Asian Sesame Chicken Salad: Paleo-Inspired From Whole Sisters

Are you looking for healthy recipes to support your wellness efforts? Me, too! During my repeated efforts to live a healthier life, I tried Whole30, Paleo and Keto-type diets. While none of these "diets" are perfect, they taught me that I feel and look better when I eliminate dairy, wheat, and sugar from my life. When I first tried to eat this way, I found it challenging since I had hardly any recipes that didn't include some kind of flour, sugar, or cheese in the ingredients list.

Thus began the process of scouring the internet for Whole30 and Paleo recipes. Some recipes were disasters and I will never make them again. Others were easy to make and delicious. These are now some of my favorites and I will share them with you in this blog with my campground reviews and some Disney fun.

One of my favorites and a big hit with other family members is the Asian Sesame Chicken Salad. The original recipe can be found on the Whole Sisters website. I adapted it to my own tastes and my recipe is below. My adapted version may not be 100% Whole30 or Paleo, so adjust the recipe for your own needs.

Asian Sesame Chicken Salad Ingredients:

4 cups Napa cabbage, shredded

1 cup red cabbage, shredded

1 cup snow peas, trimmed

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 small red onion, sliced thinly

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1 can mandarin oranges, in juice, drained

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Asian Sesame Chicken Dressing Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut amino

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, powdered

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoon light olive oil

2 dates, soaked and then mashed

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions:

1. Combine all the salad ingredients into a large bowl.

2. Mix dressing ingredients until well incorporated.

3. Pour over salad ingredients.

4. If you like a lightly dressed salad, don’t add all of the dressing.

5. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.  272 calories for the salad without dressing.

Add 161 calories per serving for Whole Sisters' Asian Dressing


Recipe Notes (Adaptations and My Dressing Preference)

As I mentioned earlier, I adjusted ingredients based on what I had in the pantry and fridge, so I only used Napa and the red cabbage. I didn’t have black sesame seeds, and I used a prune instead of a date. I used red onions instead of green, and I don’t like cilantro so I skipped this. I used powdered ginger instead of fresh. I also added a small drained can of mandarin oranges packed in juice (no sugar or sugar substitutes).  

The Whole Sister's salad dressing was okay, in my opinion. Originally it called for 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. I think it should be reduced to 2 teaspoons if you want to make the original recipe's dressing. 

Since I wasn't a big fan of the original dressing, I decided to use a homemade Paleo Hoisin Sauce from my Well Fed cookbook, cause I really love that sauce on everything. (Sorry, the Paleo Hoisin recipe is not online and is copyrighted, so I can't share it here.)  I add the dressing to individual servings and tossed before serving. Much yummier.

Detoxing Stinks

Yes folks, don't let people tell you any differently. Detoxing totally stinks. As you eliminate wheat, sugar, and dairy from your diet, your body is going to rebel. Your feet are suddenly going to smell like something died down there; your tongue is going to turn white and your breath (well just don't stand too close to anyone) and, well, you get the idea. What I learned after three days of the Master Cleanse and one week of Whole30(ish) eating is that you MUST drink a lot of water to flush out all of the toxins your body is trying to eliminate or those toxins will come out through your skin and it won't be pretty. Let's just say you won't be making many many friends, which if you are new in a campground is not a good thing.

Ginny's paleo carrot pumpkin muffins, yum

Now that I have finished my second week of eating a diet with no dairy, grains, sugars or alcohol, I can say that the first week was terrible. My shoulders ached, I had a headache, I was hungry all the time and, as I said earlier, I stank, but the second week has been much better. The food I am eating is delicious and since I am "retired" I have the extra time it takes to prepare really great meals with organic, real food. I have learned to love salads and I am making my own mayonnaise and salad dressings with just olive oil, eggs, lemon, and dry mustard. It is really yummy. And, just so you aren't too worried, I don't stink anymore and I am winning friends and influencing people.

The key to success for me (so far) has been meal prep. I take about 4 hours on Saturdays to meal plan, grocery shop and then prepare the ingredients for meals. I don't prepare complete recipes, but I do chop veggies, boil eggs, make taco meat, poach chicken breasts, make soup and have everything ready to prepare quick meals during the rest of the week. I find recipe ideas on the Nom Nom app and in my Well Fed cookbooks. I am always on the hunt for new recipes, so if you have any Whole30 or paleo recipes you love, please post the link or type up the recipe for us all in the comments below.

I promised that I would keep you updated on my progress in my Oola Fitness challenge for January. So far I have walked 8 out of the past 19 days of January using my Nike app. I haven't met my daily walking goal yet, but it is 4 more days than I walked in December and I still have 12 days to go in this month. I don't have a scale anymore, so I can't report weight loss, but I am happy to report that I put on a pair of jeans for the first time in several years. So, happy dance, it is motivating me to continue on my journey to better health. Thanks for the ongoing prayers and support. I will update you again in a week or two. In the meantime, share your own fitness tips below in the comments.  Thanks.