Blackened Chicken and Mango Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

A group of girls at my office started a 6-month biggest loser challenge a couple of weeks ago. Whoever loses the highest percentage of weight at the end of 6 months wins the money pot (at $500 right now)! Once I heard about it, I knew that this type of "competition" could be just the motivation I needed to get myself in gear and lose the pesky pounds.

I'm being more conscious of what I'm eating every day, and forcing myself to the gym more often. I've lost 3.9 pounds in the past two weeks and I'm happy to be on the right track. J has been super supportive, even bringing me home fitness pamphlets and magazines from the Vitamin store. He has the P90x videos at home, but I'm still a little scared to try those out...ha! Maybe in a couple of weeks??

One thing I've never had a problem with, is eating salad. I LOVE salad!! And not necessarily salad greens topped with a lot of calorie-laden ingredients like some people like. I love salad with chicken, fruit, and light dressings. This salad is all of that. Sure, it has a yummy avocado dressing, but it's made with Greek yogurt which cuts way back on the calories!!

I've never used blackened seasoning, however, and yowza!! Not only did it get in my nose and make me sneeze a hundred times, but it definitely added some serious kick to the chicken. It was delicious, don't get me wrong, but I was not expecting quite that much spice. So, if you are sensitive to spiciness, you may not want to coat the chicken completely like the recipe says to. Maybe just a good sprinkle ;)  Either way, I recommend you try it...soon!

Blackened Chicken and Mango Salad with 
Creamy Avocado Dressing
As seen on Fantastic Eats

Ingredients

For the Avocado Dressing

• 1 avocado
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1/4-1/2 cup cilantro
• 1/4 cup non-fat, plain Greek yogurt
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded
• Water

For the Salad

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 Tbsp blackened seasoning
• 1 ripe mango, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup sliced red onion
• 4 cups Spring Salad Mix

Preparation

1. To make the dressing, combine the avocado, lime juice and zest, onion, garlic, cilantro, yogurt, and jalapeno in a blender and combine. 
2. While the blender is going, remove the insert in the lid and slowly drizzle in the water until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.Set Aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Season both sides of the chicken breast with the blackened seasoning, making sure it is fully coated.
5. Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, until fully cooked through. Remove and let it rest for 3-4 minutes. Then slice or cube, whatever you prefer.
6. To assemble the salads, layer the spring lettuce mix,  mango, red onion, and grape tomatoes onto two plates. Then top with chicken and desired amount of dressing.