Salad rewarded with dessert

You are probably thinking, "Salad again....really?" I was thinking the same things myself as I was cooking dinner. Thankfully this salad was a great surprise and turned me into a "I can eat salad for dinner 2 nights in a row and not feel like I am missing something" believer. I mean, I could eat salad for lunch everyday and be ok with it. But dinner is a whole other story! Anyway, here goes...

Grilled Chicken and Tomato Salad

Yield: 4 servings; 305 calories per serving

4 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Cooking spray

5 cups arugula

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/4 cup oil and vinegar salad dressing, divided

10 pitted kalamata olives, chopped

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

*I used 2 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp balsamic vinegar in place of the 1/4 of dressing.

1. Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place chicken in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side, or until done.

2. While chicken cooks, combine arugula and cheese. Combine tomatoes, onion and olive; toss with dressing and add to arugula mixture. Toss to combine

3. Cut chicken into slices; add to salad mixture; toss to combine.

Now that you just enjoyed a salad for dinner there is no need to feel guilty about dessert :-) However, you never need to feel guilty about this dessert anyway!

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Yield: 18 muffins; 168 calories per muffin

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 3 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2/3 cup)
• 2.33 ounces whole-wheat flour (about 1/2 cup)
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Place oats in a food processor; pulse 5 to 6 times or until oats resemble coarse meal. Place in a large bowl.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) to oats; stir well. Make a well in center of mixture.

4. Combine buttermilk and next 3 ingredients (through eggs). Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.

5. Toss berries with 2 tablespoons flour, and gently fold into batter. Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle 2 tablespoons granulated sugar evenly over batter. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.