Receta Lemon Chicken Salad, Nutrition info: yay or nay
I’m trying something new….
And I need your opinions.
I’m using a new service from Edamam that adds nutritional information to my recipes.
In theory this is all good, right?
But I kind of feel like I’m exposing myself to the world.
I have two issues:
The first is the most important, of course, because, well….
It’s all about me.
I am a strong and (on occasion) vocal advocate of healthy eating.
I promote my recipes as being appropriate for a healthy diet (that’s diet in the sense of daily eating, not a regime to lose weight)..
The last recipe that I posted had about 750 calories per serving.
Since the salad, with extra vegetables, was meant to be a full dinner, 750 calories isn’t really too many.
Personally, I try for 400 calories for breakfast, 500 for lunch and 600 – 800 for dinner. Add in a glass or two of wine and that puts me at 1700 – 1900 calories per day… Perfectly appropriate for a someone my size.
If I’m very active I’ll add some extra fruit or some chocolate.
But, you argue, it’s a SALAD! Salads are supposed to be light.
Well, they are if you leave off the dressing and don’t add cheese and use chicken rather than sausages.
But, my real problem with letting the world know that my nice little salad is 750 calories is that, at least on the other side of the pond, a lot of people think they should only be eating 200 calories meals. I see it on Twitter and Facebood: ‘Only 200 calories – perfect for dinner’.
I’ve got news for you world:
First: you do not get adequate nutrition to support your mind and body from a 200 calorie meal.
Second: if you all are eating 200 calories for all of your meals there would be no obesity problem in the US (because you all would have died of starvation)
So why do I feel guilty that my salad isn’t 200 calories?
Maybe I’m not sure that people finding my recipes on Google will look past the 750 calories to actually read the recipe.
A moment for the food…. This Lemon Chicken Salad is what I decided was probably the lowest calorie salad in my repertoire:
Total Time: 30 minutes
Per Serving
908 calories
Fat
69 g
Carbs
37 g
Protein
45 g
2
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
Marinade
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tbs olive oil
- Salad
- lettuce - enough for 2 main course salads
- 5oz (150gr) green beans
- 1/2 cup (3oz, 90gr) cherry tomatoes or 1 regular tomato
- 1/2 red, yellow or green bell pepper, 3oz (90gr)
- 1/2 avocado
- 3oz (90gr) mushrooms
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 2 tbs freshly snipped chives
- 2 tbs freshly snipped basil - lemon basil would be wonderful if you have any
- Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
- 1 1/2 tbs honey
- 1 1/2 tbs whole grain mustard
- 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
- 3 tbs good olive oil
Instructions
In small bowl whisk together lemon and olive oil. Pour over chicken and marinate for 15 minutes.
Prepare lettuce, tear and put into a large salad bowl.
Top and tail beans and cut into 1 inch lengths. Fill a medium saucepan 2/3 full of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add beans and blanch for 3 minutes. While the beans cook fill a large bowl or pan 3/4 full of cold water. When the beans are done, drain and dump into the cold water. Swirl around until cool then drain and set aside.
Cut cherry tomatoes in half or slice tomato, then cut slices in half. Cut the pepper into matchsticks. Cut the avocado, remove pit and slice.
Clean and thickly slice mushrooms. Take 2 tbs of the marinade from the chicken and heat in a medium nonstick skillet until sizzling. Add mushrooms and quickly stir-fry for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Cook chicken breasts on barbecue grill for 10 - 15 minutes, turning once, or until done. They are done when no longer pink and juices run clear. Stick a skewer or knife in to test. Or you can sauté them in a nonstick skillet for about the same amount of time. Remove chicken and slice.
To assemble: Toss lettuce with some of the vinaigrette. Add remaining salad ingredients and toss gently. Taste, add more vinaigrette as needed. Serve, with any remaining vinaigrette on the side.
[Honey Mustard Vinaigrette]
In small bowl whisk together the honey, mustard and lemon juice. Slowly whisk in oil. It will be fairly thick - which means you have to toss well to avoid 'over-dressing'.
Which brings me to my second issue….
This came out much higher that I expected.
I’m questioning two things:
First: how accurate are their numbers and what assumptions are they making to reach them.
Second: how do they handle things that aren’t consumed, like marinades, egg washes, leftover vinaigrette, etc.
I will be asking the people at Edamam for the answers – as well as things like how they handle alcohol evaporation, which greatly affects the calories in a finished dish.
Finally – a note to self. Please remember that 1 tbs of olive oil has 119 calories, not 100. Important difference when ‘guesstimating’.
So….
Assuming the information is accurate….
What do you think?
Do people want to know real nutrition info on real food?
Or is seeing it going to scare them off?
Am I not giving people enough credit for having common sense?
Is this a good idea or a bad idea?