Buffalo Chicken Salad

So I just read a book.

And I'm trying to non-diet diet :)

As in, I'm working on my body image and being okay with myself as is
and therefore treating my body well. Which means making good eating choices...for the sake of liking myself and not for the sake of losing weight.


But right now Zach and I are on a very low carb diet.

Mostly, to help us jump start healthy eating.
So that we can get into the habit of eating healthier things.
I've noticed that because of this, I've really searched online and in cookbooks for good/healthy recipes.
And I've definitely found some and should be sharing some more in the future.

This buffalo chicken salad was SUPER easy, not costly, and incredibly delicious.
Zach LOVED the chicken. We'll see how he likes it added to a salad for lunch today.
I don't even like buffalo chicken (I tried this out for Zach) and I LOVE this recipe.

What You'll Need:
*4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
*1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Franks buffalo hot sauce. Found a bottle at Target for around $1.02--and I'll probably get two recipes out of it)
*1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix
*Salad greens
*Celery/Onions optional--we opted out of those--well, I did.

What to do:
*You can cube the chicken, but I honestly didn't. I put it in the slow cooker (actually partly frozen, but SSSSH don't tell)
*Mix the hot sauce and ranch mix
*Place over chicken in slow cooker.
*Cook 4-6 hours
**At this point, it was so EASY to shred the chicken. If you've cubed it beforehand, though, you don't have to.
*Place your salad greens on plate or bowl
*Top with a scoop of chicken mixture.

*Should make 4 servings.

*I will admit. I drizzled a TINY bit of ranch dressing over the top. I just felt it was necessary. Still healthy--if a little indulgent--but that's okay, the book said so :)

Enjoy!

Saturday Cooking

Today was a big kitchen day. I spent at least 3-4 hours in the kitchen completing various tasks.
Including:
*Shucking at least 17 ears of corn
*Slicing squash and zucchini
*Freezing squash and zucchini
*Making banana oat bran muffins for grandpa
*Making Taco Soup for yours truly

Grandpa gave me some very ripe bananas last week because Zach likes banana bread. That was very nice of him. I asked my mom if she thought he would like some banana bread, too. She reminded me that grandpa doesn't really eat much these days. So I decided a muffin..it's small and easy and maybe he'll like them? I found a recipe for Banana Oat Bran Muffins in my Fannie Farmer cookbook (my favorite cookbook!) They are healthy, easy to make and yummy!Here's how you make them:
What you'll need:
-2 cups oat bran
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup milk (lowfat milk works)
-2 egg whites
-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-1/2 cup mashed bananas

What you do:
*Preheat oven to 425
*Grease muffin tin
*Stir together oat bran, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder.
*In a separate bowl: combine remaining ingredients
*Pour banana mixture into bran mixture and stir
*Pour into muffin pan--filling each cup about 2/3 full
*Bake 15-17 minutes
You can substitute the banana for a number of things including:
-1/2 cup applesauce
-1 cup grated apple
-1/2 cup dried apricots
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

I went on to then make taco soup.
More on that to come....