Applebee's Low-Fat Asian Chicken Salad

My new diet plan is called the Chopsticks Diet. It requires that you use only chopsticks to eat everything: spaghetti, peas, hamburgers, cookies, ice cream, salads—whatever. As the food slips off the chopsticks, the pounds slip off of you. It’s especially effective if you’ve never used chopsticks before. For those who can use them well, you’ve got to switch to the other hand. If you’re Asian, you’re only allowed to use one.

As the seasons change, so does the menu at this popular, casual, restaurant chain. You’ll find this item in the “Low-Fat and Fabulous” column of the menu during the summer months where it’s been a favorite since 1997. As with any salad, the waistline violator is the traditionally fat-filled dressing that is drizzled in gobs over the top of very healthy greens (a tablespoon of dressing usually contains around ten to twelve grams of fat). So if we can just figure out a cool way to make the dressing fat-free, we’re well on our way to making a huge salad—four of them to be exact—with only twelve grams of fat on each plate. Most of those grams come from the chicken breast, and the crunchy chow mein noodles pick up the rest.

Just be sure to plan ahead when you make this one. The chicken should marinate for a few hours if you want it to taste like the original. Hope you’re hungry.

Ingredients:
• I cup teriyaki marinade
• 4 skinless chicken breast fillets

Fat-Free Asian Dressing
Ingredients:
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons dry pectin
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• ½ teaspoon soy sauce
• I teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground black
• pepper
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
• 3 cups shredded red cabbage
• 3 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• I cup chopped green onion
• 1 ⅓ cups crispy chow mein
• noodles

Preparation:
Combine teriyaki marinade and chicken breasts in a medium bowl or resealable plastic bag. Marinate chicken for 3 to 4 hours.

Prepare the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a rolling boil while stirring often with a whisk, then remove the pan from the heat to cool. When the dressing has cooled, pour it into a covered container and chill.

When chicken breasts have marinated, preheat barbecue grill to high heat. Grill chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until done.

Combine the romaine and iceberg lettuce, red and green cabbage, and I cup of shredded carrots in a large bowl with the dressing. Toss well.

Divide the tossed greens among four plates. Sprinkle ¼ cup of green onions over each salad, followed by ⅓ cup of crispy chow mein noodles.

When the chicken breasts are done, slice each one, widthwise, into bite-size pieces. Sprinkle the sliced chicken breasts over each salad.

Place a ¼-cup pile of shredded carrots in the center of each salad.

• SERVES 4 AS AN ENTRÉE.

Nutrition Facts
• Serving Size - 1 Salad
• Total Serving - 4
• Fat (per Serving) - 12 G
• Calories (Per Serving) - 575

This recipe was published in '"Low-Fat Top Secret Recipes, Creating Kitchen Clones of American's Favorite Brand-Name Foods" by Todd Wilbur with Illustrations by the Author - p23 to p25'.