Low-Fat Chicken Salad Secrets

Nutrition students who spend time in our hospital kitchen don't just learn to prepare foods in large quantities. They must also learn how to modify familiar recipes, which may be high in fat and sodium, into menu items that are healthy and tasty. It's one of the most challenging assignments these students will take on during their 42-week rotation in our facility.

This week, some of these students raised the bar on this challenge. One recent evening, I joined our medical center chef and managers as they tasted the chicken salad the students had prepared earlier that day. Adjectives like "delicious," "wonderful," and "outstanding" greeted my ears.

Our students had thought outside the box: Instead of simply substituting low-fat mayonnaise for regular, for example, they used new ingredients in different ways, adding berries and seasonings to jazz up the same ol' institutional chicken salad.

Here are some tips you too can use the next time you want to modify a recipe to make it a little healthier:

• Mix plain low-fat yogurt with creamy salad dressings to reduce fat and calories.

• Add herbs and spices. Use a bay leaf or sage to enhance beef, rosemary or mint to flavor lamb, or dry mustard and paprika to complete a fish dish. Finally, use salt judiciously to bring out the natural flavors of foods.

• Use a flavored low-fat vinaigrette in place of a creamy mayonnaise or salad dressing. Or use it to dilute high-calorie dressings.

• Add chopped vegetables, fruit, or nuts to provide new flavors and textures, as well as to add bulk to a recipe.