Low Fat Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Yes, you read the header right.  LOW FAT Buffalo Chicken Wraps.  The tanginess of the vinegar and hot sauce with the creaminess of the Greek yogurt and blue cheese take these wraps to another level.

  

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Frank’s hot sauce
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar, divided
• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 1 lb. thinly sliced chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons reduced fat mayo
• 2 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
• 4 (8 inch) tortillas
• 4 romaine lettuce leaves, chopped
• ½ a large tomato, diced
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 celery rip, finely diced
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Whisk together hot sauce, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and cayenne pepper in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add chicken.  Cook until no longer pink in the middle.  (3-4 minutes per side)  Let chicken rest for 5 minutes and then chop into bite sized pieces.  Add it to the hot sauce bowl.  Toss and coat well.

Whisk mayo, Greek yogurt, black pepper, celery, and the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar in a small bowl.  Stir in blue cheese.

To assemble wraps: Lay tortilla on a work surface or plate.  Spread with ¼ of the blue cheese sauce and top with ¼ of the chicken, lettuce, scallions, and tomato.  Roll into a wrap.

Add some sweet potato fries and dipping sauce to the side and dinner is done. 

You're welcome.

Move, Work, Run

The past several months have been BUSY and my workouts/blog posts have suffered.  I moved out of town, went back to work (after a year hiatus), and picked up running again.  Whew!  

Moving.  After a year of eating out, floating the river, and drinking local beer we decided to move back to Klamath Falls.

Klamath Falls, OR

As I'm sure most of you know, moving sucks.  I'm glad the worst part is over.  (Packing, loading the U-Haul, etc...)  We're looking to buy our first home which is exciting and nerve wracking at the same time.  Luckily, we know an awesome realtor, Kim Swagert, who should be able to hook us up with the perfect house.

It's been nice to catch up with family and friends and I definitely missed local hockey and 99.5 The Rock!  

Work.  What can I say?  I really enjoyed not working this past year, but got a little lonely being home all day with nobody to hang out with other than the dog and cat.  You can only watch so much "Deadly Women" and "Snapped" before you start to feel like a criminal.  When I heard my old job at the radio station in Klamath Falls opened up, I was all over it.  I had a good gig there and knew the opportunity to get my position back wouldn't come around again anytime soon.  As Eminem would say "It feels so good to be back!" 

Just another day at work back in '07

Running.  I've done little running the past year because the Beachbody workouts are so intense.  I didn't want to over-train and honestly, I just didn't have the energy to do both.  Since I have some races coming up, I thought I'd better jump back on the running wagon.  I am fortunate enough to have a running partner for the first time ever.  Did I mention she's awesome?  Not only does she run with me, but she told me about some great local running groups.  The first one is actually a trail running group where you earn points over the duration of the series and they give away weekly prizes.  The second is a running club called the Linkville Lopers.  They do weekly runs every Wednesday with two pace groups.  I believe one group runs at an eight minute pace and the other group (led by my running partner) runs at a ten-ish pace.  The trail runs are pretty insane, but the Wednesday runs are fairly mild and great for beginners, like me.  

My running partner, Grace.  Photo courtesy of Cody Ames Photography.

Life is good.  

{Taste Test Tuesday} Curried Chicken Salad

I've tried several Curried Chicken Salad recipes that pack a lot of calories.  I was skeptical to try this recipe because of how healthy it was.  I also worried about how the chicken would taste after poaching it.  I'm not a fan of poaching chicken and prefer to roast it when possible. 

There are some odd food parings in this dish, but they seemed to work very well together.  You get the sweetness from the grapes, the crunch from the almonds, the spice from the curry powder, and the creaminess from the Greek yogurt. 

It was surprisingly good, but make sure you don't over cook the chicken or it will be tough.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1-1/4 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, no more than 3/4" thick
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons  mayo with olive oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 cup halved red grapes
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 ounces mixed greens (about 6 cups lightly packed)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add chicken to broth and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes.  Turn the heat off and let the chicken stand in the cooking liquid, covered, until cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the broth and cool completely in the refrigerator.  Cut into 1/4" dice.  Toast the almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and beginning to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayo, and curry powder.  Fold in the chicken, grapes, and cilantro.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.  Arrange the greens on 4 individual plates, top with a scoop of the chicken salad and sprinkle with almonds. 

Adapted from the Food Network website

This dish gets ☆☆☆ 

What Your Dinner Plate SHOULD Look Like

What should your dinner plate look like?  ANSWER: 50% veggies, 25% lean protein, and 25% whole grains.

Veggies: Leafy greens, cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, kale, cucumber, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, etc…

Lean proteins: Fish, chicken, turkey, pork tenderloin, & certain cuts of beef such as top round.

Whole grains: Brown rice, quinoa, barley, whole wheat pasta & bread.

What does your dinner plate look like?



 

{Taste Test Tuesday} Balsamic Chicken Drumsticks

I remember my mouth watering when I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian over a year ago. 

Looks delicious, right?  When I took my first bite I was surprised by how incredibly plain it was.  How could something marinated in balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, etc... be plain?  The recipe said to marinate the chicken for 2 hours (which I did), but that obviously wasn't long enough.  I wonder if they would have been better sitting in the marinade overnight.  I also expected the marinade to turn into a glaze after cooking it.  Again, the recipe said it would be thick to brush on the drumsticks, but it was quite thin.  I think it's safe to say I was pretty disappointed with the end result. 

 

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 5 sprigs of rosemary
• 5 garlic cloves, halved
• 10 to 12 chicken drumsticks
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

 

Combine the balsamic, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves in a large, re-sealable bag.  Shake and squeeze the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar.  Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible.  Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

 

Place the drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan.  Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to kill bacteria).  Reduce heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes.  Reserve.

 

Use a pastry brush to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken.  Place the chicken on a serving platter.  Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and chopped parsley.

 

From the Food Network website.

 

I'm giving this recipe ☆☆

 

 

Green Tea Benefits

I used to have a major Diet Pepsi addiction.  I would drink it as soon as I got up in the morning and would continue to drink it throughout the afternoon.  I knew it was unhealthy, but I desperately needed my caffeine fix!  Coffee wasn't an option.  I love the smell of coffee, but can't stand the taste.  What else was there?  GREEN TEA.  I slowly incorporated green tea into my daily routine and eventually cut out Diet Pepsi.  I knew green tea was healthier, but I didn't know why.  Let me just say there is more to it than just caffeine.

Weight Loss.  It burns fat and boosts your metabolism rate naturally.

Skin Protection.  It helps protect your skin from the sun's ultraviolet rays.

Tooth Decay.  It kills mouth bacteria and prevents bad breath.

Heart Disease. Studies show it can lower the risk of a heart attack by up to 11%. It also helps prevent the buildup of fatty material along the inner walls of arteries.

Diabetes.  It helps regulate blood sugar levels and can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Cholesterol.  It reduces "bad" cholesterol and improves "good" cholesterol.

Alzheimer's & Parkinson's.  Studies show it can prevent brain cells from dying and restore damaged brain cells.

Cancer.  It reduces the risk of certain cancers such as esophageal, ovarian, and bladder.

Bone Health.  It can increase bone density and lower your fracture risk.

How much should you drink?  Some say as little as two cups per day while others say five.  I drink two cups of Tazo Zen Green Tea a day; one hot cup in the morning and a cold glass early in the afternoon.  If you want the benefits, but don't don't like the taste, consider taking a green tea supplement instead.

STOP drinking soda and energy drinks and START drinking green tea!!!



 



Salmon w/ Creamy Dill Sauce

Salmon.  Either you love it or hate it.  I happen to love it, especially with this creamy sauce.  I always thought salmon was incredibly expensive until I bought it frozen at Trader Joes for $9.99/lb.  Not bad considering a serving of fish is about 3 oz.  If you don't like the taste of salmon or feel it's too pricey, substitute tilapia.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb. salmon
• 3/4 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
• 1/2 small onion, sliced & separated into rings
• 4 lemon slices
• 2 tablespoons butter, cubed
• Cooking spray

Dill Sauce

• 1/3 cup light sour cream or nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup mayo with olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking dish with heavy-duty foil; lightly spray with cooking spray.  Place salmon skin side down.  Sprinkle with lemon-pepper and onion salt.  Top with onion and lemon slices.  Fold foil around salmon and seal tightly.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Open foil carefully, allowing steam to escape.  Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 8-12 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. 

Combine sauce ingredients until smooth.  Serve with salmon.

Note: Some of the onion will be burnt after broiling which I toss and I set aside the lemon.

Adapted from the Taste of Home website.

This is my FAVORITE salmon recipe, what's yours?