Tips from gaining health

It’s the second full week of 2010. By now, you may be ten or eleven days into a resolution diet. You’re probably feeling really good about your progress. Chances are you lost a little weight. There’s a possibility you noticed a physical change already. You might even be thinking (and justifiably so): “I am the greatest person alive! Besides Eddie Vedder, I mean.”

Sadly, this may also have crossed your mind: “If eat one more salad, I’m going to set my face on fire.”

Sweet baby Jane, I hear you. When I began to change my eating habits, salads made up a big chunk of my diet. Office lunches were never-ending parades of the Caesar varietals (with light dressing, natch), and I got real tired, real fast of baby spinach. Then, I learned to cook and life got exponentially better. (Exponentially! That’s a lot.)

Anyway, once I started puttering around the kitchen, I realized the following:


With a creative topping, you can turn five ounces of pedestrian grilled chicken into a succulent celebration, a flavoral fooferaw, or even a scrumptious shindig. (Or any other gratuitously alliterative party.) Think of the meat as your canvas, and the accompaniment as your pretty rainbow paint of rainbows.

Take Gail Simmons’ Tomato and Avocado Salsa from Food & Wine, for example. You can use it as a dip for chips or veggies, sure. (The Super Bowl’s coming up, after all.) But on plain poultry, it becomes something else entirely: a tasty, filling, healthy dinner. Like almost all salsas, the recipe is staggeringly easy to make and constitutes a solid serving of vegetables. For $1 and 100 extra calories, that ain’t too shabby.

This week, when you’re choking down another round of Romaine, stop. Grab an avocado and a few grape tomatoes, grill a slice of chicken, and treat yourself to Tomato and Avocado Salsa. It’ll make the next few months a lot easier to stomach.

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If you like this recipe, you might also dig:

• Guacamole-Bean Dip Mashup
• Mango Salsa
• Tomatillo Guacamole

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Tomato and Avocado Salsa
Serves 4.
Adapted from Food & Wine.

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 Hass avocado, diced small
1/4 cup onion, chopped small
1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
1/8 cup fresh lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1) In a medium bowl, gently combine all the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir again to combine. Serve on meat, chicken, fish, chips, cheese, or … anything, really.

NOTE: If you’d like a less chunky salsa, chop the tomatoes and avocado even smaller.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, and Price Per Serving
4 servings: 100 calories, 7.4 g fat, 3.7 g fiber, $1.04

Calculations
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved or quartered: 45 calories, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, $2.50
1 Hass avocado, diced small: 322 calories, 29.5 g fat, 13.5 g fiber, $0.99
1/4 cup onion, chopped small: 13 calories, 0 g fat, 0.6 g fiber, $0.08
1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and minced: 9 calories, 0 g fat, 0.3 g fiber, $0.05
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped: negligible calories and fat, 0.1 g fiber, $0.25
1/8 cup fresh lime juice: 10 calories, 0 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, $0.25
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper: negligible calories, fat, and fiber, $0.03
TOTAL: 399 calories, 29.5 g fat, 14.8 g fiber, $4.15
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 100 calories, 7.4 g fat, 3.7 g fiber, $1.04

NOTE #2: Wanna help out a good cause? Yay! The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation is asking CHG readers to fill out this Healthy Eating poll for research. They dont want any personal information – just a few answers to some very worthwhile questions. Head on over!

In my humble, meek, somewhat self-effacing (yes, I used the Thesaurus tool) opinion, one of the best recipes we’ve ever featured on CHG is the unfortunately named Cheesy Eggplant Bake. A tornado of vegetables and frommage, it’s most excellent for those days you just want to pack your face with large quantities of delectable healthiness.

Jeez, though. That name.

Today’s recipe has a similar problem. It’s a limey, fresh, summer-appropriate mixture of chicken and various guacamole-associated ingredients. And ideally, it goes in a wrap, on top of a few leaves of lettuce.

So, do we call our creations Deconstructed Guacamole Wraps? On one hand, the name sounds like the classy-like results of a Top Chef quickfire challenge. On the other hand, what everyday cook ever deconstructs anything? Besides his blender, I mean.

Or, do we go with Lime Chicken Salad with Avocado and Tomato? It lacks the upscale panache of the first name, but it IS much more picnic-ready. Like you can just throw it together and be off. Still, there’s the slight mayo-association that comes whenever you use the word “Salad.” And nobody wants that.

Sweet readers, what to call this thing? Would you go with either of the proposed titles? Would you call it something else entirely? How do we convey that it requires leftover chicken? Am I overthinking this?

(My answers: dunno, maybe, yes, beats me, yes.)

Before you get to brainstorming, though, know this: these wraps, while scrumptious, are much richer than our usual entries, due to a lot of avocado and a not-modest amount of olive oil. However, you can drop a significant amount of fat by reducing each ingredient by half. Not that you have to. This is all pretty healthy, fat-wise.

With that said, how about that name? Im stymied.

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If you dig this recipe, these might also float your boat:

• Chipotle Pork Tenders
• Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
• Skillet Chicken Fajitas

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Deconstructed Guacamole Wraps
OR Lime Chicken Salad with Avocado and Tomato
Serves 4.


8 ounces grilled chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 avocado, diced
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 large leaves green lettuce
4 tortilla wraps

NOTE: I used grilled chicken thighs for this, due to their moistness and general tastiness. There were three of ‘em and I took each apart with my fingers.

1) In a medium bowl, combine chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro. Stir, gently if you have very-ripe avocado.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour on to chicken mixture and stir to combine.

3) Place a few leaves of lettuce on each wrap. Split chicken evenly among wraps. Roll them up. Serve!

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price
368 calories, 23 g fat, 5.7 g fiber, 18 g protein, $1.30

NOTE: Your numbers will be slightly different depending on what cut of chicken and what kind of wraps you use. My calculations are for chicken thighs and Tropical brand tortillas.

Calculations
8 ounces grilled chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces: 435 calories, 22.7 g fat, 0 g fiber, 54 g protein, $1.27
1 avocado, diced: 322 calories, 29.5 g fat, 13.5 g fiber, 4 g protein, $1.00
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes: 27 calories, 0.3 g fat, 1.8 g fiber, 1.3 g protein, $0.99
1/4 cup red onion, minced: 17 calories, 0 g fat, 0.6 g fiber, 0.4 g protein, $0.12
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped: 1 calories, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, 0.1 g protein, $0.25
3 tablespoons lime juice: 12 calories, 0 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, 0.2 g protein, $0.50
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil: 239 calories, 27 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.24
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.01
Freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.01
4 large leaves green lettuce: 19 calories, 0.3 g fat, 2.4 g fiber, 1.4 g protein, $0.10
4 wraps: 400 calories, 12 g fat, 4 g fiber, 12 g protein, $0.72
TOTAL: 1472 calories, 91.8 g fat, 22.6 g fiber, 73.4 g protein, $5.21
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 368 calories, 23 g fat, 5.7 g fiber, 18 g protein, $1.30

Benefits of Tomato Juice to Health

Efficacy and Benefits of Tomato Juice