Chicken Rice Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

I'm almost finished with week #4 of working on my fitness and I've dropped 4.5 LBS since I started... not bad I guess. I've been really trying hard making sure I work out regularly and eat healthier. The last four weeks have gone quickly, and I'm really missing the salt, mayo, and all the other yummy fatty foods. I even relapsed once and found myself eating a sausage, egg, & cheese croissant in the car on the way to work one morning. :/ I had instant regrets, I promise!

But eating healthier doesn't mean it can't be yummy!! I found this quick salad idea online for my dinner tonight, but I made a few changes to make it slightly healthier. 

Recipe continued after the jump...

Ingredients:
(Chicken Rice Salad - adapted from shape.com)
1 cup cooked whole grain brown rice
1 LB thinly sliced chicken breasts
1 4 oz can diced green chiles
1 fresh tomato, diced
1 head red leaf lettuce

(Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing - adapted from foodnetwork.com)

2 TBS chopped cilantro leaves

1 TB red wine vinegar

1 tsp lime zest

Juice from 1 lime (about 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup light sour cream

1 clove smashed garlic

1 TB honey

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Prepping the salad:

1. Place 1/2 cup raw rice with 1 cup water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to Low. Cook for about 30-35 mins. Fluff with a fork once finished. (Set aside to cool.)

2. Lightly pepper your chicken breasts and sear over a med-high non-stick skillet until golden brown, about 8 mins per side for thinly sliced chicken breasts. (Cube chicken and set aside to cool.)

3. Toss rice, chicken, tomatoes, and chiles into a bowl.

Prepping the dressing:

4. In a blender (or with a hand mixer), blend the cilantro, vinegar, lime zest, lime juice, sour cream, smashed garlic, and honey together until well mixed.

5. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending until incorporated.

Finishing the salad:

6. Add about 1/2 cup of dressing over the chicken rice mixture and toss until well mixed.

7. Serve over top of lettuce.

WOW! This was SO delicious! I started scarfing this salad down so quickly, then it caught up with me and I realized how stuffed I was before I could even finish my plate. And the dressing! This has got to be my new favorite. The recipe above made twice as much as I needed for my dinner salad, so now I have some to save for another day. :)

ENJOY!