I've also gone a little crazy finding foods that can be healthy substitutes for others. Plain greek yogurt for sour cream anyone? Something as obvious as whole wheat pasta instead of regular? Anyways, I figured that chicken salad wraps could use a healthy makeover. The trick is pretty simple: avocado instead of mayo. The best part of this recipe? You can pretty much use whatever ingredients you want in a wrap with this, but I'm going to show you what I used. I must say, it's quite healthy.
Avocado Chicken Salad Wraps
SERVES: 4
2 avocados
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 c. diced red onion
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. lime juice
1.25 lbs. chicken breast (or turkey breast)
1 c. frozen corn
1 c. diced cherry tomatoes
4 whole wheat tortillas
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
OK, to begin, I like to try to get all my ingredients & cookware out. This can be a challenge sometimes if you are like me and are a space cadet on frequent occasions.
Laying out the majority of my ingredients. Check out that hand crank food processor! I highly recommend getting one. Thanks Mom!
No space on the other counter for my chicken and meat cutting board.
Look at the size of that onion! Maybe it was hanging out with Lance Armstrong?
So what I did here (but mostly neglected to show) was cutting the avocado down the middle, twisting one half, and separating. The pit of avocados can be removed by hitting it square with the knife to drive the blade into the pit, then twisting to pop the pit out. Carefully remove the pit from the knife. Scoop each half of avocado into the food processor, removing any bad flesh if necessary. Using a garlic press, add the clove(s) of garlic to the processor. Add in chunks of onion- no need to dice them into tiny pieces when the food processor can do the work for you. Add cayenne pepper, lime juice, and S & P to taste.
Quarter your cherry tomatoes. Lay your avocado spoon next to it and admire the colors!
Add the tomatoes to the avocado mixture, stir with a spoon, and refrigerate!
As a side dish, I cut up a medium head of broccoli, a yellow squash, and a zucchini. Then I put all the chunks into a microwave steamer (thanks Mom!) and filled the bottom with about an inch of water. You will notice that the vegetables are overflowing. Normally, I would steam the veggies in batches, but I got lazy and it led to bad results. Do not be lazy!!
Next, dice up the chicken breasts into bite size pieces. Err on the smaller side, because there is nothing worse than biting into a wrap and having a hunk of meat come out that you can't chew all at once.
Make corn to package directions. Ignore my dirty stove, please and thank you.
Preheat your frying pan. This is a necessary step! Just like preheating an oven to bake something, a frying pan should be preheated for the best results.
To prevent yourself from adding the chicken too soon, go admire this globe on your shelf (thanks, big brother!) Quick, what's the capital of Nepal?
After about 4-5 minutes the pan should be ready. Add that chicken in a single layer and do not stir! Let sit for about 2 minutes and then flip.
Time to microwave steam your veggies! My microwave is the opposite of powerful. It takes a good minute to melt butter. So, I set it for 5 minutes, which was being optimistic seeing how stuffed it was. You can see that the lid has no chance of being properly seated.
Once your corn is done, drain it, and add it to a bowl. Add the avocado mixture on top and stir.
Corn, avocado and tomatoes!
Once your chicken is browned, add it (excluding juices) to the mixture and stir!
Time to dress up the steamed veggies. I simply used olive oil and salt and pepper.
Now, for the main event: Lay a whole wheat tortilla on a plate and scoop a good portion of that mixture on! Wrap it up in your favorite way: burrito, taco, or one end open/one end closed.
The best thing about this (and the majority of the recipes I make) is that it is good leftover too. I took a serving for lunch and it was even better cold. Hope you enjoy it too!
