9. Greek Salad with Chicken
This salad has everything you could want in a healthy meal: loads of vegetables, healthy fats, and lean protein, all without adding high-calorie ingredients…the perfect combination! Plus, you can mix it up within minutes. If you don’t feel like waiting for the salad to chill, you can go ahead and dive right in. It’ll taste just as good!
When it comes to good eating, the Greeks have had it right for centuries, and have lots to teach us super-sizing Americans. Though the idea of the Mediterranean Diet has echoes throughout Spain, Italy, and southern France, it’s really the Greek culinary ethos that forms the backbone of this smart, fabled eating approach. Healthy fats paired with lots of crunchy vegetables and lean protein are all important and valuable cornerstones of their diet, and all are captured in this simple and satisfying chopped salad. This Greek salad recipe is both hearty and healthy without adding any heavy, high-calorie ingredients. It’s great for a big dinner party (or shall we say a Toga party?), or for meal planning as it will keep well in the fridge for a week. Just double the recipe and dole yourself out a few spoonfuls for your lunch each day and you’ll be set. After a while, you might realize that you don’t miss your heavy Caesar salads at all and start making a whole new lifestyle. Incidentally, ask a Greek and he’ll tell you: It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. And if this lifestyle includes eating healthy food that tastes amazing we say amen to that.
NUTRITION: 360 calories, 22 g fat (7 g saturated), 580 mg sodium
SERVES 4
YOU’LL NEED
2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1⁄2 (14–16oz) can garbanzo beans, drained
3⁄4 cup crumbled feta
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
1⁄4 cup olive oil
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Combine the chicken, cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, onion, beans, and feta in a large salad bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar and oregano with a few generous pinches of salt and pepper.
- Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking to combine.
- Toss the dressing with the salad.
- You can serve now, but it’s best to let this one sit in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, which gives all the ingredients a chance to get friendly.
10. Chicken Fajita Burritos
This protein-packed burrito comes with loaded chicken and beans with cheese on a whole-wheat tortilla. Plus, buying an already-cooked rotisserie chicken will save you a bunch of time. They’re super easy to make, so why not have them at home instead of opting for a giant takeout burrito loaded with calories?
Burritos have humble origins. During the early 20th century, Mexican workers would head out for the day with a bit of last night’s dinner—some beans, a little meat, maybe some rice—wrapped in a tortilla to keep it warm until lunch.
Burritos are a take-out go-to because not only are they delicious, but they are fast to make and highly portable, and easy to scarf down quickly as your lunch break draws to a close. The bad news is that most store-bought burritos have gone off the deep end. In particular, it’s the combination of rice, beans, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole that lifts calorie and sodium counts into the thousands.
This burrito is American in spirit, which is to say it’s hearty and generously filled, but without the caloric excesses found at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Baja Fresh, and the country’s other burrito barons. We’ve not only made this recipe so that it will save you in calories, but it’s also quick and easy to make, so it’ll save you time, too.
NUTRITION: 355 calories, 13 g fat (6 g saturated), 740 mg sodium
SERVES 4
YOU’LL NEED
1⁄2 Tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 poblano or green bell pepper, sliced
Salt and black pepper to taste
1⁄2 can (14–16oz) black beans, drained
1⁄4 tsp cumin
Juice of 1 lime
Hot sauce
4 (10″) whole-wheat tortillas
1 cup low-fat shredded Jack cheese
2 cups shredded chicken (about half a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
Salsa (salsa verde is especially good here)
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
- Add the onion and red and poblano peppers and cook until browned, about 7 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Combine the beans with cumin in a saucepan and warm through. Add the lime juice and a few shakes of hot sauce.
- Preheat a griddle, cast-iron skillet, or large nonstick pan over medium heat.
- Microwave the tortillas for 20 seconds, just enough so they’re pliable.
- Building one burrito at a time, sprinkle on some cheese, top with some beans, the onion-pepper mixture, chicken, and salsa.
- Roll into a tight package.
- Place the burritos directly on the skillet, cooking for a minute on each side until lightly toasted.