Crunchy Chicken Cucumber Salad and White Wine Spritzer

Lake at Slate Run Metro Park

My first healthy meal on our new challenge came on a very warm Sunday night. After taking a nearly 3 mile walk at Slate Run Metro Park in the near 80 degree heat I decided that a light "summery" meal was in order. I consulted our menu board in upon returning home and decided that the Crunchy Chicken Cucumber Salad met that description. Little did I know that Alex "doesn't like cucumbers." Well, lucky for him the recipe only called for 1 cup of chopped cucumber and I made sure to keep the chunks of cucumber large enough to be taken out if desired.

When dinner time came I took out all of the ingredients to make the Crunchy Chicken Cucumber Salad. The first thing I needed to do was shred the Rotisserie Chicken to top the salad. This process was a messy one. While shredding the chicken I ended up with the juices from the chicken all over me. Once the chicken was shredded the rest of the process was simple, place lettuce on the plate, put the remaining ingredients on top of the salad and serve. This dish ended up being a hit. We both really enjoyed

All of the ingredients before beginning

Crunchy Chicken Cucumber Salad

the flavors that this salad had to offer from the cucumbers to the grapes and cantaloupe it had everything a light summery salad should have. Plus on top of being delicious, this salad was very filling. Often times salads tend to be so light that you feel like you have to eat a lot in order to just feel satisfied. With the combination of fruits, vegetables, and the chicken this salad did not have that problem. Another very positive thing about this meal is that one serving is only 256 calories! To eat it you would never guess that it is so low in the calorie count, making this a great choice for someone who is looking to eat healthy, still feel full, and watching their calorie intake to lose

weight. I considered serving this salad with a side of toasted herb bread, but found that it wasn't a necessary addition, although it would have given the meal another set of flavors to add in with the salad, along with something that seems to be of more substance than lettuce and other vegetables and fruits.

White Wine Spritzer ingredient

Along with our Crunchy Chicken Cucumber Salad I decided that after a long weekend, and looking toward another long work week, we could use a little bit to drink. I decided to try a recipe that I had found this fall that had intrigued me but that I had yet to actually try, a White Wine Spritzer. The recipe called for a bottle of a sweet white wine, it suggested to use Pinot Grigio. I followed the suggestion of the recipe, although if I make this again I may change the recipe up slightly and try a different type of wine just to see how it changes the flavor. The recipe also called for sparkling water, I opted to go for the raspberry flavored sparkling water and splurged on fresh raspberries from the grocery store. After mixing the Pinot Grigio, Sparking Water, and the final ingredient, White Grape Juice (seems kind of redundant with the wine, but that is what the recipe called for!), I poured the mixture into wine glasses and  added a few fresh raspberries! The drink was delicious. It seemed like something that would go over well at a summer cook-out or pool party. Light enough for a summer night and light in the calorie department as well at only 80 calories per serving. Overall the first night of our healthy eating challenge went over very well.

White Wine Spritzers with Fresh Raspberries

Here's to hoping that each day of our healthy eating challenge is as successful as this meal was. Trying new recipes is often intimidating but when they end up being successful it is a wonderful experience. I look forward to sharing this experience of trying new recipes frequently, while also revisiting old favorites.