Buffalo Chicken Salad with Half-Fat Bleu Cheese Dressing

Happy Hump Day! My rump is killing me thanks to a new uber-hard Spin class I tried yesterday. Tabata Trex. Sounds innocent enough, but it was killer. Long sprints on the bike with very short ’breaks’ off the bike for intense muscle conditioning intervals.  But I did it, and I can walk today And it really helped to inspire an extra-healthy lunch when I got home.

What I wanted a big pile of veggies, but not my usual salad. Not something completely cold. Think spicy. Think warm chicken on top of greens and a cool, bleusy dressing for the top. But could I really, in good conscience, add a bunch of full-fat bleu cheese dressing on top of this uber-healthy lunch??

BRAINSTORM! I decided to use a wee bit of plain Greek yogurt to cut the bleu cheese dressing. It is so much like sour cream, minus all the fat plus the added bonus of protein, I knew it would work well. It was FANTASTICO! The dressing was creamy and zesty and still bleusy — the exact right topping for this crisp salad topped with spicy chicken.

I happened to have some buffalo-marinated chicken breast waiting to be cooked up (which I did easily and quickly on the George Forman). If all you’ve got is plain chicken, simply douse it in hot sauce and grill it up, brushing with a little more hot sauce as you go. You just need a little bit of the flavor to stick to give it that zing! You could also completely take the easy route and buy the buffalo-inspired sliced chicken breast at the deli counter. You’ll get a lot more sodium this way, but it’d work fine in a pinch.

For the lightened up dressing, I simply took 1 tablespoon of bleu cheese dressing and whisked in 1 tablespoon of nonfat Greek yogurt. I cut the fat in half just like that!

So, if you’re looking for a perked up salad packed with protein and flavor, this might just be for you! And try cutting the fat in any of your fave creamy dressings using yogurt. I think this would work great with ranch, too!

ENJOY!

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Half-Fat Bleu Cheese Dressing
Serves 1

2 cups greens (I use baby spring mix)
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 carrot, cut into julienne sticks
3 ounces grilled buffalo-style chicken breast
1 tablespoon bleu cheese dressing
1 tablespoon nonfat plain Greek yogurt

Pile your greens on a large plate. Add the carrots and celery. Lay sliced chicken breast on top. In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt and dressing together. Drizzle over the salad. Enjoy!

Tagged as: George Forman grill, reduced fat bleu cheese dressing using Greek yogurt