Salads don’t have to be “blah.” I want my meals to be nutritious, but I also want to look forward to them. I won’t eat mindfully or be satisfied with a salad that is all nutritious and no fun. And I will find myself searching the cupboard later for that thing to “hit the spot.” Instead of white-knuckling it through a healthy meal only to “ruin” it later, how about we make it something that we want to begin with?
Non-Diet-y Cobb Salad Recipe:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serving Size: This recipe yields approximately 8-10 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (I used Historic Lynchburg Tennessee Whiskey BBQ Sauce)
- 4 eggs
- 1 head of romaine, cleaned and chopped
- 1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, sliced and quartered
- 4 slices of thick bacon
- 1 loaf of French bread
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
For the Dressing:
- 3/4 cup of plain 2% Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup good quality blue cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 lemon, squeezed
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- A tsp of honey (more if it is too tart)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Marinade your chicken in the barbecue sauce for at least 30 minutes (up to 24 hours).
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cube the French bread and place it in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss. Sprinkle a little salt and toss again. Once the oven is preheated, place them in the oven for about 15 minutes, tossing halfway. Remove and set aside.
- While your chicken is marinating and croutons are baking, hardboil the eggs. I do this by placing the eggs in a pot, adding water, bringing them to a boil, removing them from the heat, and placing a top on. Let them sit for 12 minutes, and then run under cold water and peel.
- Preheat your grill on medium-high heat.
- Grill chicken on each side for around 5-7 minutes until the inside of the breast is up at 165 degrees F.
- Whisk dressing ingredients together.
- Place all of the salad ingredients except the dressing in a large bowl. If you want to make the salad more presentable and “Cobb” like, line each ingredient in a row on top of the lettuce.
- Serve with a spoonful dressing and enjoy!
