Moderation

Pepita Crusted Chicken Salad with Sweet Adobo Vinaigrette.

Maybe you've noticed a trend here on ASP...dessert, healthy dish, dessert, healthy dish, dessert, healthy dish.

Well, to offer full disclosure the REAL cycle is:  dessert, SCALE, workout, healthy low-carb meal, dessert, scale, *SIGH*, workout, low-carb meal! I know what you're thinking...silly girl, just stop eating dessert.

I'm a big believer in the "all things in moderation" philosophy. Something I have to remind myself of when I'm sitting in front a a big plate of cookies!

So here is a healthy "post dessert-binge" meal that is wonderfully balanced in flavor and nutrition. You get protein from lean organic chicken breasts, good fats from the pepitas and avocados, vitamin rich greens and mangos, and light carbs from the jicama and adobo dressing.  

As for tempting the taste buds, you'll experience an amalgamation of  sweet versus spicy, creamy versus crunchy, silky versus crisp, and cool versus hot! This meal is yin-yang heaven!

Sommer

There’s no secret to balance. You just have to feel the waves. ~Frank Herbert

Pepita Crusted Chicken Salad with Sweet Adobo Vinaigrette

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (could use chicken tenders)
3 Tb. flour
1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 egg
1 Tb. milk (or water)
1 cup roughly chopped pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or pistachios

1 head romaine, hand torn
1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced
1 ripe avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup peeled and thinly sliced jicama
½ a small red onion, thinly sliced

1 Tb. strain adobo sauce (from chipotle pepper can)
1/3 cup oil
2 Tb. red wine vinegar
1 ½ Tb. honey
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and move the oven rack to the upper-middle position. Place a piece of parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet.

Prepare 3 small pans: one with chopped pepitas, one with 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of milk whisked together, and one with a mixture of flour, cumin slat and pepper.

Dip the chicken in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess, then dip it in the egg wash, followed by the chopped pepitas. Lay the coated chicken on the baking sheet and repeat with the rest.

Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts. *For chicken tenders bake 15 minutes.

While baking, prepare four salad plates with a bed of romaine, followed by thin slivers of mango, avocado, jicama, and red onion.

Whisk together the adobo sauce, oil, vinegar, honey, Dijon, and salt.

Once the chicken is cooked, allow it to cool for at least 5 minutes. Then top each salad with a chicken breast and drizzle with abodo vinaigrette!

Serves 4.

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