In my efforts to try to eat more healthy, I do a lot of searching online, mostly at Eating Well and Cooking Light, for some tasty recipes to use. It's not always easy to know what to make, though, because if it's something you've never had before, you don't know if you'll like it.

Obviously.

So I thought it might be helpful if I posted recipes that I've tried and give my own personal review of said recipe.

Today, we're starting with this recipe I found for Curried Chicken Salad.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 8 ounces)
• 1/2 cup halved seedless red grapes
• 1/2 cup diced peeled apple
• 2 tablespoons diced pineapple
• 1 tablespoon dried currants
• 3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds, toasted

Preparation

• Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine mayonnaise and next 5 ingredients (through pepper), stirring with a whisk. Pour mayonnaise mixture over chicken mixture; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with almonds. Cover and chill. Serves 2, 1-1/4 cups.

Before I give my review, I should mention that I had some variations on this recipe. First, because I'm dumb and can't read, I bought dried pineapple rather than diced pineapple. I don't expect that the difference between the two would be very substantial but you never know.

Second, as I wasn't sure about finding currants in the grocery store in our small town, I decided to use raisins instead because honestly, raisins and currants are not substantially different fruits. However, once again due to not being able to read, I accidentally bought yogurt-covered raisins instead of regular raisins.


Next, I used light Miracle Whip rather than light mayonnaise because a) I don't have any mayonnaise in the house and b) I didn't want to buy mayonnaise just for this recipe (as I'm not really a fan of mayonnaise).

And last, I cooked up some brown rice and mixed it in before chilling. I had already decided I wanted brown rice to go with it and figured it would taste best mixed in with the salad.

Even with my variations, I have to say this recipe is fantastic. I often worry that the recipe I'm trying is going to be too bland, which is often the case, but this recipe did not disappoint at all. Personally? I think using the Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise gave the recipe a bit more kick than it might have had otherwise.

This is by no means a very strongly flavored meal, if you're one who tends towards blander flavors. The half teaspoon of curry is just right. But throw in all the fruits and the lemon juice and you have a wonderful combination of flavors and textures that make eating this a delight. Plus, it's filling without it being even remotely heavy.

I think next time I make this, I will probably double the recipe. It was enough for me and Brad but it didn't leave any leftovers and it would be nice to have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Nutritional info: Calories: 303, Calories from fat: 21, Fat: 7.2, Saturated fat: 1.3g, Monounsaturated fat: 2.3g, Polyunsaturated fat: 1.3g, Protein: 33.8g, Carbohydrate: 25.7g, Fiber: 1.9g, Cholesterol: 89mg, Iron: 1.7mg, Sodium: 435mg, Calcium: 37mg