what's for dinner tonight {healthy chinese chicken salad}.

i *love* salads. i really, really do. and i really love chinese chicken salads... and yall know how much i love my crockpot, so this recipe changed my life.

seriously.

you need to try this!! lately whenever i cook something asian, nick doesn't love it so much. which is especially strange because i could "make" him a bowl of cereal for dinner and he would love it. i made a stir fry the other night with bok choy, carrot, water chestnuts, lean organic pork in soy sauce with fresh garlic and ginger... yum. he wasn't a big fan. i also make amazing peanut noodles with my own peanut sauce by whisking together peanut butter, soy sauce, honey and orange juice. he says it's too "peanut-buttery" {sigh} so... i was pretty sure he may not like this one, but i wanted to give it a try anyway.

end result: one. happy. husband. he loved it. maybe even more than i did, which is pretty amazing! here's the recipe. go make it. right now.

(note: this recipe is for 2 servings although you will have alot of dressing... just double other ingredients for larger serving amounts and keep the dressing the same; you should have enough of this dressing for four salads. adapted from fix it and forget it lightly cookbook, p.34)

healthy chinese chicken salad

marinade:
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 T. fresh ginger, grated
* 2 T. honey
* 3 T. low sodium soy sauce
* 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, frozen

dressing:
* 1/2 c. rice wine vinegar (i just used white since we had it on hand)
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 t. fresh ginger, grated
* 1 T. honey
* i added a few dashes of soy sauce, too... just season according to your preference

salad:
* shredded romaine lettuce
* 1 lg. carrot, julienned
* 1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
* 1 pkg. tofu shirataki noodles (LOVE these! they are lowfat, lowcarb, gluten-free and taste amazing!!)
* crushed peanuts for garnish (i used sunflower seeds since we didn't have any peanuts)

- whisk marinade together. place chicken in crockpot, coat with marinade. cook chicken on low 6 to 8 hrs. (note: i put my meat in frozen since i am gone in the afternoons... that way, it cooks longer and i find it is more moist this way)
- remove chicken from crockpot, set aside to cook. in a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients and whisk together.
- place lettuce, carrot and cilantro on plates. with two forks, shred chicken and place ontop of salads.
- remove noodles from package and rinse well in cold water. after thouroughly rinsing and draining dry, place ontop of chicken. drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with peanuts.

a-maz-ing. not even joking. and healthy, too which is a double bonus in our house.
nutritional facts: (130 calories, 2.5 g fat, 21 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate)

enjoy!