

I’m not actually SAD that she has started kindergarten – in fact, I’m thrilled for her! I loved school and hope that she’ll have every bit as good of an experience as I had and then some. I’m not even sad for me! It’s exciting to have new adventures to look forward to. Each phase of her life so far has been so fun and I’m confident this one will be no different.
 
So why all the emotion? Because it was a milestone. And because we paused, and dedicated time to honoring it. We’re good at this with kids. Birthdays are a BIG DEAL. Losing a tooth. Starting school. Riding a bike. We cheer and celebrate and hug and high five. There are presents! And cake! And cards! A special meal, a new outfit, whatever the rituals are, THERE ARE RITUALS.


We could all learn a thing or two about properly honoring milestones if we think about how we do it with children. Because sadly, somewhere along life’s journey, we seem to stop honoring milestones. We say things like “We don’t have to go out to dinner on our anniversary this year – we have something else going on.” Or “Don’t buy me a birthday gift, we just got the new washer and dryer.” Or “It’s just a promotion for heaven’s sake – don’t make such a big deal out if it.” We let the milestones slip by until life is just one big blur of soccer games and chicken dinners and trips to Target.  


Life. Is supposed to be punctuated. By milestones.


And when they occur, it’s so important to pause, collect ourselves, and honor them. Buy the gift. Make the cake. Have the special dinner. Raise a glass. And most importantly, hug, cry, or laugh with the ones you love. Because these are the moments you’ll remember. These are your milestones along life’s journey. Stop at them and rest a while. And then get back on the road.

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Road Food…Decadently Healthful Style

As you’ve read, we took a family road trip last week. In addition to all of the carseats and clothes and beach toys and books and crayons and Leapsters and the stroller and pack and play, I also crammed a cooler and a bag of food into our overloaded SUV. Of course I did. Why? Because it’s the best way I know to ensure that we are able to eat healthfully while on the road (and because if our 3 year old isn’t “fed and watered” every 2 hours he turns into a little monster – a cute monster, but you get my point!).

Since I often get questions about how to eat healthfully while on the road, I thought I’d share what we took with us this time, plus a few things I wish we’d taken.

For many of us, road trips are viewed as a chance to indulge in a host of “forbidden food” favorites, in fact, there’s an entire website devoted to Roadfood! However, for many people, travel is a rather frequent occurrence, and it’s all too easy during those trips to un-do all the good you’ve done at home! I used to think of travel as a chance to indulge, but I’ve learned how much better I feel if I stick to my basic healthful eating approach even when I’m on the road. Even my husband now agrees (as long as he can squeeze in the periodic fried food fix during the trip!).

Packing for healthy eating on the go involves just a little advance planning but can really be a lifesaver when you’re faced with the airport food court or the aisles of a convenience store along the highway. You can make some good choices in those places, too, but having some tried-and-true options in your back pocket significantly eases the anxiety of mealtime or snacktime.


For our trip, I tried to choose foods that could be eaten in the car or the hotel room without making a total mess. I made choices that gave us a good mix of sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy, carbohydrate and protein, fruit and vegetable. I made sure we had FIBER rich foods with us (because, you know, I’m a big proponent of fiber as discussed here). I tried to balance fresh foods with nonperishable foods and to focus on things we couldn’t easily find on the road.

Since we had access to a cooler (and to several refrigerators throughout the trip) I could have a bit more fresh food than some other trips might allow  – that was a nice luxury!

These foods were largely for breakfast and snacks – we had lunch and dinner in restaurants or with friends or family every day – so don’t think for a minute that this was ALL we ate! 

So here’s what we took with us:
A loaf of high-fiber whole wheat bread
High fiber cereals (Fiber One Original and Fiber One Shredded Wheat) 
A container of cut-up carrots, celery, cucumbers and radishes
Apples and Nectarines
A half gallon of organic skim milk
Roasted almonds 
Dried Tart Cherries
Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies
Back to Nature Graham Sticks
Kashi TLC Granola Bars
Gnu Bars
Clif Z Bars
Water!

What I wish I’d added:
Hummus
Almond Butter
Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Cottage cheese or Greek Yogurt in single serve containers 

Net, in general, my packing served us really well. But…I was light on protein-rich foods and really wished I’d had them with us at several points during the trip! The “I wish I’d added” list above would have provided the protein I felt like we were missing – live and learn! Next time, they’ll make the cut! 

As for the next time you travel, try packing a few of your favorite healthful foods and see how much better you feel by the end of your trip!

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