The most amazing fiesta salad you'll ever have!

So, I got a free dinner to a restaurant that I finally cashed in late last year. It was a Tex-Mex place, and I ordered a taco salad there. It's definitely the most unhealthy thing I've had at a Tex-Mex restaurant...the bowl was a fried homemade tortilla, and it was full of deliciously unhealthy goodness. So I figured...why not make a more slim version at home?

Well, I did.
And I don't mean to brag, but it was probably better than theirs!
This salad is one of my favorite go-to meals, because it's full of good fats, it's filling, and has NO SALAD DRESSING! Well, it kind of does...but I'll explain below.

What you'll need:

4oz of chicken breast
1 teaspoon of olive oil (you don't need much! Just enough to very lightly coat the chicken in the pan)
2 cups of spring mix
1/4 of one ripe avocado to create guacamole, plus any spices you'd like to add to your guac
2 tbsp of light sour cream
5 cherry tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup Delmonte no salt added corn
1/4 cup Stop and Shop black beans

Optional: Any spices you prefer to spice your chicken. With this recipe, I generally eyeball cayenne pepper, a little sprinkle of kosher salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. I add all of these directly into the pan when I add the chicken.

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To start, cook your chicken. Dice it, or cube it up before you add it if you'd like. When you've heated up the oil and added your chicken, immediately add any spices you like. I especially like to sprinkle the crushed red pepper both onto the chicken, and into the pan directly; I've found the hot oil helps to release the spicy goodness of the flakes, and provides some extra heat that cooks into the chicken when it infuses into the oil.

Assemble your salad; drain your beans and corn, and dice up your tomatoes. Throw them all onto your bed of lettuce, and get ready to party.

To make the guacamole: I generally will mash up my avocado with white pepper, black pepper, a tiny bit of salt, and a little onion and garlic. Do whatever you'd like, though!

When the chicken is cooked, let it sit for a few minutes, and pat it with a paper towel to remove any excess oil. Allow it to cool off, so your greens don't wilt or get soggy. Add it to your salad, and top it with the sour cream and guacamole.

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What I love most about this recipe is that it's full of protein, good fat from the avocado, and that it requires no additional dressing. The mix of the sour cream and guacamole together is a combination like no other I've experienced. It creates a slightly creamy, yet very flavorful mix that is a refreshing change from dressing out of a bottle! Usually I'll plop them both onto the salad separately, and mix it all together when I'm about to eat it. It's amazing.

Here are the stats for the recipe, as I've made it:

Total calories for one serving: 354 (Around 189 calories from the avocado and chicken)
Total fat for one salad: 15g (if you omit the EVOO, subtract 5g.)
Total carbs for one salad: 22g
Total protein for one salad: 34g
Total saturated fat for one salad: 4g

Remember to switch up your measurements/diary input for the items you use. But this is a general ballpark of the party that will go on in your stomach after you try this.