I didn’t make a New Year’s Resolution to lose weight exactly, but my jeans don’t really fit all that well these days, and I want my pants to be comfortable again.  It’s a simple goal, and I’d rather get there without buying new pants, if I can avoid that.  So what’s the solution?  I’m trying out some lighter recipes (mixed in with the regular ones).

Last night was the first real attempt at “light” food, and I’m glad to say it was a success.  We had barbeque chicken (which was really just grilled chicken with barbeque sauce on top) with crunchy slaw.  

Here’s how to do it:

Chicken and Slaw

Ingredients

• 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• a splash of barbeque sauce per chicken breast

• 8 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt

• 3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 2-3 teaspoons spicy Dijon mustard (3 for me, because I love mustard, maybe less for a traditional slaw flavor)

• 4-ish cups shredded cabbage, red, green, or mixed

• 3/4 cup finely chopped carrots

• 2 scallions, thinly chopped

• salt and pepper to taste

Mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and mustard in a large bowl.  Throw in the veggies (cabbage, carrots, scallions) and mix some more.  Grill chicken breasts with salt and pepper until a few spots are golden brown and the rest is cooked through.  Any method works for me–grill pan, skillet, actual grill.  Put the chicken on top of a bed of slaw, splash barbeque sauce on top, and serve immediately.  It’s best when the slaw on bottom is crispy and cool and the chicken on top is piping hot.  Mmm.  Also, I’m sure that any old barbeque sauce is just fine, but we used Scott’s homemade special recipe.  So if you have the good stuff, make sure you use it.

P.S.  I know that this recipe isn’t really weather-appropriate today.  Coldmageddon 2014 deserves hot soup and macaroni and cheese and such, but I wanted to try this recipe out, so try it I did.