OHH HELLOO THERE!!
Being the REALLY chill/ cool senior that I am, I just got back from.. the library.. on a Friday night …
I stayed out ’til *library* close, then came home and meal prepped because I have a long weekend ahead of me. I don’t think that my two exams, quiz, and big assignment due next week classify me as a senior with “senioritis”, so those crazy three night benders will be on hold for a hot sec…
Since I got back from the library, I thought that I should spend the rest of my Friday night how any other Dietetics senior student would spend it – meal prepping. More specifically, baking a boat load of chicken with lemon pepper, garlic, & red chili flake and preparing salads with 3-3.5 ounces of the baked chicken for the next few days.
I measured the 3-3.5 ounces of baked chicken with my food scale.
YES. I’ve officially joined the food scale bandwagon and I just can’t stop, won’t stop using it.
First, it’s a great way to accurately and precisely measure out your glass of rosé. Rosé is a Friday night meal prep staple!!
One serving of wine is 5 ounces and let’s be honest, nobody knows how to pour a perfect 5 ounces of wine… OR the proper serving size for a mixie!!
… That’s more of a Saturday night meal prep kind of drink…
HAH – ONLY KIDDING 😉
Portion control is extremely out of hand and as an emerging expert on food, it only makes sense that I learn first hand how to practice portion control.
While a whole blog post should ( and WILL !! ) be dedicated towards portion control, we should still touch on its importance. A study in 2015 at Cambridge found that people consume more food when offered larger sized portions. The research suggests that eliminating larger sized portions from the diet could reduce calorie intake by 16% among 29% of US adults. Overeating increases the risks of heart disease, diabetes, and many cancers which are among the leading causes of ill health and premature death.
As mentioned earlier, I like to meal prep because it saves time when I’m busy studying all day. In addition to that, I also like to meal prep because it allows me to eliminate the chance of overeating because the meal is perfectly portioned out!
I ran out of tupperware to use ( sry roomies ) and still has about six ounces of chicken left.
What’s a gal to do with the extra six ounces when there is no more tupperware to prep with??
Chicken salad – DUH!!
It worked out really well because I had about 1/4 cup of greek yogurt in my tub of fage, so I literally dumped the six ounces of chicken into the fage tub and prepared my go-to chicken salad recipe. Also HUGE perk because this was one less dish I have to worry about cleaning.
When working at the Badger Alley Bistro in Camp Randall ( UW Madison’s football stadium ), I learned a chicken salad skinny tip – to swap out some of the mayo for greek yogurt. This swap :
✰ adds more protein
✰ dilutes the fat content
✰ supplements the creamy texture
And no, it isn’t too good to be true.
In fact, I’ve been testing out my own chicken salad recipes for the past month and finally landed one that is a TOTAL keeper. I keep the recipe in my notes on my iPhone because you never know when you need to whip up a batch of chicken salad.
recipe:
6 ounces diced chicken
1/4 cup greek yogurt
2 T light mayo
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
2 T chopped cashews
1/2 cup diced apple
2 T cranberries
salt & pepper to taste
directions:
Mix the greek yogurt, light mayo, dijon mustard, and salt & pepper in a medium size bowl. Fold in the cashews, apple, and cranberries. Last, fold in the diced chicken. Refrigerate and allow to sit for a few hours.
*SERVES TWO!*
I hope you enjoy!!
xx hails
