pan seared chicken salad.

felt like being healthy last night. that lasted a hot minute.. but i digress. in my quest for a low calorie meal, i came upon the genius idea that, yes, a salad would be a completely fulfilling dinner entree! and without using a recipe, i whipped this baby up. tadaaa!

threw together chopped romaine, roasted red pepper and halved cherry tomatoes. for the chicken, i used a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and dried (although fresh would seem like an ok alternative) rosemary for the marinade. coated the chicken with mixture and threw it in an already hot pan. watch out for oil splatter. while one side was cooking, i seasoned the other with salt, black pepper and garlic powder. turned it over and did the same. after a few minutes, this was the result. doused the whole thing in balsamic vinaigrette and went to town. if my calculations (courtesy of the "lose it" iphone app and the ALWAYS trustworthy internet) are correct, then the entire thing should be less than 250 calories (i use light dressing). i don't measure my food (that's for crazy people! kidding) but i would guess there are about 2 1/2-3 cups of actual salad in there and the one lonely chicken breast.

one hour later, i was starving and demolished a ham and cheddar lean pocket. i think i will leave salad as beginner course from now.