Healthy Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

 So I figured it was about time I make a healthy recipe. Am I right? Don’t get me wrong, I love the occasional cheesy, creamy, fatty, high cholesterol meal….mmm cheese….fat… Ugh, why can’t the delicious unhealthy foods (cheese burgers, chips, casseroles, etc.) actually be, well, healthy?! If something like Potatoes Au ’Gratin was a healthy dish, I would be so buff, because I would always want to eat it.

Anyways, sorry about that. Rant is over now. Got to think healthy! And yes we all would love to eat junk food. But healthy food can be delicious and flavourful too. This salad I am about to share with you is packed full of tastiness. You have that sharp acidity from the mustard, complimented by the sweet, delectable honey. When you make this chicken it will pair well with any salad or vegetables you want to use. I am just giving you a basic example of the salad I used from what I had in my fridge. But I encourage you to be creative, my friends. And have fun!

Ingredients

Chicken

·         2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

·         2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

·         1 pinch of salt

·         1 tbsp cracked black pepper

·         3 tbsp Dijon mustard

·         2 tbsp honey

·         1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

·         1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Salad

·         1 and ½ heads of romaine lettuce

·         1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

·         1 tbsp butter

·          ½ tbsp honey

·         1 handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

·         1 apple of your choice, finely chopped

·         1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped

Dressing

·         2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

·         2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

·         1 pinch of salt

·         ½ tbsp. ground black pepper

·         1 tbsp honey

·         1 tbsp Dijon mustard

 

Preparation

Alright! Let’s get down to business. First you will want to marinate your chicken. Throw your chicken breasts, minced garlic, seasonings and sauces all into a large re-sealable freezer bag or container. Now, massage all the goodness together until the chicken is evenly coated in the mixture. Marinate in the fridge for at least thirty minutes to blend the beautiful sour and sweet qualities that you will want your chicken to take hold of.

Second, when the thirty minutes are almost up, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. And while waiting for the oven to preheat, melt butter in a pan on medium heat and toss in your thinly sliced onion. We are going to brown the onions to add an extra sugariness to your salad. Trust me, this will be superb. I absolutely love the juicy, caramelized taste of onions that have been cooked in butter.  And the science of cooking onions is absolutely marvelous. I find it so interesting how you can take a pungent ingredient, cook it down ad recreate it to be so sweet that it could almost be a dessert. 

Once your onions are fully caramelized and are dripping with syrupy juices, spoon in your honey and mix it until all of the onions are glazed in this extra coating of sugar. I know what you are thinking, “I thought this was supposed to be a healthy salad?” And your questioning is totally understandable. However, there are no processed sugars in this recipe. All the sugars are natural, which is much better than any factory processed sugar. And, I wanted some extra honey…so…there you go! That is my answer…. Cricket, cricket….

Third step! Chop all the other ingredients for your salad…unless you want to do it while the chicken is baking…because that is doable as well. But if you are a go-getter like me and like to be prepared well ahead of time then you can do it now too. Whatever floats your boat. Sail away my friends, sail away.

Next! You will want to bake your chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Or if you do not have a thermometer, bake it until it is fully cooked all the way through. (no pink meat in the center). It all depends on your oven for how long chicken needs to bake. My oven usually bakes chicken breasts in 35 to 45 minutes. When in doubt, cut open the chicken to see if it looks done. You will want the outside to have a gorgeous crispness to it. And your insides should be juicy and succulent, with breath-taking white meat. My mouth is watering already.

Now cool down your onions and chicken before mixing it into your salad. Otherwise the fresh vegetables will all wilt. We want a fresh crunchy salad. Not a soggy mess. And once cooled, slice your chicken into adorable bite-size pieces and throw them into your salad bowl with the onions.

Finally, prepare the salad dressing. Pour all of your dressing ingredients into a cup or a bowl and aggressively mix them together. Why do I say aggressively? Well, my friends, this is because oil and vinegar separate when they are left to stand. Therefore, you will want to mix them together as best as you can before pouring the concoction onto the salad. Toss the salad until everything is well coated in dressing, and now you are ready to chow down!

Taste Test

Mmm mmm mmm. This salad will blow your taste buds away with amazement. The beautiful pungent, acidity from the apple cider vinegar compliments the chicken so well. Along with the sharpness from the mustard, the kick from the pepper and the natural sweetness of the honey. Another match made in heaven I would say. And the textures are so tantalizing! The crispness of the outside of the chicken, followed with the juices when your teeth sink into that succulent meat. As well as the orchestrated crunch of your fresh vegetables. In addition, the vinaigrette dressing works so fabulously with the rest of the dish. It gives the recipe a well-rounded balance in overall quality. A symphony of flavours fit for a queen!

There you have it, my fellow foodies. A simple, easy, and oh so scrumptious salad. Enough to feed two very hungry people.

Enjoy!