Lightened Up Chinese Chicken Salad
“Chickity China the Chinese chicken , you have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin'”…Barenaked Ladies anyone?! Sorry, had to 🙂 but in all reality, I’m extremely excited to share with you this lightened up version of a Chinese Chicken salad! It will not leave you feeling like you have to run for the bathroom…sorry but we’ve all been there LOL!
With just a few simple swaps, we make an insanely delicious and nutritionally dense salad that will make you feel good and taste good. Best of both worlds, right?!
Chinese Food that Loves You Back!
First, let’s make one thing clear – traditional Chinese food is not unhealthy. The Americanized versions of Chinese food such as Panda express is where our issues come in.
For some reason, Americans are REALLY good at taking something and making it 10x more unhealthy. Did you know that McDonald’s French Fries in the UK have 3 ingredients where as the McDonald’s French Fries in the US have 14 ingredients?! Can you even conceptualize 14 things to put into french fries? Check out this article by my favorite The Food Babe to learn a bit more.
The Food Babe has played an instrumental part in pushing restaurants and food companies to be transparent with their ingredients. She has also pushed them to eliminate toxic ingredients from foods. In my earlier reference to Panda Express, check out this article on her encouraging the restaurant to publish their ingredients. Doesn’t seem like a crazy ask, does it?
The point of the story is, and I would think it’s obvious: making your food at home and knowing what you’re putting in your food and your body is of the utmost importance. As I learned from The Institute of Integrative Nutrition, every bite you take either heals you or harms you. Let’s heal ourselves, shall we?
Chinese Chicken Salad Specifics
First up, if you haven’t checked out my amazon store yet, you’re missing out! The pantry staples section has quite a few of the ingredients from this salad that I love. One of the items are my favorite coconut wraps that you could pop this salad into for the next day. Efficient, isn’t it?! This has the almond butter and Lakanto Maple Syrup that I use for the Chicken Salad Dressing.
Additionally, I know you know this, but always go for Organic Meats for the chicken if you can. It makes all the difference, I promise! If not, no worries! Finally, I swapped out the traditional Chinese crunchies and/or ramen noodles for my most recent obsession, Trader Joe’s GF Norwegian Crisp Breads. How creative, right?!
I know I said finally above, but this really is the last thing – whip up these Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies if you want a sweet treat after the salad! OK NOW we can get into the recipe 🙂
PurelyPope Lightened Up Chinese Chicken Salad
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Ingredients
- For the Salad:
- 2 C Napa Cabbage, Shredded
- 1 C Red Cabbage, Shredded
- 1 C Green Onion, Chopped
- 1 C Red Onion, Chopped
- 1 C Red Sweet Peppers, Sliced
- 4 Tbsp Cilantro, Fresh & Chopped
- 1 C Edamame, Removed from Shell
- 1 C Carrots, Shredded or Chopped into Matchsticks
- 2 Trader Joe's GF Norwegian Crisp Bread Crackers, Broken into Pieces
- For the Dressing:
- 1/2 C Raw Almond Butter
- 1/8 C Extra Virgin Olive oil
- 1/2 C Rice Wine Vinegar
- 3 Tbsp Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
- 2 Tsp Ginger, Freshly Grated
- 1 Tsp Sesame Oil
- 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- For the Chicken:
- 16 Oz Organic Chicken Breast, Cut into Tenders
- 4 Tbsp Coconut Aminos
- Salt & Pepper, To Taste
Instructions
Let’s Get the Chinese Chicken Kickin’!
- First, heat a skillet on medium heat and begin to brown your chicken. Once it becomes brown on one side, flip and add in your coconut aminos and turn the burner to low heat and allow to cook well.
- Next up, assemble your salad. I like to mix the red cabbage with the Napa cabbage and then add all of the toppings in accordingly as shown in the picture.
- Next, add all of your ingredients for the dressing into a blender. Blend on medium speed for a few seconds or until dressing becomes bubbly and is adequately mixed together.
- At this point, your chicken should be thoroughly cooked and your dressing ready. Toss the dressing with the salad, add your chicken and serve!
Notes
If you're looking to make this recipe plant based, I like to use spicy Brami Lupini Beans as my protein source in lieu of the chicken. If you're on F-Factor, feel free to swap the almond butter for 1/2 cup of PB2 or powdered almond butter to keep the dressing low fat.
PurelyPope Lightened Up Chinese Chicken Salad
Print This
Ingredients
- For the Salad:
- 2 C Napa Cabbage, Shredded
- 1 C Red Cabbage, Shredded
- 1 C Green Onion, Chopped
- 1 C Red Onion, Chopped
- 1 C Red Sweet Peppers, Sliced
- 4 Tbsp Cilantro, Fresh & Chopped
- 1 C Edamame, Removed from Shell
- 1 C Carrots, Shredded or Chopped into Matchsticks
- 2 Trader Joe's GF Norwegian Crisp Bread Crackers, Broken into Pieces
- For the Dressing:
- 1/2 C Raw Almond Butter
- 1/8 C Extra Virgin Olive oil
- 1/2 C Rice Wine Vinegar
- 3 Tbsp Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
- 2 Tsp Ginger, Freshly Grated
- 1 Tsp Sesame Oil
- 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- For the Chicken:
- 16 Oz Organic Chicken Breast, Cut into Tenders
- 4 Tbsp Coconut Aminos
- Salt & Pepper, To Taste
Instructions
Let’s Get the Chinese Chicken Kickin’!
- First, heat a skillet on medium heat and begin to brown your chicken. Once it becomes brown on one side, flip and add in your coconut aminos and turn the burner to low heat and allow to cook well.
- Next up, assemble your salad. I like to mix the red cabbage with the Napa cabbage and then add all of the toppings in accordingly as shown in the picture.
- Next, add all of your ingredients for the dressing into a blender. Blend on medium speed for a few seconds or until dressing becomes bubbly and is adequately mixed together.
- At this point, your chicken should be thoroughly cooked and your dressing ready. Toss the dressing with the salad, add your chicken and serve!
Notes
If you're looking to make this recipe plant based, I like to use spicy Brami Lupini Beans as my protein source in lieu of the chicken. If you're on F-Factor, feel free to swap the almond butter for 1/2 cup of PB2 or powdered almond butter to keep the dressing low fat.
