If you're watching your carbs, try this

Nutty Chicken Slaw:

This is so easy to put together, literally 5 minutes, and it's tasty, filling, and low in carbs. Although it has only 350 calories, the fat, fiber, and protein content make it quite satisfying for a light meal.

Step 1. Get your sliced chicken of choice. Ideally you have fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the fridge - if you do, take one breast, cook it, and cut it in to slices. But if you don't, or if you're pressed for time, you can buy precooked chicken breasts, fresh or frozen, that are pretty darn good. I recently discovered Pinty's Chicken Breast Strips. These are so easy. You take the desired amount out of the box, place them on a plate topped with paper towel, and microwave for 3 minutes. Done! And they're delicious. I bought them at Food Basics. Check out the website; this is a great product to help you get protein in to your diet when pressed for time: http://www.pintys.com/corporate/foodservice/fullycooked.htm

Lillydale also makes good precooked, grilled chicken breast strips (but be forewarned, they're quite salty).. they can be found on tables in the deli section of your grocery store.

Step 2.  Put the oven on broil. Spray a piece of tinfoil with cooking spray. Spread two tbsp of slivered almonds on the foil and place in the oven to toast *(watch closely because these can burn quickly). Also, measure them. If you just spread slivered almonds, as I did below, on tin foil and toast, you'll be surprised how many calories you may end up consuming. For instance, take a guess how many calories are in the picture below:

210!!! That may be more than you bargained for -- considering McDonald's Small French Fries have only 20 more calories at 230. Anyhow, the picture above is 1/4 cup of slivered almonds. I'd recommended you only use 1/8 of a cup, i.e. 2 tbsp, for a total of about 100 calories. Nuts are good for you and taste great, but they pack a lot of calories and fat so be mindful of portions.


Step 3. Grab your Broccoli Slaw. This stuff is great. You find it where the bagged lettuce sits in the grocery store. The stem of the broccoli is shredded and it's bagged, mixed with shredded carrots and cabbage.


Step 4. Take a few handfuls of broccoli slaw and place in a bowl (calories are negligible so don't worry too much about portion). Top with 2 tbsp of toasted slivered almonds and 1 chicken breast or about 8-10 strips of chicken. Top with a low calorie dressing of your choice. I chose Simply Natural Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette that I had picked up at Whole Foods - 2 tbsps have 60 calories.


Voila! A crunchy, delicious salad for about 350 calories. Enjoy!