Chicken Fajita Salad

CHICKEN FAJITA 

SALAD

Well, folks, it is time for a check up.  I visited my favorite health consultant (myself) in her office (my head) recently, and the diagnosis wasn't good.  Since I set a weight-loss goal of ten pounds back in March, I've done nothing but eat donuts.  Or, at least that's how my body feels.   And really, its not that much of an exaggeration.  Worse than the uncomfortable feeling of wearing slightly-too-tight pants all the time is the psychological trauma of watching myself slowly loose control and motivation when it comes to my health.  I think I need an intervention.

Let me back up, because this isn't really about  weight.  About two years ago I did work my tail off to lose lots of weight, but I sort of found a new identity in health and running along the way.  No doubt, I became addicted to running.  If you have a truly addictive personality, like me, you know what it means to become dependent on the high of any activity as a way of coping and feeling in control.  Luckily, I've always taken to sort of ridiculous and "healthy" addictions - studying, pottery, or in this case, running - which have paid off greatly in full-ride scholarships to fancy schools, lots and lots of glazed mugs taking over my apartment (please, take them for free), and a big drop in my cholesterol score.  Yessss.

But an addiction is an addiction, nonetheless.  Anyone with an addictive personality can tell you that these addictions are an all or nothing deal.   You go from one addiction (or "hobby," as I like to call them) to the next, each one all-consuming, and you try to avoid the really terrible ones (i.e. drugs or cat collecting). 

I suppose in the pendulum swing between all or nothing, I wound up with nothing.  So, I'm taking matters into my own hands by 1) going to the doctor (the real one) to find out what's wrong with my hip so I can start running again instead of looking at cat memes on BuzzFeed (too close to cat collecting for comfort), and 2) eating more salad until I can start burning more calories.  Take this Chicken Fajita Salad, for example.  It's super healthy and tastes good.

Salad Ingredients (makes 3-4 servings):

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves or thirds lengthwise 
• 1 green pepper, cut into thick strips
• 1 red pepper, same deal as the green pepper
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 avocado, large dice
• 1 lime
• 1 tbsp. Mexican hot sauce
• 3 cups arugula (or your favorite salad green) 
• olive oil, salt, and pepper for seasoning

Fajita Chicken Seasoning:

• 2 tbsp. Mexican chili powder
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1/2 tbsp. coriander
• 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Heat your grill or grill pan to high heat while you clean and cut your chicken.

Mix the ingredients for the seasoning, and toss in a bag with the chicken to coat.
Grill on medium-high heat, turning regularly, for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.

While the chicken cooks, slice the peppers and toss in a large bowl with about 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Swap the chicken and the peppers on the grill.

Wrap the chicken in aluminum foil to keep warm and moist.  Set the bowl with the remaining oil, salt, and pepper aside for later.

Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes and avocado.  Toss the avocado in the juice of a 1/2 lime.  Set aside.

After the chicken has rested for a few minutes and the peppers are almost done, give it a rough chop and add it to the bowl from your seasoned peppers along with any juice from plate/cutting board.

When the peppers are done, add them to the bowl along with the tomatoes and avocado.  Toss everything together with the juice of the remaining lime and any Mexican hot sauce you like.

Eat as is, or serve on top of greens for a good salad.