Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh strawberries, diced
• 1 lb fresh pineapple, diced
• 12 oz fresh blueberries
• 12 oz red grapes, diced into halves
• 4 kiwis, peeled and diced
• 1 (15 oz) can mandarin oranges in juice, drained well and sliced into halves
• 2 ripe bananas, diced*
Honey Lime Dressing
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tsp lime zest (zest of 2 medium limes)
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Directions

• Add all fruit to a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together they honey, lime zest and lime juice. Pour over fruit just before serving and toss to evenly coat (as it sits for a few minutes the juices will gather at the bottom, so toss again before plating).
• *The bananas aren't pictured. I decided to add them later on because I love the sweet flavor they add.
• 
  

Cajun Chicken Pasta on the Lighter Side

Made 7.22.15 Kevin once a month

Servings: 5 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 323.8 • Fat: 6.2 g • Protein: 25.9 g • Carb: 44.1 g • Fiber: 6.3 g • Sugar:3.2 g
Sodium: 126.5 mg (without salt)  Makes 7 1/2 cups.


Ingredients:

• 8 ounces uncooked linguine (I used Dreamfields)
• 1 pound chicken breast strips
• 1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp light cream cheese
• fresh cracked pepper
• 2 scallions, chopped
• salt to taste
• Smart Balance cooking spray

Directions:

Prep all your vegetables. In a small blender make a slurry by combining milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside. Season chicken generously with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and salt.
Prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions.
Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray and add half of the chicken. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done, set aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Set aside.
Add olive oil to the skillet and reduce to medium; add bell peppers, onions, and garlic to skillet, sauté 3-4 minutes. 
Add mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season with 1/4 tsp salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Reduce heat to medium-low; add chicken broth and pour in slurry stirring about 2 minutes.
Return chicken to skillet; adjust salt and Cajun seasoning to taste, cook another minute or two until hot, then add linguine; toss well to coat. Top with chopped scallions and enjoy!

COCONUT CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH MANGO SALSA

 

Serves: 4 (small)

Ingredients:

MANGO SALSA

• 2 fresh mangos diced
• 1 jalapeño finely diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion diced
• juice from half a lime (about 1 tablespoon)
• sprinkle of salt

CHICKEN

• 2 chicken breasts, split horizontally to make four thin filets, total
• 1/4 cup flour mixed with 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg plus 1 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes plus 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2-3 tablespoons butter

Directions:

MANGO SALSA

1. Toss the mango, jalapeño, cilantro, and red onion together in a small bowl. Squeeze lime juice over the top and sprinkle with salt. Stir to combine, and cover until ready to serve. I like to serve it at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.

CHICKEN

1. Place flour and salt in one shallow bowl, the egg and milk in another bowl, and the coconut and flour into yet another shallow bowl.
2. One by one, dip the pieces of chicken into the flour, then egg, then coconut. Press the coconut to the chicken to get as much to stick as you can.
3. In a large nonstick or cast iron skillet on medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and spread around the pan. When the pan is hot, place the chicken into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the coconut is golden and the inside of the chicken is cooked through. The exact time will depend on the thickness of your chicken. Add a little more butter when turning the chicken if your pan is dry.
4. Plate the chicken and top with mango salsa.

CASHEW COCONUT CRUSTED CHICKEN TENDERS WITH MANGO HONEY DIP

 

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

25 mins

TOTAL TIME

40 mins

 

Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

• Cashew Coconut Chicken Tenders
• 12 chicken tenders (just over 2 pounds)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup toasted cashews
• ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 
  Mango Honey Dip
• 2 mangos, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar*
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 green onions, roughly chopped
• 1-2 teaspoons red chili flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add cashews and coconut flakes to blender or food processor and process until cashews are about the size of the panko crumbs, scraping the sides of the blender as needed. Add cashews/coconut, panko, chicken tender spices and brown sugar to a shallow dish and mix until evenly distributed.
2. Place the flour in another shallow dish. Whisk the egg with the lime juice in another shallow dish. Working with one chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour and then dip in egg, and then finally coat in the coconut/cashew/panko mixture, pressing mixture into chicken with your fingers to make sure the coating sticks.
3. Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!) with a baking rack on top that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Lightly spray chicken with non-stick cooking spray for extra crispiness (optional). Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil until coconut is nicely golden, and panko crisp, but still light in color.
4. To make the Mango Honey Dip, place all the ingredients in a blender, starting with just 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and process until smooth. Taste and add additional red pepper flakes as desired.

NOTES

*Use 2 tablespoons for more "tang" which is how I like it :)