Eat your greens this Spring.

As the weather continues to warm up, many of us will get more
Sun, exercise outdoors, plant gardens and eat more greens.

Yes, it’s time to put away the heavy carbs, (butternut squash, rice,
potatoes) sweets and alcoholic beverages and get more greens
into our systems.
And if you plan on taking in those greens by juicing them, stir-frying
or making salads, here’s a recipe for a chicken salad to help you get
started on your path to better health.

The Recipe:
Chicken Salad with Romaine and Tahini-Herb Dressing!
Leave out the fattening mayonnaise and use tahini and herbs
to finish up this salad.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups of lightly packed fresh parsley
1/3 cup of fresh cilantro
1/2 cup of tahini*
1/2 cup of lime juice
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. of honey
1 large garlic clove-chopped
salt and pepper
3 cups of shredded chicken, (use leftover chicken or
buy a Rotisserie chicken from your local supermarket)
2 medium celery stalks (thinly sliced)
1 medium green apple (quartered, corned and thinly sliced)
1 small head of lettuce, (or use arugula or baby spinach)
Cut crosswise
To make:
In a blender, combine 1/3 cup of water, parsley, cilantro, tahini,
lime juice, oil, honey, garlic and 1/2 tsp. each of salt and pepper
Blend until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of
the blender.
In a large bowl, toss together the apple and the shredded chicken
and add the tahini dressing, fold in well and stir a few times.
Add the Romaine lettuce and toss to combine. Taste it,
and see if it needs more salt and pepper.
Enough for 4 servings
* Look for Tahini in the International aisles at your local supermarket
or go to an Ethnic supermarket close to you.

And if you plan on eating greens a few times a week, here’s
another recipe for a dressing, a “fool-proof” vinaigrette.

Tasty Vinaigrette!
Ingredients:
1 Tbs. of red wine, white wine or champagne vinegar
1 1/2 tsps. of very finely minced shallots
1/2 tsp. of regular or light mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. of Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp. of salt
3 Tbs. of extra-virgin olive oil
To make:
Whisk the vinegar, shallots, mayo, mustard and salt
together in a small bowl until mixture looks milky and no
lumps of mayonnaise remain.
Whisking constantly, drizzle oil into vinegar mixture in a slow,
steady stream. If pools of oil gather on surface as you whisk,
stop adding oil and shiks mixture well to combine, then resume
whisking oil in a slow stream. Vinaigrette should be glossy and
lightly thickened, with no pools of oil on its surface.
Season with pepper to taste.

One last thing:
If you tire of the regular (and boring) salad of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers
and croutons, just head to YouTube.com and type recipes for green salads
in the search bar.

Sources:
* Recipes from Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook
for Everyday of The Year. Author-Christopher Kimbell
* Gretchen McKay, Food Writer, Tribune News Service
* AllRecipes.com/salads

Please pass this green salad (and dressing) recipe on to family and
friends who want to change their diets and get more fresh greens
into their bodies.
Share it over at Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, (stories), Pinterest,
Reddit, Tik-Tok, X (Twitter).

Thank-you!